So long story short, I plan to move to Taiwan with my Taiwanese girlfriend. She is from Yangmei in Taoyuan but I cant seem to find much about Yangmei online. That said I have seen loads about Taoyuan and have heard that Taoyuan is rather boring and some places like Zhongli are rather dirty and so on (not my words, just what I saw online) but I also heard Nankan isn’t too bad as the apartments are more modern and there is a mall there. The overall vibe I get from what I have heard about Taoyuan city is not the best.
My girlfriend is interested in buying an apartment in the next couple of years and she says the price in yangmei is cheaper than that of Nankan, hence why she would prefer to live there.
Anyway, what can people tell me about Yangmei in particular? Would you suggest Nankan over yangmei? Is Taoyuan as really as bad as people say?
Thanks for any input, and if it makes a difference I will be job hunting for ESL positions post COVID-19 in the Taoyuan area.
If by Nankan you mean by Taoyuan airport, then it’s like most areas around an airport: industrial, some shopping mails, highways, lots of traffic on normal street roads. There are many new high-rise apartments in that area, around Taoyuan Nankan Municipal Police.
If given only those 2 choices, I’d take Yangmei District of Taoyuan. If you look at map, southeast part of district is in the hills (use Window on China Theme Park as reference for SE part only).
I prefer living in Taoyuan District over Taibei City/New Taibei City. And, personally, I would vastly prefer Yangmei over Nankan. Yangmei has character, Nankan seems soulless.
These are all pretty shite locations. Yangmei is better than Nankan? Maybe, but the difference is marginal. I snorted my drink when I read Linkou and culture.
Come here and have a look. Do not rely on what in-laws will push.
In case no one has told you and you haven’t done research because you are in love, please in the name of the Almighty, leave the checkbook in your country of origin until you understand Taiwan ownership laws. If you buy property single under her name, be prepared to lose it. Same married.
Research on legal differences between Taiwan and the West. This is not Kansan anymore, but the other side of the mirror. Cover your behind. Protect yourself.
Ask your embassy/trade office to introduce you to a good, reliable lawyer. That is hard. Not her brother/cousin/friend from college.
That said, Yangmei is not exactly the most up and coming neighborhood/area.
Then, why are you buying a house together? You are moving to a different country. Taiwanese people change in their homeland, she is not going to be the same, you will face the stress of living in a different country/culture with a very difficult language. Your relationship will be tested. Are you ready for that? What kind of support network will you have? How are you going to make friends if you do not speak the language and are isolated in some corner of the worId with no Westeners not Western amenities in a 100 km radius? She has family and friends here and you will learn the hard way how much family weights on relationships here.
What are you going to do here? Do you have the qualifications to work here? Have you guys talked about the future? Worse case scenario is she agrees to try Taiwan a few years and you end up stuck teaching kindergarten 30 years.
Yangmei as investment is useless. Aside from this expat forum, what other sources can you consult for serious research in where to live?
Just rent a place in yangmei and learn the lay of the land. Really there’s not a vast difference between all these places mentioned at all. Taoyuan is a sprawling city and Yangmei adjoins. Yangmei will be a cheap place to live and I believe it still has some countryside . Get a scooter and a car and you will be fine. I’ve lived briefly in Taoyuan before and had many friends there and in Nankan and Zhongli . There are English teacher networks all over Taoyuan and zhongli and Linkou, you just need to get out there and meet people.