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Higher entry level wages in Taipei than Tokyo? How??
What's really strange to me though is that a lot of entry level positions in Tokyo only pay around 225,000 yen. I'm in my mid 30s... but that seems comically low? For Tokyo?? That's like $1500 usd a month lol. For context, the average US college graduate makes $60,000 USD right out of school, or roughly 4x the amount.
She also applied to some jobs in Taipei and it seems like they're paying more, around $2000 a month. How is it possible that an undeveloped country like Taiwan is paying MORE for entry level positions than TOKYO?
my wife went through this exact comparison in 2022 and the thing nobody mentions is 住民税 timing plus 社会保険. on a 225k base your take home month one is like 180k, not 225k. kenko hoken, kosei nenkin, koyou hoken all come off before you see it. a lot of people quote the gross and forget that.
on the taipei side, 2000 usd sounds great until you factor 健保 and 勞保 which are cheaper there, true, but the real issue is rent in 大安 or 信義 if she wants to live near the office. a decent 套房 there runs 25 to 35k TWD now, which eats most of the gap.
one angle worth checking: does the taipei offer come with a 年終 guarantee in writing, or is it "typically 1.5 months" verbal. tokyo bonuses are usually in the 就業規則 so theyre more enforceable. taipei ones are often discretionary and the first year you might get prorated to almost nothing.
honestly the 225k figure is the base but thats not what u actually take home after year one. most tokyo firms do a June and December bonus, often 2 to 4 months each once youre a seishain, so a "low" 225k can turn into 3.5 to 4 million a year pretty fast. that structure exists precisely because the monthly number isnt the real number, and taipei salaries usually bake everything into the monthly with a much thinner bonus.
also worth flagging, entry level in taipei skews toward tech and finance which are the sectors paying well there, while a lot of tokyo new grad hires are generalist sogoshoku tracks at trading houses, banks, manufacturers. different job pools. if she compares a TSMC or Cathay offer to a random tokyo SME, yeah taipei wins. compare it to a tokyo gaishi or a major bank and the gap flips.
one thing id actually check: the yen is weak right now around 150 to 155, that alone makes the tokyo number look worse in USD than it did three years ago. if it drifts back to 120 the whole comparison changes.
225k is pretty standard for a tokyo shinsotsu but the number that actually matters is your taxable income after 住民税 kicks in year two. first year ur residence tax is basically zero so take home feels decent, then it jumps and people get blindsided
on taipei, a lot of those "entry level" postings quote the full package including 年終 which is often 1 to 2 months, not monthly. so 2000 usd might already have the bonus baked in, whereas tokyo quotes base only. apples to oranges
if she's got n1 level japanese plus chinese that's a genuinely rare combo and she should be looking at 商社 back offices or taiwanese firms doing japan business, not generic listings. that combo clears 300k+ easily in either city
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.