Moving to California from Taiwan
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Taiwan to California — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Taiwan to California, you would find that California is 2.4 times more expensive than Taiwan overall. A NT$2,408,512 salary in Taiwan would need to be roughly $123,424 in California to maintain the same lifestyle, and you’d need to navigate life in English.
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How your spending power changes when you relocate from Taiwan to California.
What does your salary buy?
NT$2,408,512 → $123,424
To maintain the same standard of living in California
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 3.3 times more
Groceries
pay 35.6% more
Transportation
pay 57.2% more
Housing
pay 4.7 times more
Childcare
pay 2.5 times more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.3 times more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in California cost about 92% more than cities in Taiwan.
Compare cities head-to-head
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Who Else Is Making This Move?
Real numbers on people moving from Taiwan to California, and how the trend has changed.
people moved from Taiwan to United States · OECD (latest data available)
Who's moving to United States?
Top countries of origin for United States's foreign-born residents.
- 10,853,105
- 2,723,764
- 2,184,110
- 2,061,178
- 1,829,251
- 1,410,659
Key Indicator Comparison
How Taiwan and California stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
California performs significantly better than Taiwan across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
share of people below the poverty line
Taiwan generally does better on employment & economy, though California leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
Taiwan performs better than California across all family life metrics.
Data: The World Factbook
Visitor Visa Requirements
Short-stay tourist visa rules between Taiwan and United States. To live, work, or study long-term in United States, you'll need a separate residence or work visa — check United States's immigration authority.
Taiwan passport holder visiting United States
Electronic Travel Authorisation
United States passport holder visiting Taiwan
Visa FreeData: Henley Passport Index. Check with the destination country's embassy for the most current requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in California than Taiwan?
Day-to-day costs in California run about 65% higher than Taiwan on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to California?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a NT$2,408,512 comparable salary, that's around $30,856 in California for everyday spending, before flights, shipping, a rental deposit, and visa fees.
Can I work remotely from California?
Working remotely from California's major cities is generally feasible. The legal layer matters more — visa category, employer policy on overseas employees, and tax residency in Taiwan and California.
What language do they speak in California?
The official language in California is English. In Taiwan, the official language is Chinese.
