I am indeed American. I’ll probably be flying home to Salt Lake for the most part (my parents are retired and live there). Looking at flight options, it definitely appears that I have over-budgeted - I have found flights as cheap as 670 roundtrip…
The $1500 was mainly to make sure I could swing a flight home in event of an emergency or the like… But perhaps that’s just the anxiety of living far from home and worrying about missing something important. I probably need to get over that…
firstly, taipei shouldn’t be described by anyone as international. does she come from taichung? i don’t see any other reason to recommend it to someone looking for nature and surfing. its sunnier than taipei thats about it.
Taichung is a pretty good place to live and work. Less crowded than Taipei, probably the best weather in all of Taiwan (not too hot in summer, not too cold in winter, very little rain, well sheltered from typhoons), plenty of schools and jobs in general. It has all the services of Taipei.
I’ve lived there for one year and my only issue were the weekends. The seaside is non-existent and mountains are a bit far away, so apart from shopping or a stroll in the parks most of our trips required quite some time on bus, train or motorbike.
OP, if you don’t mind me asking, where are you from initially? If you’re ok with living more country and livin’ it up, I won’t hold it against you. You can always move around afterwards if you don’t think you’re accustomed to the area.
Beitouzen makes a good point, but I wouldn’t really suggest Keelung. Xizhi, one town over from Keelung (and Taipei) could be a little better. You’re not too far from the beach and not too far from Taipei either.
Sometimes some necessities you may need, can only be found in the big city. So, it’s nice to not live too too far.
Back to your OP, I would estimate a bit less for your transportation if you decide on buying a scooter. However, this solely depends on your commute and if you decide you want to taxi going to work or going out. Personally, I spend no more than 100NT on gas on a weekly basis. I round up my gas expenses to around 500-600NT since I sometimes do random day trips. I think the most you can spend on scooter is 1000NT/month when you have to change your oil and get minor maintenance. Again, this solely depends on your commute to work. Mine is about 6-7km one way.
Agreed. You are far from seaside and mountains, but once you get to the mountains towards Nantou County, it’s quite possibly the prettiest mountain areas in all of Taiwan.
You’re also closer to Kenting in Taizhong, but that’s still another couple hours on the high speed rail.
I am originally from Louisville, KY, but have lived in Colorado Springs, CO and North Carolina too. Currently I reside in Chicago, IL. Probably my favorite was Colorado Springs, which offered access to the mountains and awesome local parks with climbing and hiking.
I recently had to have surgery (blew out my knee), so I see a bunch of value in this too. I definitely don’t want to be so remote that I wouldn’t have access to healthcare or something really specific if I need it.
Yeah, I was attempting to bake in the cost of maintenance. Thanks for the more accurate estimate.
She is indeed from Taichung, though she lived in Taipei as well. Perhaps she’s a wee bit biased. She is happy to connect me will all of her friends though, which I’m thinking might be really nice.
Ok, so big city isn’t really your thing, however, not like you’ve never lived in one.
In my opinion, Taipei might be a better fit. Based on quick acess to mtns and your injury for check ups. It would be really tough for you to scooter more than 20 minutes and not hit a mountain.
The most I’ve ever spent in a month on the scooter was probably 4000NT. Just got a lot of things replaced along with my oil change.
I would highly suggest you budget more into your initial purchase. Buying a good scooter will definitely help with lowering maintenance costs in the long run.
High speed Internet at home can be about 1000 ntd, but it comes with MOD and VOD, which means Netflix like TV series and movies on demand.
If you wait after you get your ARC, you can get a nice brand new phone with your contract -Chunghwa Telecom recommended for this, even though they may ask for a deposit as a foreigner, much better than other companies that ask for a guarantor- that won’t cost 300 USD, or if it does, then you get the latest iPhone with no limit Internet use. I would expect to pay 300 usd on a phoen without contract, and if you go monthly, or pay per use, it will be very expensive.
I am against the use of a scooter by newbies if they have never ridden one before because of teh amount of deaths we have each year from FOBs in traffic accidents. Traffic in Taiwan is crazy, rules are optional and death awaits at every corner.
On that high note, please budget overseas insurance for the firts 4 months or at least until your ARC based National Health Insurance kicks in. With it, a visit to a hospital is 10 USD, with Xrays and blood tests and medication included. Without it… much more. So better prepare. Murphy’s Law and all that jazz.
Taiwan offers great hiking spots, suitable for camping. I’d go for a big motorcycle -Harvey like- or all the way for a busted car. Love Colorado Springs too, some parts of Alishan approach it - though teh closest we have to Garden of the Gods is Taroko Gorge or Hell’s gate.
30k for a car. We are talking something that will take him up to the mountains, to the camping grounds.
Yep, a nice red plate will be more expensive, but hopefully more resellable value too. And he can join one of the big bike clubs, go on outings, explore, enjoy and make friends.
Taiwanese people in general don’t value the same things that foreigners do, so advice from Taiwanese about where to live in Taiwan should be taken with a grain of salt.
I’m heavily biased but I’d say that Taichung’s sole redeeming feature is that it rarely rains there (compared with the rest of the island, not say, California).
Unfortunately that’s it. The sunshine actually brings a significant negative (the pollution never gets washed out of the air and it’s right next to the world’s most polluting coal-fired power plant), and as for being a “gateway” to Taiwan, with it being in the center of the west coast it’s basically equally inconvenient for you to get anywhere else: Taipei and Kaohsiung are both a couple hours away by car, under an hour by high speed rail, Kenting/Keelung are an additional hour or two depending on if you’re traveling by bus, train or car, the fastest routes to the east coast are via Taipei and Kaohsiung, and the only tourist “attraction” near to Taichung is Sun-Moon Lake, which in my opinion (I admit others disagree) is one of the most overhyped attractions in all of Taiwan.
Ask your friend’s wife what there is to do in Taichung. Chances are everything she names involves leaving Taichung.
I mostly agree with what the others say about scooter-riding in the cities in Taiwan. If you’re careful and ride slowly in an east coast city like Hualian you will probably be okay. Folks from outside Taipei might disagree but I believe (perhaps ironically) that Taipei is the best of the major/west coast cities to ride a scooter in, because despite the high volume of traffic the drivers tend to obey the rules more often and the cops will bust people for traffic violations (usually). Quality of driving decreases both the further south and smaller the town gets. Tainan scooter riders still don’t know which side of the road to drive on while Kaohsiung’s are apparently red-green color blind. Some of the drivers there appear to be completely blind (especially if you’re on two wheels).
Funny you should say this because people in Taipei would say the same when asked, “What’s their to do in Taipei?” However, when you live in one place on a daily basis, it does tend to get boring.
Having spent the best years of my life in Taipei I disagree. I never found Taipei boring. The things to do in Taipei are myriad and don’t require leaving the city.
Cycle in the riverside park
Walk around Ximending
Visit the National Palace Museum
Spend time at one of the frequent events around CKS Memorial Hall (many of them are free)
Go to the (incredibly cheap yet pretty good) zoo
Drink tea in Maokong, get there by bus, cable car, motorbike or bicycle if you’re up for the challenge
Hike up Yangmingshan
Ride a pedalo at Bitan
Hot springs in Beitou, Yangmingshan or Wulai (not in Taipei city, admittedly but very close and still accessible by bus)
Go up 101 (I never did this actually)
People watch in the 101 area (can often find buskers and street artists here)
Compared to Taichung (where I spent the WORST years of my life):
Visit Fengchia/Yizhong night markets
Visit the science museum
Buy stuff at Shinkong Mitsukoshi
Go to Taiwan’s biggest KTV and wonder why the corruption in Taichung is so in your face
The hot springs are miles away and you need a car/motorbike to get there. Once you’ve arrived there’s nothing to see because the cloud of smog over Taichung blankets it from view.
I won’t disagree with your comparison list because I have visited Taizhong and haven’t really gotten great vibes, but these are all 2-3 hour visits. Yizhong Street at 4PM was like MayDay having a free concert in Ximending.
However, it all comes down to what each individual enjoys, right? My gf’s best friends are all from Taichung and they really don’t like leaving Taichung and dislike Taipei.