Canadian returning home after nearly 10 years in Taiwan hit by reverse culture shock

After nearly a decade in Taiwan, a foreign resident returning to Toronto expected to resume life in the West without difficulty. Instead, he said he quickly experienced intense reverse culture shock.

In a Reddit post shared on the 27th of last month, the writer said he had lived in Taiwan for almost 10 years and had not left Asia during that period. Because he continued to engage with Western culture, he believed the transition back to Canada would be easy. He said the adjustment left him physically and mentally exhausted within days.

The complaints focused on ordinary routines. He cited passengers eating on metro trains, a lack of queue markings on platforms, confusing schedules and announcements, and limited public toilets in stations. He also said he felt he had to watch his belongings for theft and found it inconvenient that food prices did not clearly show tax and tips in advance. Even finding a convenience store for coffee could not always be taken for granted, he said.

The post prompted responses from people with similar experiences, including Taiwanese living overseas. Some pointed to healthcare systems and high prices, including hidden costs, as reasons they struggled abroad or eventually returned to Taiwan.

Yeh Yao-yuan, a professor of international studies at the University of St. Thomas in the United States, wrote that he also experiences reverse culture shock whenever he returns to Taiwan. He argued that the issue is not about deciding which place is superior. In his comparison of family life in the United States and Taiwan, he said American homes offer more space, while Taiwan provides stronger basic education and the United States gives children more free time. “It is simply a choice. No one is absolutely better,” he wrote.

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It is simply a choice. No one is absolutely better.