Taipei is not friendly

I think I see this almost daily, and the “T” (butch) first looks at me, then tries to get the “P” (femme) attention by jerking her hand or something very obvious. I see it so often that I consciously try to not look or think about it. So I guess there is something about me that makes the “T” (butch) jealous.

Not sure about here, but in western countries it doesn’t really mean anything when guys wear earrings anymore, for the most part.

Didn’t know that about lesbians and the left ear.

You have a penis.

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…You’re absolutely correct in all that yopu say ‘tango42’ I have lived in Taipei 17 years now, the Taipei people are the most unfriendly you can get anywhere in the world, (besides old people, mainly old men who usually shout out to you…“Hello, where you come from?” in broken English) the women, (mainly younger generation) never want to give eye contact, i ask any foreigner out there if they ever get eye contact from a girl on the street, extremely rare I’d say. Like I said, I’ve been living in Taipei 17 years i know them very well, so you foreigners who say they are friendly, don’t fool me one bit, it’s like their parents tell them that foreigners are the devil, I’ve been told this a couple of times by Taiwanese x-girlfriends, (took an arm and a leg to date them, most are completely crazy that’s why i ended up finishing with them, most Taiwan girls have mental problems as some foreign males have told me too)Today, I walked around Ximen Di, not one would look at me, and in my country I’m considered quite hansom, not bragging but told this, these girls are not interested in looks, it’s MONEY, if you’re rich and ugly, you can get any pretty Taiwanese girl you like, that’s a fact btw! Money is the God here, I think most will agree on this statement yes? You can see ugly rich men with beautiful women here, it’s common, like i said, money talks here.

You’re a glutton for punishment after 17 years. I assume you must be stuck here?

…Exactly, there are TONS of Taiwanese lesbians in Taiwan, most really hate men, feminists too, I am married to a local girl, and have a young daughter, (preteen) so many Taiwanese women glare at her, smile at her, want to take a photo with her etc, some are genuine, others are feminists/lesbians, i know it by the way that they ignore me when they talk to my daughter, who speaks Chinese btw. Some even show a discontent at me, SOB’s in front of my daughter they show this. Most Taiwanese women HATE men, you may think I’m wrong, but living here 17 years qualifies me to say so. I study people very closely, it’s something that has always been with me, all my jobs in my life have been service to people jobs, I know people. Taiwanese women are too proud too, Taiwanese men, well, a lot are like big babies, they need a woman to look after them, some Taiwanese girls have told me this too, truly.

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Whenever a topic how foreigners are treated in Taiwan is discussed, mainland Chinese and native Taiwanese should be discussed separately.

Mainland Chinese had controlled the education system for a long time, in which native Taiwanese were taught to hate Japanese and then westerners and then communists. Anyone who was too friendly to westerners would definitely be called to explain it in front of the official or secret police.

Everyone knows the standard cliched “taiwan is so friendly” thing is utter bullshit. No need to beat a dead horse

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Not really, many old people still reminisce of Japanese times pre CKS. If you are referring to aboriginals than yeah.

China hates the Japanese, almost every other movie in China has some anti Japanese sentiment. Especially war movies.

There are some opinions on the rather extreme sides here but it’s certainly interesting to see peoples different points of view and I believe many have good reason over many years to develop these views.

I think Taipei people are fairly cold fish , as mentioned previously similar to many big cities unfortunately. Don’t smile much, heads stuck in phones, laobans lack warmth to their customers, people don’t talk to each other in queues or at the next table in the restaurant. Minor stuff I guess. The people who are eager to talk to you are usually selling you something. But the worst is the very poor attitude of drivers to pedestrians and other drivers.
Probably my second bug bear is the rote nature of many conversations. It’s rare to meet people with real spark. They could be saying the same about me of course!

Where many of us probably struggle here as long-term ‘foreigners’ is the lack of diverse suburban communities and integration in schools and difficulty of integration into a broader community for foreign parents/immigrants, another topic perhaps.

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Agreed. Taiwan as a friendly place is a rather extreme view, but we’re used to this cliche after hearing it a million times. In fact, I’m of the mind that it could even be true now. Can’t beat em join em I say

I think the question of wether or not taipei is friendly or not depends on what you mean by friendly. If it means ability to make new friends easily then in my own experience its not super friendly. If it means wether or not strangers are generally considerate and plesant then Id consider it friendly.

Standing in a shop door with my kid for 20 minutes waiting for the torrential rain to end. I see a woman go into a building, five minutes later the same woman comes back out again hands me an umbrealla, and refuses to talk about how I can return it.

Haul a broken sofa into what looks like a woodworking shop, guy spends two hours fixing it, refuses payment on the basis that it is not a furniture repair shop. I return the next day and nearly get into a fight with him before he finally accepts money.

Woman at a run down stall waves every time we pass and sometimes sneaks my kid a candy.

Those are all pretty friendly exampkes if you ask me, and ive loads more where those came from

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Yeah I know all those. I have many many more. But that is just a very sad substitute for day to day friendly existence. If you’ve forgotten, or need a reminder of what I’m talking about, spend a week in New York or Vancouver or many other cities. Yes, those strangers talking to you and asking to buy you a drink, that’s what I’m talking about!

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Liam, can I ask, are you white?

Yea, Im white

@Liam_Og You are spot on. I agree with you 100%. Friendliness is all over Taipei and Taiwan. Breakfast shop ladies know my order and have it ready before I even set foot in their shop. Always greeted with warm smiles. Community guards loving to shake hands with my son even when they are busy. People in my community offering help with all sorts of stuff. Parents chatting with each other on the sidewalk giving friendly hellos and nods when I walk by with or without my kid. Clerks at Wellcome, 7-11, Family Mart always super friendly and willing to help. People offering umbrellas. Even a junior high girl shared her umbrella with my son and me walking home in an unexpected downpour. Even though she lived blocks away. I could go on and on about kind people here.

Sure there are rude people, sidewalk zombies etc. Just look past that and open your eyes and heart a bit more.

Do people want to rush into conversation with strangers? Of course not. That is expecting a bit much.

This isnt New York. Its Taiwan where there is mainly one language spoken, Chinese. And most foreigners here are not that great at it to carry on a conversation. So of course a majority of locals will hesitate to converse with you. However, i have had plenty of people try when I start the conversation using Chinese. There is always the initial shock for them and then they get comfortable and chat if the time and place is appropriate.

We are not Gods here who everyone should bow down to and shower with rose petals and beg to be our friends and speak to us. You make it sound like Taiwan is full of miserable shy introverts. Its not. Open your eyes, ears and heart. Making genuine friends here is not impossible, it just takes a bit if effort on our part to initiate things.

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isn’t it because they assume you speak English and don’t speak Chinese?

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After being out of town for a few weeks, it’s really striking how much jackassery there is on Taipei’s roads. In the past 24 hours, I’ve seen stuff ranging from mind-blowing incompetence to chillingly sociopathic driving. Forget about “friendly”–these guys don’t respect any other life, perhaps including their own.

Guy

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Save your breath. I have all that and more in my life. I have intricate relationships with Taiwanese the likes of which you’d never imagine. I get it. I get all that. It’s truly wonderful. What I’m saying is it’s all a distant substitute to real friendliness and human interaction. The public sphere here is by and large a desert of insecurity and race sensitive introverts.

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Locals don’t really interact with strangers in this fashion. It’s not an East Asian thing. East Asians want to be closeted away in a small room somewhere with a group of people they know or to do an activity as part of a slightly exclusive club of some sort. South Asians are a bit more outgoing…well I mean Filipinos and Malaysians and even Singaporeans. Love those people generally. :wink:

Southern Taiwanese are also quite friendly but of course language issues can create barriers.

I just spent a week in a small village and am glad to be getting back to the sad anonymity of life in the big city…but just for the moment!

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