A lot of people ask me about the pros and cons of having a Taiwan Work Visa, colloquially called an “ARC” (Alien Resident Card). In reality, these are two separate things – one is a visa and one is an identification card. But a question I often get from people is, “Do I need an ARC to […]
There are always people moving to Taiwan. I talk a lot about it in what I write; I give a lot of advice on this site regarding moving to Taiwan, getting settled in Taiwan, and living in Taiwan. What a challenge a move like this can be. For a start, you have to consider what […]
Living in Taiwan often makes me think about ideas of Happiness and Misery. Truth-be-told, it’s always a subject I’ve grappled with. But recent years have brought greater understanding than my younger years. Hunter Thompson, in his early 20s, wrote the following on the subject: “Happy,” I muttered, trying to pin the word down. But it […]
If you’ve read my past blogs, you know that I talk about all kinds of random trouble in Taiwan, from banking to shopping to dealing with the government of the ROC. One of the most common frustrations with people without a Taiwan ARC is hearing the words, “No ARC? No…no…” Because of the way Taiwanese bureaucracy operates, […]
There are a lot of great things about Taiwan. But this isn’t gonna’ be about those. This is about how annoying Taiwan’s Bureaucracy is. You have to understand that the concept of “majority rules” goes haywire here. Nails that stick out are hammered down or, as the Taiwanese put it, the fattest pig is the […]