Comparisons of expat life in Taipei and Beijing

Recent statistics on expat salaries in China have unwittingly included Taipei, putting it in direct competition with Beijing.

In the third quarter of 2017, the average Beijing salary stood at $1,502, above the salary for a similar job in the island of Taiwan’s capital city. The statistics were released by Chinese job-hunting platform zhilian.com, and immediately sparked a comparison between the two capitals. Heated online discussions resulted, with many expats saying Taipei had lost its crown to Beijing due to the Chinese capital’s incredible development over the past few years.

Information of this type is central to expat decisions as to where to base themselves on an unfamiliar continent holding mostly incomprehensible languages, making real-life expat comments an essential decision-making tool. For example, one expat IT specialist who’d lived and worked in both cities said he much preferred Taipei, simply because within a ten-minute journey, he could be out of the city and into the island’s natural beauty. When he lived in Beijing, he said, it was several hours’ drive to even get to the suburbs of the massive city. Taipei, he added, has central areas set aside for nature, whilst the parks in Beijing don’t feel natural and the centre of the city is a mass of high-rise developments.

Local people are equally friendly on both locations, but Taipei has better transportation and more locals speak English to some extent. However, the diversity of food choices in Beijing is far better than in Taipei, and the city’s links with its culture and amazing history seems stronger, especially in its suburban, older areas. Another expat from Canada believes both cities are good for expats’ quality of life, but Beijing is all about business and Taipei is about living life.

Beijing’s cost of living is astronomical and its yearly pollution is a strain, making expat life in Taipei much more enjoyable even although salaries aren’t as high. The cost of living is less than half that in Beijing, getting your own transportation is far easier, and Taipei is far cleaner and prettier than Beijing. One long-stay expat with experience of both destinations believes citizens in Taipei are more welcoming than those in Beijing, and it’s easier to make good friends.

For expats looking to further their careers, Beijing wins hands down for its business opportunities. It’s developing very quickly and its future as a leading world city is ensured. For expats in the tech sector it’s very much the place to be as the city attracts expat entrepreneurs with innovative ideas. International-style salaries are the norm in Beijing, and change is the buzzword for the city and its industries.