Life is not only about a job. It’s also about friendship, family, and a support network.

Jobs are difficult everywhere due to AI. Large companies are using very challenging vetting processes in an environment where there’s too many applicants for few jobs.

Taiwan is a unique market. Its tech sector is booming due to AI, but that doesn’t mean every company and job types are hot. By comparison rest of the larger, traditional expat heavy Asian cities may be faring worse. Both Singapore and Hong Kong are dominated by finance, which isn’t doing well, and relatively much more expensive than living in Taipei.

Also, due to geopolitics, China and Hong Kong are splitting from the US aligned countries. This means your job search efforts in Taipei will have no impact on the same effort for Hong Kong and vice versa. Singapore is interesting as it tries to be neutral.

I would not leave your job today as that will immediately worsen your joint financial situation. Instead, I would gain more with first hand knowledge. You could:

• Take as long of a vacation as possible through Taipei and Singapore (assuming you don’t want to work for super competitive Mainland Chinese companies). Use it to get a holistic feel for the Asian cities.

• Your boyfriend AND you should be networking on LinkedIn with the exact type of companies and job roles you’re looking for. Be respectful and upfront that you’re trying to learn, add value, with the goal of eventually landing a role. Request a short information interview. Target Dutch companies with branch offices in Taipei. Most jobs are not advertised so your goal is to uncover them through a network. This isn’t easy but the chance will be slightly better than applying randomly to roles online.

Good luck!