November 4, 2025 • 17 mins
Affordable Gay-Friendly Retirement in Taiwan: Top 5 Cities Ranked
Thinking of retiring in Asia where gay rights have advanced and everyday life feels modern and livable? On episode 614 we head to Taiwan to explore one of the region’s most unexpected retirement gems for gay men: full same-sex marriage, vibrant queer culture, lower cost of living and global infrastructure.
Hosts John & David walk you through the Top 5 Taiwanese cities for LGBTQ+ retirement, break down cost of living, queer infrastructure, and the trade-offs you’ll need to know.
What you’ll get in this episode:
- Why Taiwan leads Asia for LGBTQ+ acceptance and what that really means for early retirement abroad.
- City-by-city breakdown of the Top 5: from tranquil towns to the heart of queer nightlife.
- Average 2-bedroom rent (USD), how the cost of living compares to the U.S., and our updated Queer Money Retirement Rating for each city.
- The one major missing piece for U.S. expats: no tax treaty with the U.S. (yet) and what that can mean for your retirement plan.
- How to weigh “affordability + queer culture” when choosing abroad instead of “cheap only”.
Takeaways:
- You can find a modern, livable retirement location in Asia with strong queer rights and lower cost of living.
- Affordability is relative: even the “cheapest” Taiwanese cities are still going to cost something — quality housing, good transport, medical care matter.
- Legal equality (same-sex marriage) is a huge baseline win — but other elements (trans/non-binary inclusion, tax issues) still vary.
- Your personal “vibe” matters: Are you after quiet affordability or full queer community energy? Taiwan offers both ends of the spectrum.
- Always check the tax/financial dimension early when you’re planning overseas retirement — no treaty with the U.S. = extra research required.
What to do next:
If you’re ready to map out your path to gay-friendly early retirement abroad — whether Taiwan or elsewhere — grab your free Happy Gay Retirement Calculator today at: https://queermoneypodcast.com/hgrcalc
Join the conversation: comment, share your experience, or send us your questions about retiring abroad as gay men.
Suggested other episodes you’ll love:
- Episode 610 – “Top 5 LGBTQ+ Retirement Cities in Greece”
- Episode 599 – “Affordable Gay Retirement Cities in Portugal”
- Episode 575 – “Understanding Tax Treaties Before You Retire Abroad”
- Episode 542 – “Bold Retirements: Gay Men in Mexico’s Pacific Coast Towns”
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
02:22 - Taichung
05:16 - Kaohsiung
07:09 - Tainan
09:10 - New Taipei (suburbs of Taipei)
11:23 - Taipei
15:14 - Outro
Mentioned in this episode:
Get Your Portugal Golden Visa Here!
Get Your Portugal Golden Visa Faster Here!
Want a European passport with access to living in nearly any European country? Just click the link below to find out how.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:17):
Thinking of retiring in Asia,where gay rights have actually advanced
and everyday life feels modernand livable.
Yes, this is Career Money,episode number 614.
And we're heading to Taiwan aspart of our Affordable Gay Friendly
Retirement City series.
And before all of you say, oh,no, Taiwan, it's under the watchful
eye of China.
(00:37):
We all did better.
The watchful eye.
Is it better to have China asyour Neighbor or Washington D.C.
within your own borders right now?
Valid question.
All right, so Taiwan, well,Taiwan does lead the region Asia,
when it comes to LGBTQ acceptance.
While it's offering, it offersa lower cost of living.
(00:59):
It also has solidinfrastructure and a vibrant queer
culture.
It legalized same sex marriagein 2019.
It is a little bit behind whenit comes to non binary and trans
rights, although behind.
I'm not sure exactly who we'recomparing that to, Especially, especially
if we're talking about theUnited States right now.
Conversion therapy has beenbanned there.
(01:20):
Unlike what may be going on inthis country pretty soon.
It is.
There is not currently a taxtreaty between the US And Taiwan.
I know several of you haveasked questions about the videos
that we've done about variouscountries and asking about taxes,
but we did learn that the USGovernment is actually working on
(01:41):
trying to create one.
So two weeks ago we coveredthe Netherlands, and two weeks from
now, we're going to becovering Ecuador by popular demand.
This week, of course, we'recovering Taiwan.
As always, please let us knowwhat we get right, what we get wrong,
and definitely share yourpersonal experiences.
We love those discussions,particularly ourselves, but it's
also very informative to otherpeople who are checking out our social
(02:02):
media YouTube handles to seethose discussions because it's providing
them a lot of valuable information.
In fact, the other daysomebody just, I saw two people think
one was in Mexico and theother one is headed to Mexico.
And they said that they weregoing to try to meet up and try to
show them around whatever cityor town it was that that the person
was living in Mexico.
And I just think that's wonderful.
(02:23):
That's exactly what we need,that we.
Like to have those kind ofconversations happening within the
community.
All right, let's get on withthe top five cities here at the fifth
one coming in at number fiveis now, forgive us in our pronunciations,
but we think this one ispronounced Taichung.
This is probably one of theeasier ones.
So why is this great?
(02:43):
Well, it's often seen as themiddle ground between Taipei, the
large hustle bustle city onthe island of Taiwan, and the southern
cities which have a muchslower pace of life.
It offers a good climate, it'sbetter traffic than Taipei and the
sprawling metropolis there.
But it does also have agrowing arts and cafe culture.
(03:05):
Some of the downsides here, itdoes have a much smaller queer scene
and less centralized scenethan say, for example, Taipei.
Some expats say that thenightlife here is limited and we
don't have any personalexperience here, so we're going to
have to trust them.
Public transportation here isdecent, but not as extensive as say,
for example, Taipei.
(03:26):
Some of the LGBTQ vibe.
What's going on here?
Well, there are some gay barsand some gay friendly cafes, but
they are scattered.
Pride events often includeTaichung in the circuit.
And keep in mind, Taiwan is anisland with roughly around 23 to
24 million people.
And there are queer activitiesthat go around the whole country.
(03:46):
Taiwan does have aninternational film festival and it
does have screenings here in Taichung.
Some of the perks here arethat there is more space for your
money.
You're going to have a lotless noise and a much more relaxed
daily pace of life.
You do still have access togreat hospitals, good culture and
connectivity to Taipei.
(04:08):
As we know, when you getoutside the United States, it seems
like there's a lot betterpublic transportation, especially
when it comes to trains.
And that's the case here in Taiwan.
Real estate here is much more affordable.
When it comes to the averagetwo bedroom in Taichung, you're looking
at some where between sixhundred and thirteen hundred dollars.
Now I know that's awidespread, but it also depends on
(04:31):
the neighborhood and thequality of the accommodations that
you're.
Actually $1,300 a month is notthat bad for a rent.
Right.
We would take that right now,I think especially if 1300 is kind
of those higher end.
Right.
As far as overall cost ofliving versus the U.S. well, Taiwan
itself is a much significantlycheaper country than the United States.
(04:53):
On average, the country itselfis around 56% less than the U.S.
some sources are saying thatthe U.S. in that the U.S. is about
77% more expensive.
Overall, Taichung itself isfalling in the 50 to 60% range cheaper
than the U.S. and obviouslythat depends on the type of housing
(05:13):
that you're choosing.
So for all these reasons,we're giving a queer money retirement
rating of 7 out of 10.
Good value, decent quality oflife, just not a major hub for the
queer scene.
Sounds good.
Coming in number four is Kai Shang.
It's great because this is inthe southern Taiwan Region with warmer
weather, sea access, and amuch more relaxed pace of life.
(05:34):
Local site that rent and costof living here are much, much cheaper
than Taipei.
It seems like Taipei is sortof like the barometer for everything
in Taiwan.
Yeah.
The downsides are thatconsequently the public transportation
is not that great.
It's not nearly as developedand even relative to Kai Sheng.
Did I say that right?
(05:57):
It's got a smaller, a muchmore fractured LGBTQ scene, but it
is very LGBTQ plus friendly.
Kai Sheng hosts its own prideevery year in December.
Somebody quoted a quote we gotfrom somebody says that Kaishang
has a limited but radianthomosexual scene.
You know, it's interesting, Idid see one statistic, I'm just recalling
(06:19):
this, that said that theysurveyed people in Taiwan and I think
it was somewhere around 60 to64% of people said that their town
or city was a great place forLGBT people to live.
Which is interesting that.
That.
That's a question they wouldask at the general public.
Yeah, and the listing heresays many mainstream businesses are
very, very LGBTQ plus friendly.
(06:41):
The perks are that you have amuch more affordable coastal life,
warm climate, good food, lesscrowds in Taipei for certain, and
still access to major, biggercities sort of infrastructure.
Taiwan is definitely much,definitely well developed.
Average two bedroom goes foras low as $850 to $900 a month, again,
depending on the quality andthe location.
(07:03):
Cost of living versus the USis about 45 to 60% cheaper than the
US national average.
And for all these reasons,we're giving it a queer money retirement
rating of 8 out of 10.
Strong value and solid qualityof life with a decent queer presence.
All right, coming in at numberthree is Tainan.
Yeah, Tainan.
(07:25):
Why is this great?
Well, it is a historic town.
It is very calm in a muchslower pace of life compared to,
again, Taipei.
It does have, for all thosereasons, a lower cost of living,
much more local vibe and, and,but yet it's still well connected
by train to the major citiesaround the island.
Some of the downsides, it is asmaller city.
(07:46):
Right.
So there's going to be less ofeverything, including less nightlife,
less.
Fewer queer venues.
There are some medical andcultural services here, but if you
want some of the major ones,you may have to travel to some of
the bigger cities.
As far as the LGBTQ vibe,there are queer friendly cafes and,
and it does participate inthose national LGBTQ events.
(08:10):
There are some bars andmeetups, but oftentimes they're low
key, much more community based.
So you're not Necessarilygoing to a gay bar, you're probably
going with a community ofpeople to a local bar.
As far as some of the perks,lower cost of housing here is really
important.
Also a quieter environmentcompared to the big bustle of the
big cities.
There is deep culture there.
(08:32):
This is a great place forretirees who are looking for serenity.
Right.
People who are looking forsomething, right.
They're looking for somethingthat is not necessarily a large city
with lots of large city amenities.
As far as cost of living, theaverage two bedroom in Tynan is going
to go for anywhere between 600and 1100.
(08:53):
Again, location, amenities,quality of, of the housing is a big
factor here.
Overall cost of living inThailand is about 50 to 60% cheaper
than the US and for all thesereasons, we're giving a queer money
retirement an 8 out of 10 for that.
Quiet cheap life.
Did you say quiet cheap life?
(09:15):
I don't know if those twowords go together.
Our runner up is Taiyuan, alsoknown as New Taipei.
Insert Great.
Has great proximity to TaipeiSquare, infrastructure, international
airport transport, medicalcare and culture.
But lower rents and lesscongestion because you're not right
in the heart of the city.
Downsides are you're stillkind of commuting for a lot of the
(09:37):
things that you may want into Taipei.
LGBTQ vibe hotspots is veryclose to Taipei.
So it's just a hop, skip andjump to all the gay things.
Gay bars, gay events, gay drag chairs.
Skip, skip, skip, skip, skip.
The Red House district isvery, very popular.
That's the, that's the ball, right?
Yeah.
So this is really cool.
It's a mall full of shops thatare open during the day and then
(09:59):
when the shops close, the mallturns basically into a bunch of gay
bars.
That's how they make really.
That's how they make up for their.
Lost sales day, I guess.
You get the gays drunk andthey make buy things.
You have all the retail queensthere anyway, so it just kind of
naturally they're all thereready to shop or I'm sorry, ready
to drink.
Exactly.
Hercs are.
It's sort of the best of bothworlds, right?
(10:20):
You have the lower cost ofliving than central Taipei, but access
to the top tier queer cultureand amenities such as gay evening
drinking, partying, shoppingand a good, good transit connectivity.
Average two bedroom goes forabout 15, 1600 dollars a month in,
in US dollars in the suburbsyou can probably go about 20 to 30%
(10:41):
cheaper at about 1100 to $1300a month.
Official cost of living isabout 60 to 65% lower than the US
national average.
Remember, we're speaking on anational level, so not exactly comparing
apples to apples, but we'retrying to keep it somewhat consistent
across each episode.
For all these reasons, we'regiving it a Queer Money Retirement
rating of 9 out of 10.
(11:02):
Excellent compromise betweencosts and full access.
All right, coming in at numberone is Taipei and several of the
districts within Taipei thatare very much focused on the.
On the LGBT community.
There are some hot pockets here.
Hot pockets, hot spots for.
(11:22):
For the lgbt.
Right.
Dumplings.
One of the great things about,about Taipei, John and I have some
friends who just recentlymoved from Taiwan back to the United
States, but they startedsomething called Asia Rainbow Ride.
And this is basically a multiday bicycle ride that was designed
to raise aw awareness for theLGBT community and it has continued
(11:46):
spreads.
Love.
Yeah.
As far as what else is greatabout Taipei?
It has the best infrastructurein the country.
It has the host, the state ofthe art hospitals.
It has a great drag scene, artscene, nightlife, all sorts of community
things going on there.
So it's really, really astrong spot for the queer community.
(12:07):
Like with most big cities incountries, it oftentimes attracts
the LGBT community because wefeel safer there.
It is the hub for expats andforeigners and international amenities,
especially for those who arefrom the LGBT community.
Some of the downsides is thisis the most expensive city in Taiwan.
So again, depending on exactlywhere you're at and what's interesting
(12:31):
is the, the closer you are to.
And this, I think this kind ofhappens here in the United States.
The closer you are to the massRapid transit or mrt, the pricier
things are.
I mean, we know that in NewYork City, the closer you are to
the, the train stops there,the more expensive it is.
(12:51):
But keep in mind that's alsowhere the congestion, the noise and
the crowds are.
So that's one of the tradeoffs as far as the LGBTQ vibe.
There is Red House here aswell in and I think it's pronounced
Zhi Mending Jimending areas.
They are recognized as the gay districts.
You're going to have bars there.
(13:12):
Some of the ones that we areaware of are G Star Circle, Secret
Garden.
There's a deep drag community here.
There are lots of LGBTQfocused events.
There are pride marches, thereis the Queer Film Festival.
That all started right here in Taipei.
Some of the perks for retirees.
(13:32):
This is where you're going tohave top access to medical care,
excellent public transportation.
Especially if those of you whodecide that you don't want to drive,
that's really important.
And there's a lot of Englishfriendly services in Taipei.
So if you're on your path, andyou should be, if you plan on moving
here on your path to learningone of the many dialects of Chinese
(13:53):
that is spoken in the country,if you need to default back to English,
you're going to be able tofind some support there.
It also is the kind of the hubfor where you would go to get off
the island to other parts ofAsia through direct flights to other
countries.
As far as the cost of living,you're going to look, you're looking
(14:14):
for around an average of about15 to 16 hundred dollars for your
two bedroom apartment.
Cost of living overall isabout 31 to 32% cheaper than the
US so that is still such ahuge discount, especially if you
are carless and you don't havethe car payment, the car insurance,
(14:34):
all of that and to amazing food.
Yeah.
And so this really is probablythe hot spot where and that's for
why we are giving this the top rating.
It did come in at number one,a queer money retirement rating of
9 out of 10 because it has thehighest queer infrastructure and
amenities as well as thethings that retirees would need.
(14:55):
So Taiwan offers remarkablebalance for queer retirees including
full legal recognition,vibrant queer life, great public
services, and significantlylower COL relative to the US of A.
Col.
So if you can bear a bit morein rent, Taipei is probably the premium
pick for that full queer immersion.
(15:17):
But for those of you who areprioritizing affordability and the
calm, tranquil life, Tiyuan,Taiyuan suburbs as well as Kaohsiung
and Tainan are probably someof the places that are more compelling.
Which one of these sounds mostlike your vibe?
(15:37):
Let us know in the comments.
And then remember, if you wantto map out your path to being able
to retire either early orright on time, get your queer money.
I'm sorry, your happy gayretirement calculator at the QR code
on the screen in thedescription of this YouTube video
or the link in your podcast player.
And if you want all of thoseQueer Money retirement ratings for
(15:58):
all the cities that we werelooking at around the world, go ahead
and go toqueermoneypodcast.com forward/cities
and come back next week.
When we cover the high levelstuff of what you need to know about
tax treaties.
For those who are looking toretire abroad because Uncle Sam or
Donald Trump is always goingto claw and get.
His money back, we're bringingin an expert to help understand this
(16:21):
because John and I decided wetried it and we said that didn't
sound good outside.
Of our skill set.
Yeah.
And then if you like Italianmen in speedos, come back in two
weeks when we cover the topfive places for gay retirees in Italy.
If you love this episode,please remember to, like, subscribe
and click all the bells andwhistles so that your friends and
you can retire fabulouslyabroad as well.
(16:42):
And until next time, stayfabulous and.
Thinking of retiring in Asia,where gay rights have actually advanced
and everyday life feels modernand livable.
Yes, this is Career Money,episode number 614.
And we're heading to Taiwan aspart of our Affordable Gay Friendly
Retirement City series.
And before all of you say, oh,no, Taiwan, it's under the watchful
eye of China.
(00:37):
We all did better.
The watchful eye.
Is it better to have China asyour Neighbor or Washington D.C.
within your own borders right now?
Valid question.
All right, so Taiwan, well,Taiwan does lead the region Asia,
when it comes to LGBTQ acceptance.
While it's offering, it offersa lower cost of living.
(00:59):
It also has solidinfrastructure and a vibrant queer
culture.
It legalized same sex marriagein 2019.
It is a little bit behind whenit comes to non binary and trans
rights, although behind.
I'm not sure exactly who we'recomparing that to, Especially, especially
if we're talking about theUnited States right now.
Conversion therapy has beenbanned there.
(01:20):
Unlike what may be going on inthis country pretty soon.
It is.
There is not currently a taxtreaty between the US And Taiwan.
I know several of you haveasked questions about the videos
that we've done about variouscountries and asking about taxes,
but we did learn that the USGovernment is actually working on
(01:41):
trying to create one.
So two weeks ago we coveredthe Netherlands, and two weeks from
now, we're going to becovering Ecuador by popular demand.
This week, of course, we'recovering Taiwan.
As always, please let us knowwhat we get right, what we get wrong,
and definitely share yourpersonal experiences.
We love those discussions,particularly ourselves, but it's
also very informative to otherpeople who are checking out our social
(02:02):
media YouTube handles to seethose discussions because it's providing
them a lot of valuable information.
In fact, the other daysomebody just, I saw two people think
one was in Mexico and theother one is headed to Mexico.
And they said that they weregoing to try to meet up and try to
show them around whatever cityor town it was that that the person
was living in Mexico.
And I just think that's wonderful.
(02:23):
That's exactly what we need,that we.
Like to have those kind ofconversations happening within the
community.
All right, let's get on withthe top five cities here at the fifth
one coming in at number fiveis now, forgive us in our pronunciations,
but we think this one ispronounced Taichung.
This is probably one of theeasier ones.
So why is this great?
(02:43):
Well, it's often seen as themiddle ground between Taipei, the
large hustle bustle city onthe island of Taiwan, and the southern
cities which have a muchslower pace of life.
It offers a good climate, it'sbetter traffic than Taipei and the
sprawling metropolis there.
But it does also have agrowing arts and cafe culture.
(03:05):
Some of the downsides here, itdoes have a much smaller queer scene
and less centralized scenethan say, for example, Taipei.
Some expats say that thenightlife here is limited and we
don't have any personalexperience here, so we're going to
have to trust them.
Public transportation here isdecent, but not as extensive as say,
for example, Taipei.
(03:26):
Some of the LGBTQ vibe.
What's going on here?
Well, there are some gay barsand some gay friendly cafes, but
they are scattered.
Pride events often includeTaichung in the circuit.
And keep in mind, Taiwan is anisland with roughly around 23 to
24 million people.
And there are queer activitiesthat go around the whole country.
(03:46):
Taiwan does have aninternational film festival and it
does have screenings here in Taichung.
Some of the perks here arethat there is more space for your
money.
You're going to have a lotless noise and a much more relaxed
daily pace of life.
You do still have access togreat hospitals, good culture and
connectivity to Taipei.
(04:08):
As we know, when you getoutside the United States, it seems
like there's a lot betterpublic transportation, especially
when it comes to trains.
And that's the case here in Taiwan.
Real estate here is much more affordable.
When it comes to the averagetwo bedroom in Taichung, you're looking
at some where between sixhundred and thirteen hundred dollars.
Now I know that's awidespread, but it also depends on
(04:31):
the neighborhood and thequality of the accommodations that
you're.
Actually $1,300 a month is notthat bad for a rent.
Right.
We would take that right now,I think especially if 1300 is kind
of those higher end.
Right.
As far as overall cost ofliving versus the U.S. well, Taiwan
itself is a much significantlycheaper country than the United States.
(04:53):
On average, the country itselfis around 56% less than the U.S.
some sources are saying thatthe U.S. in that the U.S. is about
77% more expensive.
Overall, Taichung itself isfalling in the 50 to 60% range cheaper
than the U.S. and obviouslythat depends on the type of housing
(05:13):
that you're choosing.
So for all these reasons,we're giving a queer money retirement
rating of 7 out of 10.
Good value, decent quality oflife, just not a major hub for the
queer scene.
Sounds good.
Coming in number four is Kai Shang.
It's great because this is inthe southern Taiwan Region with warmer
weather, sea access, and amuch more relaxed pace of life.
(05:34):
Local site that rent and costof living here are much, much cheaper
than Taipei.
It seems like Taipei is sortof like the barometer for everything
in Taiwan.
Yeah.
The downsides are thatconsequently the public transportation
is not that great.
It's not nearly as developedand even relative to Kai Sheng.
Did I say that right?
(05:57):
It's got a smaller, a muchmore fractured LGBTQ scene, but it
is very LGBTQ plus friendly.
Kai Sheng hosts its own prideevery year in December.
Somebody quoted a quote we gotfrom somebody says that Kaishang
has a limited but radianthomosexual scene.
You know, it's interesting, Idid see one statistic, I'm just recalling
(06:19):
this, that said that theysurveyed people in Taiwan and I think
it was somewhere around 60 to64% of people said that their town
or city was a great place forLGBT people to live.
Which is interesting that.
That.
That's a question they wouldask at the general public.
Yeah, and the listing heresays many mainstream businesses are
very, very LGBTQ plus friendly.
(06:41):
The perks are that you have amuch more affordable coastal life,
warm climate, good food, lesscrowds in Taipei for certain, and
still access to major, biggercities sort of infrastructure.
Taiwan is definitely much,definitely well developed.
Average two bedroom goes foras low as $850 to $900 a month, again,
depending on the quality andthe location.
(07:03):
Cost of living versus the USis about 45 to 60% cheaper than the
US national average.
And for all these reasons,we're giving it a queer money retirement
rating of 8 out of 10.
Strong value and solid qualityof life with a decent queer presence.
All right, coming in at numberthree is Tainan.
Yeah, Tainan.
(07:25):
Why is this great?
Well, it is a historic town.
It is very calm in a muchslower pace of life compared to,
again, Taipei.
It does have, for all thosereasons, a lower cost of living,
much more local vibe and, and,but yet it's still well connected
by train to the major citiesaround the island.
Some of the downsides, it is asmaller city.
(07:46):
Right.
So there's going to be less ofeverything, including less nightlife,
less.
Fewer queer venues.
There are some medical andcultural services here, but if you
want some of the major ones,you may have to travel to some of
the bigger cities.
As far as the LGBTQ vibe,there are queer friendly cafes and,
and it does participate inthose national LGBTQ events.
(08:10):
There are some bars andmeetups, but oftentimes they're low
key, much more community based.
So you're not Necessarilygoing to a gay bar, you're probably
going with a community ofpeople to a local bar.
As far as some of the perks,lower cost of housing here is really
important.
Also a quieter environmentcompared to the big bustle of the
big cities.
There is deep culture there.
(08:32):
This is a great place forretirees who are looking for serenity.
Right.
People who are looking forsomething, right.
They're looking for somethingthat is not necessarily a large city
with lots of large city amenities.
As far as cost of living, theaverage two bedroom in Tynan is going
to go for anywhere between 600and 1100.
(08:53):
Again, location, amenities,quality of, of the housing is a big
factor here.
Overall cost of living inThailand is about 50 to 60% cheaper
than the US and for all thesereasons, we're giving a queer money
retirement an 8 out of 10 for that.
Quiet cheap life.
Did you say quiet cheap life?
(09:15):
I don't know if those twowords go together.
Our runner up is Taiyuan, alsoknown as New Taipei.
Insert Great.
Has great proximity to TaipeiSquare, infrastructure, international
airport transport, medicalcare and culture.
But lower rents and lesscongestion because you're not right
in the heart of the city.
Downsides are you're stillkind of commuting for a lot of the
(09:37):
things that you may want into Taipei.
LGBTQ vibe hotspots is veryclose to Taipei.
So it's just a hop, skip andjump to all the gay things.
Gay bars, gay events, gay drag chairs.
Skip, skip, skip, skip, skip.
The Red House district isvery, very popular.
That's the, that's the ball, right?
Yeah.
So this is really cool.
It's a mall full of shops thatare open during the day and then
(09:59):
when the shops close, the mallturns basically into a bunch of gay
bars.
That's how they make really.
That's how they make up for their.
Lost sales day, I guess.
You get the gays drunk andthey make buy things.
You have all the retail queensthere anyway, so it just kind of
naturally they're all thereready to shop or I'm sorry, ready
to drink.
Exactly.
Hercs are.
It's sort of the best of bothworlds, right?
(10:20):
You have the lower cost ofliving than central Taipei, but access
to the top tier queer cultureand amenities such as gay evening
drinking, partying, shoppingand a good, good transit connectivity.
Average two bedroom goes forabout 15, 1600 dollars a month in,
in US dollars in the suburbsyou can probably go about 20 to 30%
(10:41):
cheaper at about 1100 to $1300a month.
Official cost of living isabout 60 to 65% lower than the US
national average.
Remember, we're speaking on anational level, so not exactly comparing
apples to apples, but we'retrying to keep it somewhat consistent
across each episode.
For all these reasons, we'regiving it a Queer Money Retirement
rating of 9 out of 10.
(11:02):
Excellent compromise betweencosts and full access.
All right, coming in at numberone is Taipei and several of the
districts within Taipei thatare very much focused on the.
On the LGBT community.
There are some hot pockets here.
Hot pockets, hot spots for.
(11:22):
For the lgbt.
Right.
Dumplings.
One of the great things about,about Taipei, John and I have some
friends who just recentlymoved from Taiwan back to the United
States, but they startedsomething called Asia Rainbow Ride.
And this is basically a multiday bicycle ride that was designed
to raise aw awareness for theLGBT community and it has continued
(11:46):
spreads.
Love.
Yeah.
As far as what else is greatabout Taipei?
It has the best infrastructurein the country.
It has the host, the state ofthe art hospitals.
It has a great drag scene, artscene, nightlife, all sorts of community
things going on there.
So it's really, really astrong spot for the queer community.
(12:07):
Like with most big cities incountries, it oftentimes attracts
the LGBT community because wefeel safer there.
It is the hub for expats andforeigners and international amenities,
especially for those who arefrom the LGBT community.
Some of the downsides is thisis the most expensive city in Taiwan.
So again, depending on exactlywhere you're at and what's interesting
(12:31):
is the, the closer you are to.
And this, I think this kind ofhappens here in the United States.
The closer you are to the massRapid transit or mrt, the pricier
things are.
I mean, we know that in NewYork City, the closer you are to
the, the train stops there,the more expensive it is.
(12:51):
But keep in mind that's alsowhere the congestion, the noise and
the crowds are.
So that's one of the tradeoffs as far as the LGBTQ vibe.
There is Red House here aswell in and I think it's pronounced
Zhi Mending Jimending areas.
They are recognized as the gay districts.
You're going to have bars there.
(13:12):
Some of the ones that we areaware of are G Star Circle, Secret
Garden.
There's a deep drag community here.
There are lots of LGBTQfocused events.
There are pride marches, thereis the Queer Film Festival.
That all started right here in Taipei.
Some of the perks for retirees.
(13:32):
This is where you're going tohave top access to medical care,
excellent public transportation.
Especially if those of you whodecide that you don't want to drive,
that's really important.
And there's a lot of Englishfriendly services in Taipei.
So if you're on your path, andyou should be, if you plan on moving
here on your path to learningone of the many dialects of Chinese
(13:53):
that is spoken in the country,if you need to default back to English,
you're going to be able tofind some support there.
It also is the kind of the hubfor where you would go to get off
the island to other parts ofAsia through direct flights to other
countries.
As far as the cost of living,you're going to look, you're looking
(14:14):
for around an average of about15 to 16 hundred dollars for your
two bedroom apartment.
Cost of living overall isabout 31 to 32% cheaper than the
US so that is still such ahuge discount, especially if you
are carless and you don't havethe car payment, the car insurance,
(14:34):
all of that and to amazing food.
Yeah.
And so this really is probablythe hot spot where and that's for
why we are giving this the top rating.
It did come in at number one,a queer money retirement rating of
9 out of 10 because it has thehighest queer infrastructure and
amenities as well as thethings that retirees would need.
(14:55):
So Taiwan offers remarkablebalance for queer retirees including
full legal recognition,vibrant queer life, great public
services, and significantlylower COL relative to the US of A.
Col.
So if you can bear a bit morein rent, Taipei is probably the premium
pick for that full queer immersion.
(15:17):
But for those of you who areprioritizing affordability and the
calm, tranquil life, Tiyuan,Taiyuan suburbs as well as Kaohsiung
and Tainan are probably someof the places that are more compelling.
Which one of these sounds mostlike your vibe?
(15:37):
Let us know in the comments.
And then remember, if you wantto map out your path to being able
to retire either early orright on time, get your queer money.
I'm sorry, your happy gayretirement calculator at the QR code
on the screen in thedescription of this YouTube video
or the link in your podcast player.
And if you want all of thoseQueer Money retirement ratings for
(15:58):
all the cities that we werelooking at around the world, go ahead
and go toqueermoneypodcast.com forward/cities
and come back next week.
When we cover the high levelstuff of what you need to know about
tax treaties.
For those who are looking toretire abroad because Uncle Sam or
Donald Trump is always goingto claw and get.
His money back, we're bringingin an expert to help understand this
(16:21):
because John and I decided wetried it and we said that didn't
sound good outside.
Of our skill set.
Yeah.
And then if you like Italianmen in speedos, come back in two
weeks when we cover the topfive places for gay retirees in Italy.
If you love this episode,please remember to, like, subscribe
and click all the bells andwhistles so that your friends and
you can retire fabulouslyabroad as well.
(16:42):
And until next time, stayfabulous and.
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