[quote=“ronin”]sinktheboats: where did you end up?
I’m currently studying in Taipei (NTU) but don’t like it very much up here and thus am considering moving further South (Taichung or Tainan). One of the places I’m considering is Donghai but I’m concerned about the Christian thing too. Some poster wrote that this is something one doesn’t need to worry about. But I’d be happier if somebody who is currently studying Mandarin there or has very recently studied there could confirm that. My worry isn’t so much that the school itself is too Christian but that there might be a busload of young missionary kids at the school spending their days preaching their Jesus-loves-you dang. :fume:
What I don’t like about Taipei: too big, too densely crowded, too expensive, too f"ç%" rainy. I was aware of all those things before coming here but didn’t expect myself to cope so badly…[/quote]
The Christian thing here usually just means the school or university is a “business” that was set up by some church or other. 99% of the students there won’t be Christians, as with Chang Rung Christian University. The only real difference is that apart from all their other programs they will also offer degrees in Theology. Nothing sinister or even Christian about it really, regardless of what the propaganda may say n their web site.
I think you are exaggerating the differences between Taipei and 2nd tier cities. You make Kaohsiung sound like random city of 20000 people. There are a lot of people (foreign and Taiwanese) that speak excellent in English in Kaohsiung, Tainan and Taichung. These are cities of 500,000-1M people and meeting English speaking Taiwanese is just a matter of finding the right clique. Like join a photography/hiking/cycling/yoga/gym/calligraphy/etc group and the English speakers will talk to you.
I initially stayed in Taipei and for business reasons moved to Taichung (started my 1st project in Taichung). I latter started a project in Taoyuan and had the opportunity to move back to the Taipei area. I choose to stay in Taichung. Why? The weather is better, driving is not quit so miserable (less traffic), and rent is about half for the same in Taipei. The night life is good, sometimes really good (true for most major cities in Taiwan).
You might try Pm’ing Poagao. He studied at Donghai I think. I think anywhere outside of northern Taiwan would be better. Hualien or Tainan would be my choices. If you want to live in a smaller town, maybe Chungcheng U in MInxiong (near Chiayi).
Kaohsiung: 2.78 million
Taichung: 2.69 million
Taoyuan (soon to be a city but there is absolutely nothing to do there): 2 million
Tainan: 1.88 million[/quote]
Those numbers include what we would consider the entire county. Not that it really matters. These are major population areas with a lot of foreigners, good stores and a lot of stuff to do socially (maybe not Taoyuan). They aren’t Taipei but it’s not like someone is going to a town with 2 crappy supermarkets and almost nothing of social interest.
Well, none of them are counties anymore (except Taoyuan). But yes, you’re right that there is a very centralized downtown and then just the boonies on the outskirts, and each of those cities includes mountainous villages that take hours to get to.
Every time I head to Taichung, I’m impressed by how much new stuff there is from my last visit. Tainan doesn’t seem to be changing much but that may not be a bad thing – it’s still really quiet for a big city – and Kaohsiung in terms of infrastructure seems (to the casual observer) to be catching up with Taipei.
In my experience, this is usually only true for older people in the south. In some parts of the south I hear about as much Japanese as I do Taiwanese (a legacy of the colonial occupation days), but again that’s only among the older population. Mandarin is everywhere.
