衛城的閱讀空間 Willie Chen's Digest of Historic Places

Nationwide 高利活存，國際學生友善開戶，未來在英國貸款的銀行: 對於初到英國留學生而言，尤其是讀研究所一年期而言，英國的銀行給國際學生(International Students) 的學生帳戶 (Student Current Account)的福利都是看得到吃不到，甚至不給開銀行活存帳戶，要不就是開個銀行帳戶百般刁難地址證明，而且都要先在網銀先申請好，在預約當地的分行繳交識別與地址文件! 國際留學生若早一點到英國境內大多選擇 Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC, Santander, Royal Bank of Scotland, Halifax 等的學生帳戶，或者開 Monzo, Revolut, 或 Starling Bank 等線上虛擬銀行，但純網銀從台灣匯款可能就會挺麻煩的，因為沒有對口服務單位也可能不使用 SWIFT Code 當匯款碼! 不論老牌英國銀行的實體銀行就算開戶成功，或者是線上虛擬銀行，學生存在活存帳戶(Student Current Account)內的錢(學費與生活費)幾乎都不給利息，除非另外開定儲蓄帳戶(Savings Account) 或 ISA (Individual Saving Account)(不一定開得成功)，實在是在吃國際學生豆腐，但 Nationwide 這家銀行，就很佛心，給國際學生開了另一條路，還給你 2% 的活存利息，而且因為大部分的國際學生都不知道 Building Society 也是銀行，學生都不會去搶該銀行的面繳文件的號碼牌，可直接走進(walk-in)分行就會有人親切的服務你，而且還請你喝杯咖啡暖暖身! 國際學生多開一家實體銀行並不會牴觸原本已經開的線上的虛擬銀行與其他的學生帳戶，因為當碰到銀行卡因盜刷事件(英國常發生)被停卡或帳戶被凍結時，就會發現多一個帳號的好處，開 Nationwide 有另一個好處就是他的高利活存，可以把大部分的錢先放在該帳戶，每個月再定時轉帳到像 Starling, Revolut 等線上銀行，分開儲蓄與平時消費的帳戶，增加利息也減少盜刷停卡與停帳戶風險。在我的當地城市內的銀行大街上的 Nationwide Building Society 沒有太華麗與雄偉的外表 Nationwide Building Society 是...

From Merchant to Gentry, the Hong's in the forming of Taipei Walled City

" The Past is a Foreign Country ", quote by British novelist L.P. Hartley. A family who is still in their influence for more than two centuries in Britain must have possessed enormous wealth entitled to be a class of nobility and aristocracy who have typically inherited a vast amount of lands and survived through wars and changes in power. Mostly honestly don't due to the economic conditions change over time and what made the first success does not guarantee to the two or three generations to come. Every three decades make a new world we have known for the time we live. A typical quote in Mandarin speaking world that the Wealth Won't Pass for Three Generations is a resounding quote to remind every social class for not to bet on what is inherited but the ability to reinvent. There is a clan of literate that can defy the gravity. This article of another topic in Formosa destinations is about a prominent family in northern Taiwan who has continued to prosper by not th...

A Tale of Forbidden City in Taiwan - The Lee Family Mansion in Luchou【蘆洲李宅】- 台版紫京城

A Farmhouse Built to Last: Luchou Lee Family Mansion (蘆洲李宅) in the west of Taipei city center is a rare farmhouse that posses the Imperial Palace quality of how it was laid and designed when it grew to this present size during the early days of Japanese Formosa. It was inscribed by the Home Office of Taiwan as a Grade III Listed Heritage in 1985 soon after Taiwan passed its first own Cultural Heritage Protection Act, and this became one of the first historic private homes in the country to gain such status as a national treasure. The cultural authority in the 1980's even devised new rule to bypass strong development demand in order to keep the entire mansion property intact from the threat of urbanization. There seems a secrete code of longevity and eternity for this lovely stately home to get hold on to the present day through a series of mindful designs that can go all the way back of how ancient capital cities of China laid their own. Figure: Less decorated and humble looking o...

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Willie Chen 2021