[quote=“sandman”]Working in Hsinchu (Xinzhu), mountain biking, countryside close by? You could consider Bitan. Right on the MRT, so you have easy access to downtown, right on the edge of the city so there’s some biking straight from yer hoose, more or less, only about a minute to the No. 3 freeway that takes you to Hsinchu (Xinzhu) in under 30 minutes if you’re really a ba’heid or about 45 if you’re not.
Only problem with Bitan is the neeburs – I live there.
As for fitba’, the Tavern is your place. There’s an ad for it on this site someplace.
Edit: And me a moderator of the Bars and Restaurants Forum, too. Very shoddy work there. Apologies to you.
Click on this
[url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-new-tavern-premier-the-chat-thread/9900/1 or [url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/the-new-tavern-premier-food-service/9895/1 one[/url] for far more than you want to know about the Tavern.[/quote]
Goodness, 45 minutes to Hsinchu from Bitan?
I think the daily commute would get really old, really fast. Why not check out our neck of the woods on our mountaintop community here in Yangmei. 20 minutes from work, 45-50 from Taipei and mountain biking trails from hell without even needing a car. You can access the mountains easily from here without even going through any towns, i.e. no traffic.
Only downside is that you’ll have to commute for your nightlife, but on the upside you can rent a detached home w/yard for less than what you’d pay for a 2-bedroom apartment in Shilin.
Hsinchu will be a minimum 1:20 minute commute and that’s with no traffic. I’ll spend up to and over 2 hours trying to get to Taipei during morning or evening rush hour, and I’m 20-30 minutes north of Hsinchu.
If the allure of city life is too strong to resist, then Sandman is probably correct with Bitan, but if country living, easy access to the mountains/mountain biking and commuting convenience are your first priorities then Sunny forest Hill in Yangmei is the place for you.
I’ll assume for the moment that you’ll be working in the Hsinchu industrial park.
First, you decide to live in Taipei somewhere. You’ll have to leave the house no later than 6am to beat the morning rush hour south. You’ll then have another 2+hour commute home during the afternoon rush hour.
Second, you could choose Yangmei. 20 minute ride to work, you are far enough south to miss all the major traffic jams with the same commute time home. If you want to hit the Taipei watering holes simply head home, take a quick shower and have dinner. By the time you finish the worst of the traffic will have subsided, and you can enjoy a leisurely 45 minute cruise into Taipei. There are several keen mountain bikers living here as well (all of whom post here) who can all attest to the quality of the mountain biking within 10 minutes of our community.
I’ve been up here nearly a decade, and would never consider moving even if I had to make the commute. Another poster here recently bought a home in the community even though his wife commutes daily to Taipei by train. They looked for housing in all of the areas mentioned in the previous posts, and to quote them: “We couldn’t find anything even remotely comparable anywhere in Taipei”.
Send me a PM if you are interested in a more logical alternative… 