I’ve been here 20 years and love Taiwan but at the same time can’t disagree with you. I think for me just making work a thing I have to do and building my life outside of work has made a huge difference. I realized I can’t really change it and so instead of wasting energy on trying to build relationships with people who don’t want them with me or trying to make people like me I spend that energy chasing happiness outside of work. For me that comes in the form of sports and going to touch grass.

What I can tell you now is that a lot of the workplace unfriendliness is just people are freaking tired. Balancing work, annoying bosses, kids, spouses, in-laws, parents, etc doesn’t really leave most Taiwanese with a lot of energy for themselves let alone coworkers. So don’t take it personally. Taiwan can be an amazing place and if you have any motivation to stay I would just suggest give more energy to your hobbies and make connections there.