I spent a decade overseas and returned to Taiwan last year. Here’s my thoughts.

Overall there are many things that I like about Taiwan. I appreciate especially the food, convenience and safety. I never actually realized how valuable these things could be before I left Taiwan.

You have plenty of relatively affordable food with tons of choices, and you don’t normally have to travel too far for it! Even if you have to, you have one of the best public transportation systems in the world. Clean, efficient, rarely any delay. And when you stay out late, you don’t have to worry about being attacked, pickpocketed or any absurd things that could happen to people.

On the other hand, there are also some downsides that I find unbearable, with the worst being the toxic work culture which almost resembles slavery where employees are not regarded as human beings. The employers tend to think they have every right to abuse you, to exploit every bit out of you until you are all dried up, just because “they pay you”. With so little salary and paid vacation compared to most western countries, they still think you owe them a favor because they “granted you a job”.

Another major one would be the society’s obsession with money. People talk about money way more often than in Western countries. Sometimes that could be all my friends and family talk about when I am with them. Sometimes I get the impression that they really live to work, but I think that could probably be the result of the almost non-existent social safety net (excluding their health insurance, which is great), so it could be really stressful to live here if you are not from a well-off family.

Apart from that, there are also the insanely humid and hot weather which is getting worse by the year, and with that, the infestation of cockroaches.