Considering Moving From Taipei To Kaohsiung

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

I am considering moving from Taipei to Kaohsiung and was wondering if anyone here has lived in both cities and can supply some input on the similarities and differences between them and which you prefer.

I have lived in Taipei for a little less than a year and visited Kaohsiung a couple times already. I like K-town because it rains less, the rent is cheaper, it is close to Kending, and the people seem friendlier/more laid-back.

I like Taipei because of the good transportation system (I don’t own a scooter), it’s not so scorching hot as K-town in the summer, I am finally starting to feel a little settled/comfortable here, and the pollution seems less intense/more localized.

Here is your chance to help me make up my mind:

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I grew up in Taipei, but Id like to live in Kaohsiung if and when I live back in Taiwan. I always enjoyed going down there on business and visits.

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[quote=“Modest Mouse”]I am considering moving from Taipei to Kaohsiung and was wonding if anyone here has lived in both cities and can supply some input on the similarities and differences between them and which you prefer.

I have lived in Taipei for a little less than a year and visited Kaohsiung a couple times already. I like K-town because it rains less, the rent is cheaper, it is close to Kending, and the people seem friendlier/more laid-back.

I like Taipei because of the good transportation system (I don’t own a scooter), it’s not so scorching hot as K-town in the summer, I am finally starting to feel a little settled/comfortable here, and the pollution seems less intense/more localized.

Here is your chance to help me make up my mind:[/quote]

You’ve pretty much got it down. I lived in Kaohsiung for about 5 years and in Taipei for two or three. I like Kaohsiung better, personally. Taipei is much, much more convient and you can find almost anything you could want, but Koahsiung is more laid back and you can still find most things. A trip up to Taipei isn’t that diffucult if you need it. There’s Kenteen, Pindong is very rural–like visit back in time almost. I taught some classes in Pindong once while living in Kaohsiung and getting up in the wee hours and taking the train to Pindong was lovely. Some of the platforms are just little concrete blocks in the middle of a rice field. That “chung-chung-chung-chung” sound that indicates a train comming to a crossing still brings a smile because it makes me think of the early mornings on a platform in the middle of a rice field watching a farmer drive his oxen. Anyway . . .

It’s also not that difficult to get to the lush and lovely east side of the island from Kaohsiung, I think. Lots of native peoples to befriend. I got to go to a tribal wedding once–that was spectacular!

I imagine you’ve been to K-town since I have. When I left, they had really done a lot to beautify the place, but they’ve done more now, and they’ve got the MRT stations open there. I’ve seen photos, but I’ve not seen it myself. The bus system used to suck eggs. I’d have to be at the bus stop for an hour in the mornings, usually, because the bus could be as much as 30 minutes early or late. If this hasn’t changed, you’ll have to invest in a scooter or budget for taxis as I hear the MRT stations are not as convienient as they are in Taipei.

Oh! You’ve made me terribly homesick!

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Taipei gets hotter in summer than Kaohsiung

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The MRT is good, and will get better with more lines. It’s a lot less crowded than Taipei, and the weather is better, and food is cheaper, as is rent. Pollution can be bad though, especially if it blows from the south east bringing a lot of steel works crap into the city, or from the north west bringing lots of plastic factory crap. But both are supposedly better than they used to be.

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Have they got traffic lights in K-town yet? And if they have, do they use them yet?

HG

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Taipei gets hotter in summer than Kaohsiung[/quote]

True! But only in July and August, and only 2 degrees per day. Say high temp of 33 in Taipei, versus 31 in K-town.

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[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]Have they got traffic lights in K-town yet? And if they have, do they use them yet?

HG[/quote]
That is a good question, I was there for a short visit 2 years ago so I know they have them but back then nobody had figured out how to use them, or I should say use them the same way they do in the rest of the world.

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Taipei gets hotter in summer than Kaohsiung[/quote]

True! But only in July and August, and only 2 degrees per day. Say high temp of 33 in Taipei, versus 31 in K-town.[/quote]

What days in August and July has a high temp of 33 in Taipei???

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I think that the 23rd of July and the 14th August will be 33 in Taipei.

Will anyone take my bet?

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for the comparison:

Mean Temperature Unit:°C
Station Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Mean Duration
Kaohsiung 18.8 19.7 22.3 25.2 27.2 28.4 28.9 28.3 27.9 26.4 23.4 20.2 24.7 1971-2000
Taipei 15.8 15.9 18.0 21.7 24.7 27.5 29.2 28.8 27.1 24.3 20.9 17.6 22.6 1971-2000

Source: cwb.gov.tw

For the max temps in taipei :
Climate Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Daily highs (°C) 19 19 22 26 29 32 35 34 31 28 24 21

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Those mean temps are out of date, and don’t reflect the current reality. For the last two years, the temperature in Taipei in august/July pretty much did not go below 30, day or night, as you should recall, and occasionally peaked at 37.

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I was using old data (1971-2000).

It sure seems like the temps have been higher these last years. It’s unusual now when it doesn’t hit 35 in July/August.

Jotham?

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I love Kaohsiung, I can get tanned in the beach everyday in the morning and in the afternoon.
You will like it if you’re a beach person, laid back lifestyle.

And you can add me in your facebook, just find me at daisy hotkiss and voila, I am there with my big smile.

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[quote=“daisyhotkiss”]I love Kaohsiung, I can get tanned in the beach everyday in the morning and in the afternoon.
You will like it if you’re a beach person, laid back lifestyle.

And you can add me in your facebook, just find me at daisy hotkiss and voila, I am there with my big smile.[/quote]

isnt it amazing how varied the climate and weather is in taiwan for such a small country? cloudy in the north - taipei; sunny and tropical in the south - kenting; lush on the east - hualien; cold and snowy up in all the mountains. amazing!!

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[quote=“thyrdrail”][quote=“daisyhotkiss”]I love Kaohsiung, I can get tanned in the beach everyday in the morning and in the afternoon.
You will like it if you’re a beach person, laid back lifestyle.

And you can add me in your facebook, just find me at daisy hotkiss and voila, I am there with my big smile.[/quote]

isnt it amazing how varied the climate and weather is in taiwan for such a small country? cloudy in the north - taipei; sunny and tropical in the south - Kending; lush on the east - Hualian; cold and snowy up in all the mountains. amazing!![/quote]

I donno, last nite as I was doing my Berkeley campus walk just after sunset I had to put on a jacket and the fog had moved in and it was chilly and i was wondering how just 15miles away and one hour ago I was swimming in the complex pool and it was sunny and it was about 90F and here we are just an hour later and 15miles away and it was 65f?? Talk about temp difference in just a few miles? And I was wondering how it all seems the same in Taiwan? LIke summer nites you wore the same tshirt and sweat just the same as you did in the daytime from Taipei to Kending?

But yes, Rainy and cold north Taiwan doesnt translate to the same right when you get to Taichung in Winter.

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[quote=“tommy525”][quote=“thyrdrail”][quote=“daisyhotkiss”]I love Kaohsiung, I can get tanned in the beach everyday in the morning and in the afternoon.
You will like it if you’re a beach person, laid back lifestyle.

And you can add me in your facebook, just find me at daisy hotkiss and voila, I am there with my big smile.[/quote]

isnt it amazing how varied the climate and weather is in taiwan for such a small country? cloudy in the north - taipei; sunny and tropical in the south - Kending; lush on the east - Hualian; cold and snowy up in all the mountains. amazing!![/quote]

I donno, last night as I was doing my Berkeley campus walk just after sunset I had to put on a jacket and the fog had moved in and it was chilly and I was wondering how just 15miles away and one hour ago I was swimming in the complex pool and it was sunny and it was about 90F and here we are just an hour later and 15miles away and it was 65f?? Talk about temp difference in just a few miles? And I was wondering how it all seems the same in Taiwan? LIke summer nites you wore the same tshirt and sweat just the same as you did in the daytime from Taipei to Kending?

But yes, Rainy and cold north Taiwan doesnt translate to the same right when you get to Taichung in Winter.[/quote]

yea like my sister lives in pleasanton which is an hour east of s.f. in the summer it’s 90s but in the city it’s 60s to 70s and when the fog rolls in especially at night it dropped to what felt like freezing. i had to go to macy’s to get sweaters and coats cuz all i brought were summer clothes. and this was in august!

18

Yeah it does get pretty hot here in Kaohsiung, but I don’t mind it so much. In the city at least you can see the (polluted) sky, and it rarely rains. I’ll take that over overcrowded, rundown, humid/randomly wet Taipei anyday.

Even though the air here can be quite polluted some days, I find my overall health to have improved since I moved south. Maybe it’s just a less stressful environment or something. I also find the people here to be much more laid back and friendly than the drones in Taipei. They’re less umm sophisticated down here…especially where I live out here in the boonies, but the stares I do get here are much less annoying, and people are generally more cool.

The only downside to Kaohsiung is if you’re really into bars and clubs and restaurant selection, which is nowhere near Taipei’s. There’s a handful of ok bars (not that I really go out anymore) and restaurants, but it’s a bit lacking.

On the shopping side if you live anywhere near the city, on the south end you can find the huge (and somewhat premature economically) Dream Mall, which is also close to Costco and Ikea and a Carrefour. So you can make big shopping runs to pick up a bunch of stuff in the same area if you so desire. There’s also a new Hanshin department store next to the new arena which is actually not bad.

The new MRT is alright…it feels like a budget version of Taipei’s. Trains run less frequently than I care for (maybe it’s just on down times but sometimes there’s a 10 min wait). It’s fine though. The MRT runs throughout the city and connects to both the airport and the HSR station.

With all of the progressive city planning and infrastructure here, I think down the road living here will be a much more popular option than it seems to have been in the past. The worst thing you can mention about K-town really is the industrial pollution, but when you compare it to sucking on all of the tailpipe exhaust in Taipei, I don’t think you’re really downgrading on that front.

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Forget about Taipei and Kaohsiung. Go to Taichung because it’s far better than any of those two cities. Taichung is the cleanest city compare to those two and less pollution. I don’t know why people don’t mention taichung in their conversation and it’s always about Taipei this and taipei that or Kaohsiung.

Be realistic guys, just because it’s more well know it doesn’t mean it’s better. LOoks can be deceiving.

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kaohsiung world games stadium: the first stadium in the world to be powered 100% by solar power energy. designed by toyo ito who also designed the taichung metropolitan opera house currently being constructed in taichung.