5 questions: Thinking of moving to TaiChung

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
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Cut and pasted from onlyredheadintaiwan.blogspot.com … chung.html

Here we go.

The main reason I am here is to learn Chinese. No…wait, I take that back. The main reason I am here is to meet Fanfan’s family and to get to know the place where she grew up. Part of doing that is learning Chinese. The added bonuses are many: I’m very interested in different languages and cultures; I intend to enroll in some sort of graduate program in the future to study the social and political effects of a shrinking – dare I say Flat-ish? – world, and Chinese would be a good language to have under my belt before I do; and I’ll finally be able to understand what Fanfan’s laughing at when she watches TV.

Studying Chinese requires money. Most of the people who visit this site regularly probably know that I lived in Paris last year, as a student, without a job, using money I had saved up as a kid. Two months of working between Paris and Taipei provided me enough funds to get buy, but I’m also supposed to be saving for an eventual masters/doctoral in the US – that don’t come cheap.

Cutting to the chase, Taipei is expensive. My apartment, according to everyone who’s been, here is a steal (13 ping for NT$13,000/month), but I have seven leaks in the ceiling, two psychotic neighbors, and the neighborhood isn’t top – though it’s close to Shi Da and Tai Da. Upon browsing apartments in TaiChung I --well, Fanfan – found apartments nearly twice the size of mine, furnished, with washing/dryer, tv, etc.etc. from four to six thousand dollars less per month!

Add to this, that Fanfan is starting to hate her job. She was not meant to be an editor. She’s a journalist. She wants to quit her job, get a less lucrative job (which is not to say that hers is lucrative – I’m convinced someone doing her job in Europe or the US would be getting paid at least ten times more than she is) at a bookstore or something , and start building her repertoire and contacts as a freelance journalist on the side (she’s already got quite a few contacts throughout Taiwan and China that are ready to accept articles she may write).

Therefore:

If we move to TaiChung, spend less on a month to month basis, while still having a combined salary that matches what we’re making here, we could save money in TaiChung. Not only that, we could get out of Taipei. Not only that, Fanfan could be a lot less stressed out.

Her brother, Chih-Chiang, lived in TaiChung for years, and loved it, but he had to come back here to do work for the Academia Sinica (a way to wiggle out of that pesky military servise that’s required of men here).

I’ve contacted Michael Turton, who lives in TaiChung. He said that I shouldn’t have to much trouble finding a job and I could study at the TaiChung branch of TLI (WARNING: annoying bird churping sounds) or TungHai University – both of which, I’m not mistaken, cost less than Tai Da, but I’ve only glanced at the info.

QUESTIONS:

  1. Life in the city: Do you TaiChung ren like life there? I know some of you have been there for quite some time, so I assume you do…
  2. Money: Should we be able to save money there?
  3. Money again: What sort of pay should I expect there? We’re thinking of coming in June. I’ll have about ten months teaching experience and several months of Chinese study under my belt, is that a big enough chip to put on the table to get maybe NT$60,000/month? Also, I’d like to teach mostly adults. Though, I’ll certainly teach children as well.
  4. Crime: Which image of TaiChung is more accurate: mafia infested, crime capital or peaceful smaller-than-Taipei cultural center. We’ve heard both. Some people say, “Oh I love Taichung!” and other say, “Shit man, that place is dangerous. There’s so much theft there that I’ve known people who come home with no pants, no money, and no soul.” (The latter is an extreme exaggeration)
  5. Weather: I hear it doesn’t rain nearly as much there as it does here, please tell me that’s true. The sun doesn’t come out but once every two weeks in Taipei.
  6. Transportation: Is it true that if you live in TaiChung you have to have a moped? Is it that spread out?

Thanks in advance to anyone who offers me any tidbits they can about making this transition.

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[quote=“rmaguir”]Therefore:

If we move to TaiChung, spend less on a month to month basis, while still having a combined salary that matches what we’re making here, we could save money in TaiChung. Not only that, we could get out of Taipei. Not only that, Fanfan could be a lot less stressed out.

Her brother, Chih-Chiang, lived in TaiChung for years, and loved it, but he had to come back here to do work for the Academia Sinica (a way to wiggle out of that pesky military servise that’s required of men here).

I’ve contacted Michael Turton, who lives in TaiChung. He said that I shouldn’t have to much trouble finding a job and I could study at the TaiChung branch of TLI (WARNING: annoying bird churping sounds) or TungHai University – both of which, I’m not mistaken, cost less than Tai-Da, but I’ve only glanced at the info.

QUESTIONS:

  1. Life in the city: Do you TaiChung ren like life there? I know some of you have been there for quite some time, so I assume you do…
  2. Money: Should we be able to save money there?
  3. Money again: What sort of pay should I expect there? We’re thinking of coming in June. I’ll have about ten months teaching experience and several months of Chinese study under my belt, is that a big enough chip to put on the table to get maybe NT$60,000/month? Also, I’d like to teach mostly adults. Though, I’ll certainly teach children as well.
  4. Crime: Which image of TaiChung is more accurate: mafia infested, crime capital or peaceful smaller-than-Taipei cultural center. We’ve heard both. Some people say, “Oh I love Taichung!” and other say, “Shit man, that place is dangerous. There’s so much theft there that I’ve known people who come home with no pants, no money, and no soul.” (The latter is an extreme exaggeration)
  5. Weather: I hear it doesn’t rain nearly as much there as it does here, please tell me that’s true. The sun doesn’t come out but once every two weeks in Taipei.
  6. Transportation: Is it true that if you live in TaiChung you have to have a moped? Is it that spread out?

Thanks in advance to anyone who offers me any tidbits they can about making this transition.[/quote]

Look at how many of the long-term Taiwan expats are living out of Taipei, or out of the big cities altogether. There must be something pulling us out here, right? NT$13k for 15 pings or whatever it was? Sure, that’s great value for a shoebox cough.

Taichung, like any other damned city, is as safe or dangerous as you make it. If you drive you will get frustrated. Unfortunately it’s pretty difficult to make do with the public transport if you don’t. If you get drunk in bars a lot you might end up in a fight one day. That’s about it. Anyone who makes out that’s it’s some kind of underworld mafia haven where everyone and their dog is out to kill you is talking out of their arse.

Money: sure, I save a boatload of money but then I save a boatload of money wherever I’m living and I’m not an English teacher. I also refuse to do anything remotely expensive, I buy second hand appliances and find devious ways to save NT$5 on purchases. If you enjoy living the high life then your mileage may vary. As a Taiwanese your beloved Fanfan will invariably find herself on a lower wage than Taipei. As for you… depends.

Transport… err… depends where you’re living. If you’re smack bang in the city then I guess it’s not too bad. The intercity buses can take you to Taipei, Gaoxiong etc. and I’ve never used the local buses so I can’t comment. If you live in the countryside then you’ll obviously need a car or scooter unless you enjoy walking 50 minutes to a bus stop.

PS: Anything costs less than Tai-da. Look at Shi-da before making any decisions. In Taichung, Feng Chia university offer some bargain basement Chinese classes that I hear are pretty decent.

PPS: you do have/will get a work permit + ARC rather than planning to work on a student visa, right?

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[color=green]Well, Taichung is just a better place to live. The weather here is much better. The cost of living is cheaper and as far as English-teaching salaries go, they are basically the same as Taipei. It’s harder to find other jobs, although there are a lot of foreign expats who have been sent by their companies to work here. The people in Taichung are much freindlier than the people in Taipei, although you might get stared at or said hello to a bit more often. Taichung has some great cafes, restaurants and small businesses that cater to foreigners’ tastes. See the Compass for details. We even have a Costco on the way. Taichung doesn’t have a very good transportation system, so if you don’t drive it would be good to get the job first, then find an apartment nearby. Walking in Taichung is nicer because it never rains. (except when it rains so hard my balcony floods! about 2 times a year) Crime is less of a problem here in Taichung than in other big cities in the world. The organized violent crime element was actually chased out of the city a few years ago and has set up in the Taichung Harbor coastal villages. You can study at FengChia, Tunghai, or Providence, all of which have excellent reputations and various levels of classes. I think you will also have more opportunity (or need) to practice your Chinese here. And if you move to Taichung, you can help us out with our new animal welfare coalition taichungpaws.org. good luck![/color]

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[quote=“rmaguir”]

  1. Life in the city: Do you Taichung ren like life there? I know some of you have been there for quite some time, so I assume you do…
    [/quote]TBH, no. 20 years ago Taichung was quiet and well-mannered (compared to TPE or KHH) and had way less traffic. These days:
    It’s more violent.
    There is more crime.
    The traffic is total chaos, due to there being basically zero law enforcement.
    There are no sidewalks outside of a couple of shopping strips.

[quote=“rmaguir”]
2. Money: Should we be able to save money there?
[/quote]Cost of living is definately lower than in Taipei. So is the quality. There is less to do, so there’s less to spend money on. Rents and apartment prices are certainly better value for money on average.

[quote=“rmaguir”]
3. Money again: What sort of pay should I expect there? We’re thinking of coming in June. I’ll have about ten months teaching experience and several months of Chinese study under my belt, is that a big enough chip to put on the table to get maybe NT$60,000/month? Also, I’d like to teach mostly adults. Though, I’ll certainly teach children as well.
[/quote]Can’t help you with this question.

The crime story is the reality now, the cultural center story was true 20 years ago. When I first got here the roaches used to hide under the refridgerator when the light was turned on. Now they just stand there with their baseball bats and ask wtf you think you’re looking at. It was kinda lawless but there was some sort of gentleman’s agreement that the gangsters would be at least a little subtle and allow the government to pretend there was law and order. Now it’s out in the open.

[quote=“rmaguir”]
5. Weather: I hear it doesn’t rain nearly as much there as it does here, please tell me that’s true. The sun doesn’t come out but once every two weeks in Taipei.
[/quote]Climate is great. 300 days sunshine per year (last time I looked). Winters are mild and dry. This is the one thing the city government hasn’t managed to screw up. Yet.

[quote=“rmaguir”]
6. Transportation: Is it true that if you live in Taichung you have to have a moped? Is it that spread out?[/quote]
It’s not that spread out. There is just very little in the way of public transport. You need wheels. Let me remind you again that the traffic is aggressive and chaotic. Forget walking, there’s next to no sidewalk outside of the CBD.

If your happiness revolves around western foodstuffs then be prepared to do a lot of running around town. You can get most anything you want, just not all in one place like Taipei or Kaohsiung. Taipei has become so much more liveable since the MRT, and the cops up there are doing a far better job of keeping Ah Huang’s driving habits in check so that at least on the major streets he stops at red lights. Taichung traffic lights fall into three categories:

  1. Work all the time. Obeyed without question. About 2% of total. Only found on major six-lane streets.
  2. Work some of the time. At night, or when it’s raining they’re ignored. About 50% of total.
  3. Fakes. They turn red but no one pays them any mind unless there’s a cop standing right there with a sign up that says his job today is to stop red light runners. Remaining 48%

Interestingly, Taichung residents always seem to know which lights are which, unless they’re totally drunk. Not that I’m any angel on this score, but I will point out that Taichung is one of the last safe havens for drunk drivers in Taiwan. Very few roadblocks, and all easily avoided.

Not to mention that Taipei and Kaohsiung actually have streets equipped with sidewalks so you usually don’t have to walk in the road. In Taichung, if there is by some miracle a sidewalk then it’s 90% certain to be covered with motorcycle shop, breakfast shop, noodle shop or whatever. You sure as hell cannot walk on it. In Taipei the cops might actually, if provoked, clear the sidewalk of illegal business expansion. Down here… no chance unless you’re politically connected. If you had the kind of clout to get something like that done it would be the least of your worries.

In a nutshell, I was offered some pretty good jobs in Taipei about 10 years ago and now I kick myself that I didn’t go. Do you want to buy an apartment in Taichung? :wink:

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Rmaguir, despite the differing points of view, most of what everyone above says is true. As regards my feeling on Taichung, I’m kind of in the middle, perhaps because I’ve been here longer than Llary but not nearly as long as Redwagon.

Taichung’s alright but a bit of a backwater. Yes, the weather’s good. Transport’s a pain and you really have to keep your wits about you when driving. Rent is cheaper than in Taipei. People are slightly friendlier on the whole. There is certainly crime but it doesn’t affect ordinary people very much on a day to day basis. There are fewer good cultural events, and as Redwagon says you do have to drive around a bit if you’re after imported Western stuff. There are quite a few nice little restaurants and bars.

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[quote=“douglas@taichungpaws.org”]Crime is less of a problem here in Taichung than in other big cities in the world. The organized violent crime element was actually chased out of the city a few years ago and has set up in the Taichung Harbor coastal villages.[/quote]Can’t let this pass without comment.
Chang Wen-ying did indeed institute a campaign to force the cops to crack down on the brothels and hostess bars, and another to tow as many of the brazen double-parkers as the trucks could manage. She was so successful in the first instance that her life was threatened by the mob, and the second campaign was incredibly unpopular with those who had gotten used to parking wherever the hell they felt like, which was just about everyone.
Chase the crime element out to the coast? No no. The mob has always been dominant out there. The name Yen Ching-biao ring any bells with you? No? Then ask your local friends. All that really happened was that during Chang Wen-ying’s first two years as mayor the gangs had to tone down their operations a little because of all the publicity. The last two years of her term they basically scared her into hiding in her office, afraid to do anything. The fact that her dirtbag husband was running around selling get-out-jail-free cards didn’t help with her credibility.
The start of the poison dwarf’s (Jason Who?) reign saw a new boom in the KTV / brothel / club business which continues now. It should come as no surprise that the current favorite to run for the next mayor is none other than the owner of the Holiday KTV chain. Word on the street is that if the KMT doesn’t select him to run, he will smear Jason Who? with details of his mistress who (apparently) actually runs the Taichung City government while the dwarf is running around learning Chief Media Whore Ma Ying-jeou’s moves. Not to mention trying to waste all the city’s money on white elephant projects like the failed Gugenheim Museum, etc.

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I wasn’t getting any of these updates by email. I don’t know there were any responses here.

I’m pretty let down, overall, about this, I guess.

Some comments:

  • I’m not one to worry about Western goods so much. I eat pretty much the normal Taiwanese fair for almost all of my meals. I do like to have a big glass of orange juice in the morning and fresh brewed coffee (which has been one of the most difficult things to find, even in Taipei).

  • I have an ARC already, but I assume when I change jobs, I would have to get another one. In any case, I assume I’d work with my work permit, not my student ARC.

  • I’m more than a little bummed to hear about the crime and corruption there. It sounds dismal.

  • Ditto the transportation issues.

  • Major plus: the weather. I’m almost willing to overlook everything else just to be able to see the sun again.

Well, thanks for giving me something to think about.

If there’s anymore to add. please keep it coming!

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[quote=“rmaguir”]- I’m more than a little bummed to hear about the crime and corruption there. It sounds dismal.[/quote]Taichung’s a pretty safe place to live. Much safer than Leeds in the UK where I used to live. There is crime, but as I said it doesn’t affect ordinary people very much on a day to day basis.

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This is true. The thing is that in cities back in the west there are areas which are safe, and those that are downright dangerous, and other areas that are in-between. The whole of a Taiwanese city is in-between. Usually nothing happens, but shit can happen anywhere, anytime. I think a lot of people get lulled into a false sense of security. Chances are you will spend your whole time in Taiwan without ever seeing a single violent incident. If you avoid the junior wannabe-thug hangouts and don’t go around flipping of taxi drivers that chance is pretty high.
Lots of people go around ignoring reality successfully on a daily basis. The policy with the Taiwanese is usually, “don’t ask, don’t tell.” If you’re not interested in gang involvement in government, how crooked the cops are or how cronyism affects your standard of living, just don’t ask these questions. Simple. Ignorance is bliss and all that. Still, the paucity of public transport and appalling driving standards are pretty hard to ignore. Taipei is still far better in the regard.

I would advise the OP to come take a look before making a big decision like this.

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I guess I’m one of those who’ve been lulled then. 20 years now and still nicely lulled, thanks to the dearth of violent incidents I’ve seen or been involved in here. When does it cease being “lulled into a sense of false security” and simply “this how life is,” though?
I don’t consider Taiwanese cities to be “in between.” I consider them as close to safe as it’s possible to be, with the exception of driving. Even there, I’ve been driving for 20 years here and have had one accident, in which I fell off my bike while parked at a set of lights. Never had a bump in the car while I’ve been in it.
But that’s just me. I’ve spent a lot of time in the 'chung, too.

Bottom line: I absolutely and utterly would not even factor in fear of crime into your consideration of whether to live in Taichung.

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Sandy is from Scotland. Beirut is a peaceful oasis of calm compared to where he grew up. :wink:

Seriously though, it is all down to luck. Lots of people have an experience like Sandy. Personally, I’ve seen people bottled, beaten with baseball bats, steel pipes, 10 on 1 kickings. I’ve been in bars when shots were fired, you name it. Some of the victims provoked the incidents, some of them did nothing but look at the wrong guy twice. Luck of the draw.

If you’re torn between Taipei and Taichung, don’t let the crime thing make the decision for you. So little difference there it’s not worth thinking about. Traffic in Taichung is definately more chaotic, and the gap is widening. Public transport? Taipei wins hands-down. Being able to walk on the sidewalk? Taipei FTW.
Taichung residents are an odd lot. On the one hand, when you meet face to face they are most often friendly and try to be helpful. OTOH, put them behind the wheel and given the chance they’ll run you down like the dog you are. Go figure. :idunno:

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[quote=“redwagon”]Sandy is from Scotland. Beirut is a peaceful oasis of calm compared to where he grew up. :wink:

Seriously though, it is all down to luck. Lots of people have an experience like Sandy. Personally, I’ve seen people bottled, beaten with baseball bats, steel pipes, 10 on 1 kickings. I’ve been in bars when shots were fired, you name it. Some of the victims provoked the incidents, some of them did nothing but look at the wrong guy twice. Luck of the draw.

If you’re torn between Taipei and Taichung, don’t let the crime thing make the decision for you. So little difference there it’s not worth thinking about. Traffic in Taichung is definately more chaotic, and the gap is widening. Public transport? Taipei wins hands-down. Being able to walk on the sidewalk? Taipei FTW.
Taichung residents are an odd lot. On the one hand, when you meet face to face they are most often friendly and try to be helpful. OTOH, put them behind the wheel and given the chance they’ll run you down like the dog you are. Go figure. :idunno:[/quote]
Oh, well if that’s what you mean by “violence,” then yeah, I’d have to agree. Surely that’s more in the category of “mild altercation” though, isn’t it?

Can’t disagree with your second graf, though. And there’s the better weather. Right now, for someone freezing his knackers off in Taipei, that’s an attractive thought.

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[quote=“sandman”]I guess I’m one of those who’ve been lulled then. 20 years now and still nicely lulled, thanks to the dearth of violent incidents I’ve seen or been involved in here. When does it cease being “lulled into a sense of false security” and simply “this how life is,” though?
I don’t consider Taiwanese cities to be “in between.” I consider them as close to safe as it’s possible to be, with the exception of driving. Even there, I’ve been driving for 20 years here and have had one accident, in which I fell off my bike while parked at a set of lights. Never had a bump in the car while I’ve been in it.
But that’s just me. I’ve spent a lot of time in the 'chung, too.

Bottom line: I absolutely and utterly would not even factor in fear of crime into your consideration of whether to live in Taichung.[/quote]I agree. I’ve been in Taichung for five years and very few criminal incidents have affected people I know. (The majority of my friends here are Taiwanese, and from various walks of life, of different ages, etc.).

I do know that occasionally things go badly wrong and that some of the “safety nets” have holes in. But I compare this to the many burglaries, muggings, and acts of random violence which occured to people I knew in Leeds, and Taichung seems like a pretty safe place.

In fact it seems to me that people are scared of all the wrong things. There was an isolated mugging incident in my area a couple of years back. Taiwanese friends warned me of what a terrible, crime-ridden place it was becoming! And a first-floor apartment in my block was burgled a while back. The doormen told me to lock all my windows when I went out. I live on the top floor of a tall building. I have to swipe my electronic keyfob three times and use a regular key once to get from street level into my apartment. That really is a little paranoid.

People worry about all this stuff, yet they don’t think twice about wearing awful cheap helmets or no helmets at all to ride their ancient scooters with no brakes and bald tyres.

Having said this, I’m not sure that traffic in Taichung is so much worse than in Taipei. A friend of mine moved to Taipei a couple of years ago and said that while people are marginally more law-abiding there, there are a lot more vehicles on the road, so it’s still pretty dangerous. The main differences are that you can actually walk on the pavements there and of course there’s the MRT which is a great thing. Public transport in Taichung isn’t very good.

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Purely subjective:

I came back to Taichung after a year and a half in Taipei because life is so much better here (at least for me). I gave up my IT job to do so.

There’s more space, the people are friendlier, the nightlife is better (unless you’re into trendy lounges, which seems to be 90% of Taipei “nightlife” these days), there are plenty of things going on, everything is cheaper … all the normal reasons.

The traffic is bad but I wouldn’t say it’s worse than Taipei. In Taipei traffic is fast and drivers don’t care about you. Taichung traffic is slower but everyone is totally crazy. Overall I think it works out about the same for danger.

There’s a difference between central Taichung and the outlying areas. Where I live, next to Dali in the south (but still technically in Taichung city), every street has a wide, clear sidewalk. About 50% of streets actually have parks down the middle. There is almost no traffic on the small streets. My five-bedroom apartment with high ceilings and three balconies costs me $12k a month. And I’m a ten-minute drive from downtown and a fifteen-minute drive from FengChia on the opposite side of the city.

Crime isn’t an issue, it won’t find you if you don’t look for it. As for other social problems, I don’t think they are any worse here than they are in Taipei. Possibly they are better here - most people who want to screw others over for money gravitate to Taipei because there are more suckers.

Or that’s how it seems to me.

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[quote=“Brendon”]There is almost no traffic on the small streets.[/quote]I’ve driven through Dali, including many of the small streets, quite a few times. Some bits are fairly quiet, you’re right, though I think that “almost no traffic” is a bit of an exaggeration. On the west side with all the new apartments it’s fairly spacious and quiet, but on the east side there are lots of narrow streets with plenty of traffic and not much in the way of walking space. The driving in Dali’s of Taichung County standard I’d say: i.e. slightly worse than in Taichung City.

[quote=“Brendon”]Crime isn’t an issue,[/quote]I agree that it shouldn’t be a major factor in the OP’s decision to come here or not. I think that “isn’t an issue” is overstating it a little though.

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I don’t quite live in Dali, I’m across the river on the Taichung side, not far from ZhongXing Uni. Dali itself, especially central Dali, is totally insane :wink:

I dunno. Compared to London and subsequently Coventry, it certainly isn’t an issue. My suburb of Coventry had the highest rate of drive-by shootings in Western Europe (!!). I’ve never heard of anyone getting mugged here, ever. Burglaries are allegedly common but I am skeptical, at least if you live in a complex with security (and pay your hongbaos). Violence always seems to be the result of confrontations, which are easily avoided with smiles and common sense. The only really common form of crime seems to be scams, and generally they are childishly simple and obvious.

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[quote=“Brendon”]I dunno. Compared to London and subsequently Coventry, it certainly isn’t an issue. My suburb of Coventry had the highest rate of drive-by shootings in Western Europe (!!). I’ve never heard of anyone getting mugged here, ever. Burglaries are allegedly common but I am skeptical, at least if you live in a complex with security (and pay your hongbaos). Violence always seems to be the result of confrontations, which are easily avoided with smiles and common sense. The only really common form of crime seems to be scams, and generally they are childishly simple and obvious.[/quote]In the “people I know” circle, rather than reading about stuff in the papers, I’ve heard of a few muggings, a burglary, and a couple of violent incidents in which uninvolved bystanders were caught up. But you’re right that it’s not bad at all compared to any big city in the UK.

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[quote=“Brendon”]Burglaries are allegedly common but I am skeptical, at least if you live in a complex with security (and pay your hongbaos). Violence always seems to be the result of confrontations, which are easily avoided with smiles and common sense. The only really common form of crime seems to be scams, and generally they are childishly simple and obvious.[/quote]My mother-in-law and sister-in-law have both had their handbags snatched while walking down the street, in broad daylight. I’ve had two vehicles stolen from the underground car park in the building I lived in, despite there being 24 hour security, and several others have been broken into. A couple of friends of mine have gone on holiday for a week or two and come home to find their apartment empty, again despite 24hr security. This sort of thing spikes before lunar new year.
I personally have seen three incidents where a bunch of guys beat one lone individual with bats or pipes. My sister-in-law witnessed one where a guy was beaten so badly (in broad daylight, for overtaking a car on his scooter in traffic) that he’s crippled (according to later media reports). Another friend was stopped in traffic by three guys with baseball bats who complained his car was too loud and then put him in hospital for a week.
Then there are the instances from a couple of years ago when gangs of kids on scooters were going around Taichung stabbing or chopping random pedestrians, with excuses like “he looked at us”, or “he was ignoring us”. It hasn’t hasn’t happened for a couple of years now, but for a couple of summers it was a weekly thing.
Is it the crime capital of the world? No. Is it 100% safe and sterile? No. The reality is, as usual, somewhat more complicated and difficult to explain in a couple of words. In my opinion, this propensity for random and out-of-proportion violence is on the increase in Taichung. Taipei OTOH doesn’t seem to be experiencing much change one way or the other. My personal hypothesis on this is that life in Taipei has always been somewhat dog eat dog, meaning people are used to this, while Taichung used to be old money. People down here used to have more money than in Taipei, family money, and the cost of living was always much lower. I think the demographics have shifted a lot since I’ve been here and it’s quite likely the increasing lawlessness is a symptom of that shift. It doesn’t help that the cops down here are basically ornaments.

19

You can find all of that and more in Taipei county.

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I lived in Taichung for a couple of years and loved it. More space, more tea houses, friendly people. Be careful with traffic and avoid big streets, though. They’ve got the most awesome California gym in Asia, too. Lots of parks, great weather. Crime? Yes. There were lots of gangsters and mainland prostitutes in my old apartment building - they would hang around outside in their business suits and flip flops, but they’d never bother me.