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Blog / Celebrating International Women’s Day: Building Social Connections in Taiwan
Blog / Celebrating International Women’s Day: Building Social Connections in Taiwan
International Women's Day, marked every year on March 8th, aims to recognize the achievements of women the world over. In celebration of that, in this article we will be exploring some of the best ways for women to create social connections throughout their time in Taiwan.
Moving abroad can be an exhilarating time, filled with adventure, new challenges, and many, many attempts to pack a suitcase in a way that 40 kg of stuff weighs less than 23 kg (alright, maybe that last one is just me). But it can also be lonely trying to find your feet in a new culture thousands of miles from friends, family, and anything familiar. Building a support network is key to settling into life in Taiwan. Luckily for all of us, there are a host of groups and events throughout the island to help.
Girl Gone International aims to create a fun, friendly, and empowering network of globally-minded women. They are one of the world’s largest communities for female expats and host a huge number of meetups every month. Just a few of those happening this month include wine tasting, book club meetups, and hiking.
Their location-specific Facebook groups are a great way to find other female expats in your area. Below are the links to the Taipei and Kaohsiung groups. And if there isn’t currently a community in your city, why not head here to start your own?
Kaohsiung | Girl Gone International / Taipei | Girl Gone International
Information exchange Facebook groups aim to serve as a space for women to seek and offer recommendations for living in Taiwan. They are an excellent way to connect with both the local and international female community in your area. Whether you want advice on finding English-speaking healthcare providers, western products, or you just want to find clothes that fit, these groups are an excellent resource.
There are groups up and down the island, in:
It’s worth noting that some of these groups are secret groups on Facebook and require an invite to join (and in some cases even find). So just because it doesn’t come up in your search results doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It might be worth asking in one of the many…
…Foreigners in (literally any place in Taiwan you can think of) groups if anyone can help. Alternatively, you can make this another destination to connect with other ‘foreigners’ of any gender. The majority of areas have thriving groups just a quick tap into the search bar away.
Other miscellaneous groups are also found across the country. Below is a list of some that focus on particular areas of interest and aim to support and connect women specifically.
And finally, if the idea of meeting up with a whole group of strangers sounds too intimidating Bumble Bff acts like a dating app, but for friends, so less terrible.
Connecting with those around you doesn’t always come easy, especially when you’re far from home. Hopefully the links above will take a little bit of the ‘work’ out of building a net(work) of social support wherever you live on the island. Happy International Women’s Day, enjoy life and remember to keep supporting your fellow female teachers!
Writen by Natalie (a version of this article originally appeared in the Women in Shane Education Newsletter April 2024 edition)
Published by: Head Office
