I love trip planning: outlining routes, researching things to see and do, reading travel books. While I always end up changing my plans on the fly, trip research gets me inspired about where I’m going and helps me know what options I have when I land, even if I change plans ten times over the course of a day.

Some of the info I find is on blogs, some is on social media or in guidebooks. I’m constantly having to jump between platforms to look stuff up and compare notes and suggestions. It’s not convenient.

Fortunately, there’s a new tool out there that can help travelers find the best things to see and do on their trips (and at home too). It will bring all your research together in one place.

It’s called Bestlist.
 

What is Bestlist?

Bestlist is a search engine focused solely on helping you discover the best of anything. Restaurants, beaches, activities, excursions, historic sites — you name it.

They crawl the web and aggregate millions of data points, reviews, and comments, and process it all with their proprietary machine-learning models. They measure popularity, sentiment, and more, providing users with the best options for each search query.

Whether you’re planning a trip and looking for inspiration and suggestions or just looking for a place to eat in your hometown, Bestlist can help.

Once you conduct a search on Bestlist, you’ll see that each result includes a short description and a link to an external site. You can then browse your list and save your favorite results to a collection. You can have collections for anything: websites, places to visit, restaurants, things to do, etc.

So far, I have four collections (they’re all travel related of course):

• Things to Do in Amsterdam
• The Best of Thailand
• The Best Travel Resources
• The Best Credit Cards for Travelers

The more you use the site, the more things you can add to your collections. Collections are easy to make, reorder, and expand too. (More on this below.)

Three features that make Bestlist stand out

Here’s a quick look at three other features of Bestlist that I think really help the platform stand out from all the others:

1. Voting: If you feel strongly about a search result, you can upvote or downvote the listing to voice your opinion. The more upvotes something gets, the higher it will appear in the search results (and the more downvotes it gets, the lower it will appear). When you vote, you’ll be asked to state why you voted, which gives other users better insights into the listing. This means you not only get to help shape the results but see why other people voted as they did. This makes the results much more transparent than simply a thumbs up or thumbs down.

2. Submissions: If you find that something is missing from a particular search result, you can submit it as a suggestion using a button at the bottom. Simply add the name and URL of the new listing, and it will be reviewed and published if it makes the cut. So, if there’s something cool from your hometown that’s missing, or you discover an awesome website worth sharing, you have the potential to add it to help improve the platform for everyone else.

3. Privacy: Your personal data is not shared with advertisers or other third parties. This is a big deal, because, as we all know, search engine data is full of personal information about you. I like this feature a lot.
 

How to make a collection

Here’s a quick overview of how to get started building your own collections on Bestlist:

Step 1: Once you’ve made an account, simply visit the homepage and search for whatever it is you’re looking for. In this example, we’ll assume you’re going to NYC and want to find some places to eat. So, search for “best restaurants in New York City” and choose the “list” option.

Step 2: Now that you have a list of suggestions, scroll down to browse. If you see a place that looks interesting, click the “Collect” option to save it to a collection. If you haven’t started a “Restaurants in NYC” collection, you can do so at this point.

On the right side, you’ll also see related searches. So, if you also want to look for museums or accommodations in NYC, you have the option to do so as well (and build collections for any of those results too).

Step 3: Once you review the results and save everything to your collection, you’re all set! All the restaurants you chose will be listed in your collection, where you can view them anytime (and also add more, rearrange, or delete some if you like). If you want to share this collection with your travel buddies (or the general audience on Bestlist), you can make it public. Otherwise, if it’s just for you, you can keep it private.

Bestlist is a new and easy way to search and store information — one that is particularly useful to travelers looking to build itineraries as they plan trips. Not only can you comb the website for awesome suggestions but, as you explore the world, you can add your own, contributing back to the community and ensuring that other travelers benefit from your experiences. So head on over to Bestlist and start searching!

The post Bestlist: A New Search Engine to Help You Plan Better Trips appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Taiwan is one of the most popular destinations for English teachers: it has a high standard of living but is affordable, is home to friendly locals, boasts a world-class food scene, and has a lot of places to explore on your days off (the high-speed trains can get you around the island pretty quickly).

To top it all off, Taiwan is aiming to be bilingual by 2030. That means there is an increased demand for English teachers throughout the country (especially in rural areas). It has stricter standards for teachers than some of its neighbors, but it’s still relatively easy to get a well-paid job there.

To teach English in Taiwan, applicants must be a native English speaker and from an English-speaking country (the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, or New Zealand) and have a bachelor’s degree (though sometimes a master’s is required).

Most schools also require applicants to have at least a 120-hour TEFL certificate and be a licensed teacher in their home country. (If you aren’t a licensed teacher, you can still find work, but it won’t be as high-paying.) You must also have a clean criminal record.

Here’s a breakdown of various teaching opportunities in Taiwan and what to expect for each of them:
 

Buxiban (“cram schools”)

Buxiban are after-school programs that rigorously prepare students for university. They are essentially test-prep schools.

To teach at a buxiban, you don’t need a university degree. However, expect to have a lot of students (as many as 200 in a class in some schools). Most teachers work 15-20 hours a week, but with so many students it can be exhausting.

You’re only paid when you actually teach a class, so anything like grading papers or preparing lessons (and these schools require a considerable amount of prep) is almost always unpaid. Schedules vary greatly too, since classes can happen at all hours of the day.

Teachers at buxiban can expect to earn around 600 NT$ ($20 USD) per hour.

However, if you’re looking to get your foot in the door and don’t have a lot of previous teaching experience, these schools are a good place to start. But before you accept a position with a buxiban, research the company running it to ensure that they are reputable and treat their teachers well. Many are really terrible places.

And while jobs are plentiful, don’t expect great working conditions or benefits. It’s an easy, flexible, and decently-paid job for those with little experience. But it’s not going to glamorous.
 

Public Schools

Jobs in public schools are typically available at the high school level. Classes are large, and teachers should expect to work around 15 hours a week, but they still must be at school from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m during the week. Some schools may compensate you for work done outside the classroom (preparation and grading), but most don’t. Be sure to check before you sign a contract!

Public school teachers receive a lot of perks, though: a housing stipend, free return flights, paid vacation, a grant to cover supplies, and health and dental coverage.

You’ll earn between 62,000 and 90,000 NT$ ($2,075–3,015 USD) a month, depending on where you are teaching and the terms of your end-of-year bonuses. (These schools offer bonuses, so teachers stay for their entire contract.)

If you want a job placement, check out the Taiwan government’s Foreign English Teachers (FET) program.
 

Private Schools

Private schools offer comparable (or lower) salaries compared to public schools but you have far smaller class sizes. There’s usually more competition for their teaching positions, as they offer better benefits, such as paid vacations and a housing stipend (in addition to the benefits you see in public schools too). If you’re teaching in a private school, expect to work anywhere from 16 to 25 hours per week.

Private schools pay 50,000–60,000 NT$ ($1,675–$2,000 USD) a month. Salaries are generally slightly smaller than public schools but the perks and working conditions make it worthwhile.
 

International Schools

The most coveted jobs are in international schools. These schools usually teach a UK or American school curriculum. They require experience and teaching degrees. They are similar to teaching in a school in your home country so you’ll be expected to fulfill your contract and obligations.

International schools cover flights home and reimburse the cost of the vaccines needed for your visa and your visa fee, plus give you money for school supplies and do not charge tax on your income (which is a huge perk, as the tax rate is 18% for teachers in their first 183 days — it drops to 6–10% thereafter).

International school teachers make nearly 200,000 NT$ ($6,700 USD) a month.
 

Colleges and Universities

Teaching positions at colleges and universities are competitive and some of the hardest to come by. To teach in higher education, you need a master’s degree (at the very least). Expect to work varied hours during the week and on weekends depending on your course load.

The starting salary is low — around 52,000 NT$ ($1,745 USD) a month — but you likely will get overtime pay for additional work (which can be as much as an additional 10,000 NT$ ($330 USD) per month). Additionally, salaries for teachers with a PhD will be higher than those for teachers with a master’s degree.
 

Job Resources

In addition to the FET program mentioned earlier, there are numerous online resources you can use to find jobs teaching English in Taiwan but the best resource is Reach to Teach Recruiting. They are placement firm that gives you the best advice out there. They also have the best job listings too. I taught English with the founders back in 2010 and the company they created is the best out there.
 

Applying for a Visa

The visa process for Taiwan is relatively straightforward. Once you’re employed, you need to get a health check and provide the results to your employer. After that, your school will assist you in changing your initial visa-on-arrival to a visitor visa and then help you apply for a work permit. Then, you need to get an alien resident certificate (ARC), which is validated by your employer.

Following getting your ARC, you will receive your health and dental insurance and can open a bank account. Expect the entire process to take around five to six weeks and cost 8,000–10,000 NT$ ($270–335 USD).

Teaching English in Taiwan is a great experience. There is a high demand for teachers, the visa process is straightforward, and you don’t need to have a job before you arrive. And, since salaries more than cover living expenses in the country, it’s a great place to both get your foot in the door as a teacher and make money while living abroad.

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