I want to learn Hokkien, and best way to do so is meet people who are native in that language, so I want to meet some Taiwanese friends. What apps do you reccomend?

So, I saw yesterday's post on someone wanting to do the Taipei halfmarathon (2 days before the race lol and I was like "What a fool"...), I decided to check the registration deadline for the Tainan Halfmarathon 2025 and I saw that it passed 2 days ago!

I have already been training for 2 months for this thing, I just didn't sign up because I haven't received the final final confirmation that I am going to move to Taiwan from February.

I am devastated currently, could anyone advise me on any options? I also wasn't able to find the contact information of the Tainan HM organizers (website in Chinese only)... I am desperate, please any help is welcome.

The size of the crowds, the production value and more foreign players - up the game. How did this all come about? I only remember the SBL for the longest time. And that was not drawing many people. Now it looks like you have a big contracts and way more invested in it. Anyone have any insight how this happened? I’m all for it. It’s great to see that we got more of it to watch.

Hi my Taiwanese friend is looking for a flatmate in a nice 3-room apartment in Tainan kaiyuan Road in the north district. Heard it's near science park and University. How to look for someone to share the apartment? He's single and a working professional. He's bilingual and good in both Mandarin and English. Anyone keen to share with him the apartment?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

hi so i have a friend who is travelling to taiwan and I am wondering if they can buy contact lens on my behalf using my prescription? Is it possible to just show the prescription and get the lens for it? I'm also wondering about the price of contacts particularly coopervision and acuvue toric lens in taiwan since in my country its almost $100 per 30 days daily. thank you!

Hello!

I'm an American currently studying Mandarin, and interested in applying to the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship in Taiwan. The opportunity to study mandarin in an immersion environment for a year sounds like a dream come true for me. I just had some questions about the program that I was hoping some of you could answer.

First, I know that in order to apply, I need to apply both for the scholarship and to the Mandarin Language Center I want to study at. There's a list of them here: https://www.roc-taiwan.org/uploads/sites/145/2019/01/List_of_Chinese_Language_Centers_in_Taiwan.pdf

My assumption is that I'm only eligible for the center that I specifically apply to. So a couple questions on that:

-Are any of these significantly more competitive than others?

-Which areas will generally have a lower cost of living?

-Which areas will give me the most opportunity to practice my mandarin?

-What can I expect in terms of public transit and travel options?

-Do you highly recommend any area in particular?

I'm on a budget, so I would probably prefer not to study in Taipei if I can avoid it.

More generally, I'm curious how competitive this program is, what they tend to look for in applicants, and if anyone here has any experience with it, positive or negative. Also if you're aware of similar programs in Taiwan or mainland China, I'd be open to hearing about them as well.

As I said, I'm very excited to be considering this opportunity, so I'm open to any advice that anyone wants to give me here.

Hi everybody for some context im a senior high schooler in Taiwan. I'm half Taiwanese half French. One thing I see that a lot of Taiwanese Genz-ers and more or less millennials is that Westerners are very open in terms of sexuality and all that and we should be like them which I get but isn't there a line we shouldn't cross especially in the education sector, people also tend to assume that because I have some western influences I'm comfortable with dirty jokes, I am but seeing an adult make rape jokes or cum jokes towards teenagers makes me go "hmmmmmmm is this normal eh"? For example, my cram school teacher often makes jokes about "insert student name raped the school dog" or on IG reels (I know IG reels are unhinged but still) I sometimes see cram school teachers saying "cum? Don't cum on me lah" or something similar along the lines of those jokes. This made me curious why Taiwanese teachers are so open with these types of jokes, I'm not ranting or anything, I'm just curious. I know teachers in other countries also make dirty jokes (yellow jokes) but I've never met a Canadian teacher or US teacher making rape or cum jokes toward students lmfao. These jokes don't tend to happen in school but less vulgar dirty jokes are still common. Cheers~ :) And how are people comfortable and think it's okay to make rape jokes in front of girls bruh, I bet there are a bunch of girls being offended but don't speak out due to Taiwanese people's more reserved nature.

Hi all, moving to Taiwan for work soon.

I'm a big gamer but I won't be bringing my setup with me. Looking for a online pc building service like nzxt or stores where they can build a high end gaming pc for you. I can speak Mandarin pretty fluently but cannot read or write. Any recommendations?

Hey! I am considering applying for the Golden Card, and I have a few questions regarding taxes.

From what I understand in https://goldcard.nat.gov.tw/en/tags/general/ I can work in Taiwan remotely for a foreign company even if this company has no business premises or revenue in Taiwan.

Apparently the company does not need to declare taxes there. Now, for me, I do need to declare taxes there. I assume I also need to declare and pay taxes in my home country? How would the Taiwanese taxes be calculated?

I was considering reaching out to a tax advisor there to ask this and a few other questions, but I don’t speak (enough) mandarin. What’s the best way to find an English speaker tax advisor that knows about the Golden Card rules?

Thanks!

Hi there! I'm seeking out more accounts in English to follow about daily Taiwan life. Are there certain TikTokers, Instagram pages, content creators, Substacks, etc. whom you love to follow?

Here I'll share a plug for my own Substack about life as an American woman (and magazine writer) living in Taipei, Two Paragraphs from Taiwan. Would love any new readers or suggestions about future topics.

Thanks!

Hello Everyone, I’m a Moroccan citizen interested in visiting Taiwan, and I’ve been looking into the visa application process. From what I’ve found online, it seems that I would need to be in France to apply at the Taiwan embassy there, it's not feasible for me. However, I’m wondering if there are any alternatives that would allow me to apply from Morocco or even possibly online.

Has anyone been through this process or know of any options for Moroccans to apply for a Taiwan visa directly from Morocco, or any online application process? Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I want to get a toad made from black jade that I saw at eslite but it's like 40k. Is black jade actually a valuable material or are these just marked up trinkets?

I am aware that it is illegal although many people still visit daily. However, recently I heard the police has stepped up their presence. Is this true? Is it worth visiting this month or will I likely be caught and fined.

Also, are there any hot spring alternatives I should visit instead!

Edit: how much is the fine btw? I hear 1500NTD

I have been living on a tropical island and haven’t felt cold weather in over 2 years (nothing under 85F and 100% humidity). Since I will be in Taiwan next week and feeling some cooler weather I really want to drink hot chocolate! Thank you!

Hi all! I know i am a bit late to the party, and this is a long shot. But i would love to participate in the Taipei half marathon next Sunday. Since i started studying here in August i had already missed the registration window. So i thought my best bet would be to check if someone had to drop out of the race last minute. But until now i haven't found anyone. So i have two questions:

1. Is it even allowed to run with someone else's starting number (if no, too bad)?
2. Are there any fellow redditors that could help me out?

Of course i am more than happy to compensate the person in question for their starting number. Thanks!

Wondering if it's okay to eat them everyday, or if they actually contain a lot of preservatives / other things to worry about?

Examples are like the rice + meat/vegetable boxes, or noodle boxes that I can stock up and microwave for my everyday meals.

How do you feel about these kinds of foods?

I lived in Kaohsiung in the early 2000s and I always think of how cool it was. A totally different world. Does anyone have old memories of Kaohsiung of that time?

Is reusable tampon applicator is non-existent in Taiwan?

Just start using tampon this month, love it, still needs a few adjustment, but ok. But tampons with applicator tend to be more expensive than non-applicator. And I just discover about reusable applicator, that seemingly non-existent in Taiwan?

Any of you succesfully found one in here? TIA.

Hello, everyone! I’m reaching out to students in Taiwan or anyone with experience living there as an international student. I'm considering studying or interning in Taiwan and would love to hear about your experiences! Here are some of my questions:

1. Living in Taiwan as a Foreign Student:

What’s the overall lifestyle like for international students? How welcoming and supportive is the community toward foreign students?

2. Accommodation and Housing:

How easy is it to find affordable and comfortable housing near universities? Any tips on student dormitories vs. renting apartments?

3. Cost of Living:

What’s the average monthly budget for a student in Taiwan (accommodation, food, transportation, etc.)? How affordable are daily essentials like groceries and eating out?

4. Cultural Experience:

Any unique cultural aspects that I should be aware of? What’s the best way to immerse myself in Taiwanese culture and connect with locals? I’d truly appreciate it if you could share your experiences or any tips to help me prepare for life in Taiwan. Feel free to drop your advice or point me toward useful resources! 謝謝! (Thank you!) 🙏

p.s.: I’m a muslim

As it is convenient, I enjoy eating dem’ nuggers. So far the best tasting chicken nuggets are made by KFCs (from recently, past was awful). But as much as I love it, they would most likely never sold them as frozen at larger volume.

Does anyone here has any recommendation for any brand of frozen chicken nuggets here?

Thanks!

My girlfriend is in Taipei right now and I would like to surprise her with some pokemon cards in the upcoming days. What websites would you recommend?, so that I could buy her some cards, packs, etc. I'm having a hard time finding anything as I don't speak mandarin. Thanks :)

Thinking of taking a risk and creating a small arcade bar in Kaohsiung. Do you think this would be popular?

Hello! I’m planning to visit TW soon and am looking for some great coffee spots to check out.

I heard about Simple Kaffa and that they’ve won a barista award—sounds amazing! I’d also love to bring back some beans as a souvenir.

Hi! I lived in Taiwan for two years a while back, and some friends in the country side would freeze pieces of green mango in a mix of, what I remember being, salt and sugar. They would then serve it frozen in the hot months.

Does this ring a bell? I want the recipe for this 😁😁

Has anyone successfully added an australian visa or Mastercard credit card into line pay for use in Taiwan recently? I've been trying to addedine but it says error and refer to my card issuer... I highly doubt my bank I ln Australia would know why.