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"Rock with Winston" in Taiwan: Updates and Photos

Posted: November 13th, 2010, 10:05 am
by Rock
Disclaimer: Both Winston and I have girlfriends. What we did was simply a fun experiment to see how difficult or easy it is in Taiwan to chat with strangers, make new friends, and find dating prospects. Neither one of us intend to follow-up with any of the contacts made as far as dating is concerned.

Takeaways:

1. I stand by hypothesis that Taiwan provides some foreigners with a strong social and dating handicap vis-à-vis the west. I would definitely recommend it over the Philippines for 20 something – mid 30s regular looking western guys who are picky about looks and not into short brown girls from impoverished backgrounds.

2. It was pretty easy to approach total strangers in public places and clubs around Taichung and engage in friendly 2 way conversations with them. In the scope of just 2 days, we talked with over 25 Taiwanese strangers, mostly females.

3. Taichung has a lot of cute, sexy, and/or hot girls milling about, a fair number of whom are tall and curvy.

4. Pig Pen is one of the go-to spots for ST freebies in Taichung.

5. Finding longer term girlfriends shouldn’t be too difficult for those who base in Taichung. I saw several foreign guys holding hands on the street with Taiwanese girls, some very attractive.

6. IMO, the very best girlfriend material are young, soft, and innocent looking girls who have limited experience with foreigners. Chinese language skills are a huge advantage for approaching and courting these types.

Background: On way back from China, I took bus from Taoyuan International Airport directly to Taichung. Winston was game to meet-up and would come up from Chiayi the next morning. Neither of us had any available contacts, we were functioning as complete strangers in a new city. Here’s what happened over the next 48 hours:

1. Checked into hotel across from Taichung Train Station at 3 am.

2. Got up at 2 pm the next day, went to lobby to renew room, and started chatting to receptionist, a very bubbly gal who looked to be over 30. I told her a lot about Winston and his thoughts on Taiwan and she strongly disagreed with a lot of his opinions. Her hypothesis was that Chiayi was probably the wrong place. She told me that many people in Taichung were generally warm and friendly, especially to visitors and foreigners. She even wanted to phone Winston and chat with him since he was still on his way. She was scheduled to finish work at 3 pm but waited an extra 15 minutes for Winston to show-up so she could tell him about Taichung in person. Then she spent another 20 minutes telling us about some of the best places to visit before giving us her cellphone number and heading home. As a side note, she called me that evening to say she was impressed by many of the Russian girls on Winston’s site.

3. Walked around to get a feeling for the area. Train station area full of cute and very attractive girls but most appeared to be mid to late teenagers. We eventually went to a Subway for snack and observed people sitting around us. One young girl by herself was sitting next to the newspaper area displaying the closed body language that Winston hates so much. We both laughed a lot about that. Eventually, I got up to ostensibly check out one of the newspapers. Just as I had mustered up some courage and was about to open my mouth, she got up, dumped her tray, and left. Oh well.

4. Ambled around a bit more. Passed a 7-11 and caught some girls sitting at the window smiling at us. We walked in, I introduced us, and they asked us to take a seat. I told them that Winston was looking for teaching work and that we were brand new to Taichung. We asked them about where to go for fun, etc. but soon found out they were just 17. We made an exit and decided to jump on the bus to Sogo/Fridays area. During bus ride and with a bit of encouragement from my side, Winston chatted up his young seat mate and got her email.

5. Decided to drink and eat at Fridays. This one seemed pretty lame compared to the ones I’m used to in Taipei. They only had guys tending bar so we decided to take a table. Nothing of interest happened with the waitress but we did get some tips on where to go at night from another off-duty girl.

6. After Fridays, we headed to an area with a lot of small bars. Some of them had cute girls at the doors enticing people inside and Winston started chatting to one of them, a 20 year old sassy California ABC with a dirty mouth. We asked her about some of the clubs popular with foreigners and she told us that if we wanted ‘sure sex’, go to Pig Pen but if we wanted higher quality girls and a bit of a challenge, go to Lions Den right next door or Xaga in the Tiger City area. We decided to do both Lions Den and Pig Pen since they are next to each other.

7. Arrived in area at about 10:30 pm. I saw a group of 3 people we had noticed in town earlier that day – an older Chinese guy, his 30 year old Indian client (he was in the machine tool business), and the Chinese guy’s girl friend – lined up to go into Pig Pen. So I went up, started a conversation and they soon invited us to join them. Entrance was NT$500 for all you can drink and sitting areas were extra. They asked us to join their table. Things were pretty quiet for awhile so we just chilled and enjoyed picking their brains about Taichung, the clubs, etc. The Indian guy was just visiting and was very keen to pick-up a girl that night.

8. At some point, I walked back outside with Winston to get air. One of the girls working the door was a hot young thing dressed in short shorts. Winston tried to make conversation with her but at that point, more customers were lining-up and she was getting too busy. I saw a black guy dressed-up in white hip-hop gear scoping out incoming talent and I talked with him for a few minutes. He was a South African from Cape Town who had been in Taichung for over 4 years and was involved in the import/export business (got his card). He told us he done very well with the girls there and encouraged Winston telling him that pulling local gals is very doable.

9. Club was filling-up so we went back in. I threw down the rest of my drink, went out to dance floor, and ended up closing in on a small girl in red who was giving off the right body language (facing me and smiling sometimes). Just then, Indian guy from our table danced up, and put out his hand to shake hers but she just rudely turned away. Then I grabbed both her arms, pulled her into me, and told her that he’s my good friend but I forgot his name which got a laugh out of her. She continued to be receptive but after looking at her some more, I figured out she was not really my type so I took a break and went back to the table.

10. Soon after, the Indian guy pulled Winston and me out to second floor balcony to talk. That’s where people would go to get air and quiet. It was an ideal place to meet people cus it was quiet and the light was good. We stayed out for about 20 minutes and whenever cute girls came out, I would go chat with them. They were receptive and exchanged phone numbers and emails when I asked. The South African also came out so we had some fun clowning around with him, the Indian, and some of the new friends we made. I even talked to 3 shy Chinese male students who were too timid to approach any of the girls who came and went.

11. Went back into the club for more dancing and light drinking. Another girl came up to me and asked me if the Indian was my friend. She told me she thought he was quite annoying. I guess he was being way too aggressive. Eventually, I suggested to Winston that we head next door to hang in front of Lions Den. The crowd there was very young but all at least 18. Right away, an exotic girl walked out the door and spoke some foreign language to someone down the street. I told Winston that it sounded Russian (he had missed it) and I yelled out to her, “where you from?� Sure enough she answered Russia. So I told her, my buddy here (Winston) speaks Russian and that ignited a conversation between the two of them. She was a uni student from Siberia and of Mongolian ancestry. I was surprised at how much small talk Winston could manage with a mix of Russian and English. The girl also spoke decent Mandarin. After a few minutes, she walked back in the club but said she would be back out a bit later.

12. Just as she walked away, a tall young Taiwanese guy walked out with 2 white women (one speaking with an ugly American accent). As he watched them get into the cab (looking disappointed that they were leaving), I went up and told him he was lucky to get rid of them, American women are the worst on the planet and that Winston had a site dedicated to spreading the good news of foreign women. He was friendly, spoke decent English, and ended up coaching Winston on how to pull Taiwan women. The session went on for over 30 minutes so I milled around, took some photos of them, and number closed a couple separate girls walking out the club. The place also had a smattering of western guys exiting from time to time. Both girls I met there called me back later that night and one expressed clear interest.

13. Eventually, Russian girl came back out, fairly smashed at this stage, with 3 young Taiwanese male ‘fans’ in pursuit – one of them tall and quite good looking. When she saw Winston, her eyes lit up and she made a bee line for him to the amazement of his new Taiwanese dating coach. She talked to him with very warm body language for another 15 minutes or so, and in the process, her admirers gave up and went home. Finally, her friend (a Mongolian looking guy from her area) came out from club but she still continued talking to Winston. We were told that he was just a friend and maybe even gay but who knows. She invited Winston to go with her to the lake at her school (Donghai?) but it was pushing 5 am so he told her he would call her the next day to set something else up. We called it a night and cabbed it back to hotel to crash.

14. Got up at noon and went down to lobby to meet Winston. Our friendly receptionist treated each of us to a big cup of bubble tea from the shop next door. Winston had set-up a meeting in Chunan (80 minutes north on train) with a Filipina he met on Tagged and she was going to bring a friend a friend or two. So we headed to train station. While waiting for train, 4 local female students approached me to talk about various attractions in Taichung. I called Winston over, we chatted for a bit, let them take a few photos, and then went to board our train.

15. After a certain stop, a couple girls boarded but didn’t have seats so stood near the end of car. One of them was very much my type – tall with big curvy round butt, cute face and wearing short shorts to boot. I couldn’t resist. I went to loo and on my way back, started to chat with them. They were quite friendly and both worked at McDonalds but the one I liked was just 17, damn it! Anyway, after less than 5 minutes into our conversation, our stop arrived and I had to call out to Winston to jump out of his seat and rush to door so we could make it off.

16. Filipinas met us near exit – 3 of them. The one Winston had talked to was best IMO. At 165 cm, she was quite tall for Filipina and not super short like her friends. They wanted to go to a steakhouse but Winston played the vegetarian card so we did McDonalds instead. And Winston let them pay for their own food, lol. Conversation was OK but body language was too stiff. Winston debated with the main girl about whether most Filipinos knew what vegetarians were. He insisted they didn’t and she seemed a bit insulted by that. They had to go to mass at 5:30 pm in a nearby church so after we finished eating and talking, they took us back to train station, snapped a few photos with us, and then bid us farewell. Later, Winston asked the girl what she thought of us via text message and she replied she liked both of us only as friends and she couldn’t tell us the reason cus it would hurt our feelings. Hmm, rejection by a 30 something contract worker who comes from the easiest place in the world to pull girls. What’s up with that?

17. We trained it right back to Taichung. During ride, Winston phoned Russian who made some nice talk with him but was clearly sick and hung over. I phoned a few of the girls I met from the previous night and one agreed to come out later and bring a friend for Winston (she never got to meet him the night before). Winston suggested an Indian Restaurant (Bollywood) he remembered was good so I told them to meet us there. But they wanted to come a bit later just for drinks so Winston and I ate our meal first alone.

18. While waiting for food, I saw a group of foreigners outside (a few Latinos with an African girl and a couple of Chinese girls) and went out to just watch the interactions. While sitting outside, a cute Chinese girl walked out for a smoke and sat next to me so I started talking to her. She was visiting as part of a film crew so I called Winston out. After talking a bit more, we learned that she used to work directly under Taiwanese host of the Travel Channel. That sparked an interesting conversation as the Travel Channel is one of Winston’s pet peeves. Only after she went back in did I realize she was seated right behind our table together with her American boyfriend. He looked a bit miffed but perhaps that was my imagination.

19. Girls arrived 45 minutes later. Neither spoke much English but they were quite outgoing and engaging. We conversed via language triangle – English between Winston and myself, Mandarin between girls and myself, and Taiwanese between girls and Winston. Winston wanted to sing but I don’t like straight-up KTVs so we decided to go to a small bar where we could talk and sing. They took us to the right area, and we chose the bar.

20. Great place. Waitress turned out to be old friend of one the girls (surprise encounter) so we got special treatment. We drank, sang, and danced. It was a blast. Winston’s girl loosened up and started leaning into him or relaxing against his body. Girl with me asked if I wanted her to go back w/me later that night and whether or not Winston was interested in her friend. But as night wore on, lack of sleep from my Thai/China trip and previous night out in Taichung started to wear me down. We called it a night around 2 am and went back to hotel alone. The next day, we were able to wake up with a clear conscience, lol.

http://picasaweb.google.com/11162763150 ... 7213753314

Posted: November 15th, 2010, 12:18 pm
by keius
Man, i miss the bachelor's lifestyle....
Then again, i'm not sure i could take it anymore.
Still, i miss it :)

Posted: November 15th, 2010, 4:56 pm
by The_Adventurer
No final thoughts from Winston on the dating scene in different parts of Taiwan? IS Taichung very different from Chiayi where Winston resides?

Posted: November 23rd, 2010, 6:56 am
by Winston
Terrence wrote:No final thoughts from Winston on the dating scene in different parts of Taiwan? IS Taichung very different from Chiayi where Winston resides?
Yeah I posted my trip report in the Approaching Taiwan Girls thread in General Discussions. Did you read it? Yeah Taichung is more open and fun than Chiayi, for sure. In Chiayi, people are not only conservative, but they are old fashioned. My relatives for instance, never go out for fun. If they are not at work, then they are at home. They go out for errands, not for fun.

A large portion of Taiwanese are like that. Not just in my family.

The girls are more open to white guys. If you're Asian, you are treated differently. The TW guys I talked to in the clubs even admitted that. The tall guy in red in the photo albums admitted that too. White guys experience a different world in Taiwan.

The TW girls are more refined, yeah, but more conservative as well.

Posted: November 23rd, 2010, 8:18 am
by Winston
Btw, I should point out one thing. The foreigners we met at the club agreed with me that girls in Taiwan are pretty conservative and not easy to chat up in public. They agreed that it felt "out on a limb" to try to approach girls or pick them up, and not part of the natural flow of things.

Of course, as Rock pointed out, it's doable. But it's not super natural like in Latin America or Russia.

So it's not just me that says that. Others acknowledge it too.

Posted: November 23rd, 2010, 8:56 am
by Rock
Winston wrote:Btw, I should point out one thing. The foreigners we met at the club agreed with me that girls in Taiwan are pretty conservative and not easy to chat up in public. They agreed that it felt "out on a limb" to try to approach girls or pick them up, and not part of the natural flow of things.

Of course, as Rock pointed out, it's doable. But it's not super natural like in Latin America or Russia.

So it's not just me that says that. Others acknowledge it too.
Which foreigners are you referring to? The only male foreigners I recall talking to were:

1. The Indian guy who was just a ST visitor being shown around by an older Taiwan gentleman. And I don't remember him making such a claim. He was pretty aggressive but from what I could see, the girls didn't seem to like his approach style.

2. The South African guy who was talking to lots of different people in the club. I don't know what he told you but he claimed to me that he got action from Taiwan girls like a celebrity and that Taipei was even better as far as nightlife goes. And he's been in Taiwan for around 5 years so he's not speaking like some fresh off the boat newbie experiencing a honeymoon period in a new country.

Did you talk with any others?

Remember, in just 48 hours, starting from cold, we talked to and in some cases socialized with over 25 locals, got a lot of numbers and emails, and had a night out on the town with 2 of them. I'm confident that if we returned Taichung, we could follow-up with many more of these new friends and even network out if we played it right. As far as the numbers are concerned, I don't think we would have done any better spending 48 hours in Rio Brazil or Cali Colombia. And in those places, you really have to be careful. Adverse selection comes into play. The people who are easiest to meet in Brazil or Colombia may end up trying to use you or even put you in danger.

Posted: November 23rd, 2010, 5:20 pm
by Winston
Both the Indian guy and the African guy said that. Well they didn't say that to you since you didn't ask them if girls were hard to cold approach in public. You just asked them if they did well in the dating scene.

Most guys will give a positive response to that question, even if it's not true, out of ego. If you ask an American guy "Do you do well with girls in your town?" they will usually say yes.

But just cause someone gets a lot of action doesn't mean they will deny that women there are kind of conservative and shy. So those statements are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Even you admitted that it kind of felt "out on a limb" to cold approach girls, at least compared to China.

Even Sean, who lives in Taipei for 10 years, and gets dates there, agreed that TW girls were conservative and don't usually talk to strangers. So he meets them on Facebook or goes to social functions.

We did talk to a lot of girls in 48 hours, but that was because you were white and they were impressed that you spoke good Chinese. If I had been alone, I wouldn't have been able to do that. They respond to whites more openly it seems.

Even momopi told me that "white guys are in a different market in Taiwan".

Posted: November 23rd, 2010, 7:57 pm
by The_Adventurer
I think the same is likely true in China as well. I suspect white guys are in a different market, or, at least, the first thing that comes to mind when a girl thinks about dating a foreigner. Even then, it seems to be those girls who speak or want to learn English, as opposed to someone who is genuinely interested in the foreign person.

I suspect that someone whois fluent in Chinese is also in a different market. The fact remains that one who cannot speak the language is extremely limited in who they can interact with. I am very interested to see how things change when I have a working grasp of the language, if they change at all.

Posted: November 23rd, 2010, 10:18 pm
by Repatriate
Terrence wrote:I think the same is likely true in China as well. I suspect white guys are in a different market, or, at least, the first thing that comes to mind when a girl thinks about dating a foreigner. Even then, it seems to be those girls who speak or want to learn English, as opposed to someone who is genuinely interested in the foreign person.

I suspect that someone whois fluent in Chinese is also in a different market. The fact remains that one who cannot speak the language is extremely limited in who they can interact with. I am very interested to see how things change when I have a working grasp of the language, if they change at all.
It's been said already but Winston keeps generalizing about race when a lot of it is about looks. They like a certain look in Taiwan and it's usually the stylish clean cut skinny look. Think, Jay Chou. Winston is the exact opposite of that ideal.

Posted: November 24th, 2010, 12:28 am
by momopi
Generally speaking young Asian men have thinner waistlines, so it's easier for them to achieve the skinny clean cut look. They can wear cloths from Club Monaco and Urban Outfitters well. Jeans and pants in general with smaller waist size = skinny pant legs, the cut makes the leg look long and skinny. So if you wear size 28-32, you're in luck, and your pants will look well fitted. From size 34 onwards, the legs look fatter, and by size 38+ you look fat period.

I'm between 34 and 36, but cannot fit the 36 slim cut from Macys for Men (the waistline is closer to 34 and too tight). Even at 6' tall, the loose fit size 36 jeans make me look fat. I wore loose fit jeans and over-sized shirt for comfort on the plane, and by the time I was walking around TPE, I thought I had the fattest leg on the street.

Luckily, I have a friend who runs a clothing store and he helped me score some nice 36 jeans with slim cut on the legs. My favorite pair is 36 slim cut suede colored jeans from Orisue that fit me very well. I'm the weird "in-between sizes" person with 35 waist / 33 length, Orisue jeans tend to default to 32 length, which is better than 34 length for me. The only down side is that I have to take it to the cleaners. As a guy I'm used to dumping my jeans in the washer, which resulted in destroying some expensive cloths in the past.

Another down side with designer jeans is that they're not made for endurance like the old Levis, so don't wear your wallet in the back or else you'll get ugly wallet marks very quickly (hint: if you made an "oops!", you can use fine sandpaper foam pad thingie from hardware store to even out the wallet marks). Of course, if you'd prefer to have wallet marks to show that the man carries a wad, feel free to do so.

When I shop at the Express for men, I wish they made 36 waist pants with skinnier legs like their 34 pants. But life ain't perfect and I couldn't fit in that nice classic London Fog tan leather jacket at Buffalo Exchange either. So if you're like me, you have to spend more time and shop harder for better fitting clothes, or befriend a good tailor.

Posted: November 24th, 2010, 6:31 am
by Winston
Repatriate wrote:
Terrence wrote:I think the same is likely true in China as well. I suspect white guys are in a different market, or, at least, the first thing that comes to mind when a girl thinks about dating a foreigner. Even then, it seems to be those girls who speak or want to learn English, as opposed to someone who is genuinely interested in the foreign person.

I suspect that someone whois fluent in Chinese is also in a different market. The fact remains that one who cannot speak the language is extremely limited in who they can interact with. I am very interested to see how things change when I have a working grasp of the language, if they change at all.
It's been said already but Winston keeps generalizing about race when a lot of it is about looks. They like a certain look in Taiwan and it's usually the stylish clean cut skinny look. Think, Jay Chou. Winston is the exact opposite of that ideal.
Didn't you or someone else admit that even ugly fat white guys in Taiwan can get girls? If so, then that proves that the race DOES matter.

Repatriate, why are you being extreme again? The truth is in the middle, not on either extreme. Why don't you admit that race is a factor? You seem to get a morbid pleasure out of contradicting me.

Life is about multiple factors, not just one factor.

Posted: November 24th, 2010, 6:35 am
by Winston
momopi wrote:Generally speaking young Asian men have thinner waistlines, so it's easier for them to achieve the skinny clean cut look. They can wear cloths from Club Monaco and Urban Outfitters well. Jeans and pants in general with smaller waist size = skinny pant legs, the cut makes the leg look long and skinny. So if you wear size 28-32, you're in luck, and your pants will look well fitted. From size 34 onwards, the legs look fatter, and by size 38+ you look fat period.

I'm between 34 and 36, but cannot fit the 36 slim cut from Macys for Men (the waistline is closer to 34 and too tight). Even at 6' tall, the loose fit size 36 jeans make me look fat. I wore loose fit jeans and over-sized shirt for comfort on the plane, and by the time I was walking around TPE, I thought I had the fattest leg on the street.

Luckily, I have a friend who runs a clothing store and he helped me score some nice 36 jeans with slim cut on the legs. My favorite pair is 36 slim cut suede colored jeans from Orisue that fit me very well. I'm the weird "in-between sizes" person with 35 waist / 33 length, Orisue jeans tend to default to 32 length, which is better than 34 length for me. The only down side is that I have to take it to the cleaners. As a guy I'm used to dumping my jeans in the washer, which resulted in destroying some expensive cloths in the past.

Another down side with designer jeans is that they're not made for endurance like the old Levis, so don't wear your wallet in the back or else you'll get ugly wallet marks very quickly (hint: if you made an "oops!", you can use fine sandpaper foam pad thingie from hardware store to even out the wallet marks). Of course, if you'd prefer to have wallet marks to show that the man carries a wad, feel free to do so.

When I shop at the Express for men, I wish they made 36 waist pants with skinnier legs like their 34 pants. But life ain't perfect and I couldn't fit in that nice classic London Fog tan leather jacket at Buffalo Exchange either. So if you're like me, you have to spend more time and shop harder for better fitting clothes, or befriend a good tailor.
That's one of my problems with pants. My waistline is between 34 and 35. When I get paints at the store at that size, the leg parts are baggy, which looks bad I think. To look good, your pants should look skinny in the leg area, not baggy. But to get pants with skinnier legs, you gotta get pants at size 32 and under. All the pants at my size are baggy. I guess it's because people with 34 waistlines are supposed to have bigger legs?

What's the solution? Custom made pants?

Posted: November 24th, 2010, 6:50 am
by swincor
Winston wrote:
What's the solution? Custom made pants?
Hey, here's a nutty idea: how about LOSING WEIGHT? Like, join a gym, or try getting out of the house for once, and actually use your legs to WALK.

A size 34/35 at your height is FAT, Winston.

Your claims of being a long-standing vegetarian simply defies belief, Winston, considering how fat and in poor health you are.

Posted: November 24th, 2010, 8:41 am
by momopi
Winston wrote: That's one of my problems with pants. My waistline is between 34 and 35. When I get paints at the store at that size, the leg parts are baggy, which looks bad I think. To look good, your pants should look skinny in the leg area, not baggy. But to get pants with skinnier legs, you gotta get pants at size 32 and under. All the pants at my size are baggy. I guess it's because people with 34 waistlines are supposed to have bigger legs?
What's the solution? Custom made pants?
1. Go to a department store and ask them measure your pant size/length, then contact these companies with your exact measurements:
http://orisue.com/2010/contact-us/
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/help/contactus.jsp

Ask them if they have slim fitting jeans in your size.

2. Exercise more, eat less.

Posted: November 24th, 2010, 6:00 pm
by The_Adventurer
Repatriate wrote: It's been said already but Winston keeps generalizing about race when a lot of it is about looks. They like a certain look in Taiwan and it's usually the stylish clean cut skinny look. Think, Jay Chou. Winston is the exact opposite of that ideal.
I think Winston may have become too accustomed to the Philippines, where looks don't matter as much, or where many girls may prefer a portly gentleman, believing they will never starve with him. In Korea, young girls are also very much into this Jay Chou type, or like the somewhat effeminate male leads on Boys Over Flowers. Even my trainer always talked about how muscular dudes were not popular there because girls prefer the "gay look". He dated mostly foreign girls from Europe or America.

Looks do matter. We all know there are countries where a heavy man is considered a symbol of status, (or in some places considered someone who will not cheat) and is, as such, desirable. We also know that is some cultures, heavy girls are desirable and mothers overfeed their daughters in the hopes of marrying them off. I think this goes back to Winston's decree of LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.

Winston has already found his location in the Philippines. So the question, then, arises as to why he does not stay there. I believe this can be easily answered as well. The reason is environment, or, perhaps, lifestyle. The Philippines is simply not the best environment in the world. The Philippines' treasure is its people. Unfortunately, the highest quality places, rooms, food in Makati cannot compare to even a run of the mill environment in Korea, Japan or Shanghai. Worse still, the highest quality environments in Philippines will cost you a whole lot more than in these other locations, often reaching near American rates for food, rent and services.

You would have to pay $500 a month for a halfway decent place in Philippines, if you're looking for western standards. This room will, however, still not have the quality and facilities of a place that costs $300 per month in Shanghai, Suwon or, I am guessing, in parts of Taiwan. You would be paying $10 to $20 for a high quality meal in Philippines (if you don't like the local food) that would not compare to a meal that cost $3 in China, or $6 in Korea. I won't even get started on cows and chickens walking around in the street or making noise when you're trying to sleep.

Now, before anyone thinks I am dissing the Philippines, I still loved it there, and I didn't pay those high fees for lifestyle. I lived in a place that cost about $120 per month, with chickens running around outside, no hot water, and I ate local foods very cheap. Life was slow and relaxing. I could do nothing but watch movies and play with my girlfriend for 2 months and not fear running out of money. My website made enough on autopilot to keep me going.

It's a trade off. I prefer to live in a high tech city like Shanghai, where half of a building might be a video screen, and it feels like you're in Blade Runner[/b]. I prefer to have the internet speeds and cool gadgets that I could have in Seoul. I prefer to have all the anime I can get in Tokyo, but all this means giving something I like in another place, like the girls of the Philippines. If food is my top priority I'm never leaving China! But the ideal would be to combine all these things in one place.

I think Ladislav's old philosophy of work in one place and play in another would be applicable here. I am guessing Winston lives a better life in Taiwan, except he has to give up the girls and companionship he desires and can easily have in the Philippines. So WInston, which is more important to you. Do you want the girls bad enough to go to the gym? Or is it better to simply go back to the Philippines?