I currently have two, almost identical job offers (similar pay, hours, weekends off). However, one is in Neili, Taoyuan, and the other is in Wuqi, Taichung. I have previously lived in Taoyuan City.
Wuqi seems to be right on the coast, which suggests to me a nice living area and clean air. However, most of the friends that I’ve made last year are up in Neili. I know that it isn’t the nicest place to live, but with a full weekend free I’ll have plenty of time to travel outside of it.
If all things were equal, where would you prefer to live?
Normally I would say “Taichung.” But this part of your initial post caught my eye:
Wuqi seems to be right on the coast, which suggests to me a nice living area and clean air.
Being near the west coast of Taiwan for me suggests neither of those things. I am not familiar with Wuqi but large parts of central Taiwan in fact have some of the worst air quality in Taiwan.
I’ve been to Neili more times than I care. Unless you want to go to the outlet mall or some pretty good breakfast places (or you really want to be close to Taipei) it’s nothing special at all.
Just going off pictures, Wuqi looks nicer. At least it has an old street and a harbor, unlike Neili:
You’re also pretty close to Taichung, a bit closer than Neili is to say central Taipei. I’m not the biggest fan of Taichung, but it does have its proponents around here so it must be doing something right aside from its park and the Miyahara ice cream clinic.
To be fair, it’s Taichung, so you’re probably either living in an industrial area or living down the road from one and pretending you’re not in an industrial city.
Neili isn’t exactly much different from that either.
Neili is alright. Has a Carrefour and a train to Taipei. If you already have friends there, you will probably have a better time there. I lived there for two years. Its hard to have either a negative or positive opinion on the place.
Oh, I like Zhongyuan nightmarket. I think its my favorite one in Taiwan. I like that record store that is also a bar.
I’m wondering - if I found a place near Xitun, how is the public transportation to Wuqi? Google maps says it’s a 20 minute drive but a 2 hour bus ride - is that true or is there a better way to get there?
I work in Neili, but live elsewhere. It’s a pretty drab place IMO. Yeah, there’s a big Carrefour and a Sushi Express and a night market. The train to Taipei takes around 40 minutes or so IIRC. Rents are cheap, but apartments are crap.
My colleague works and lives there and he’s fine with it, so it’s OK for some. I think it was Guy in Taiwan who described Taoyuan as having all the worst elements of Taiwan in one place. That’s Neili for me.
It’s going to depend on where in Xitun you live and where in Wuqi you work. Buses in Taichung are much slower than a scooter. That’s about all I know about public transportation here.
Taichung is a decent place. It has great weather, especially in typhoons. You can get a lot of things you may be familiar with from back home. We certainly lack the professional expat community that I’m sure Taipei has. Another drawback is the air, particularly in the fall and winter. Shopping and parks are okay. The people are friendly.
The problem is, Wuqi isn’t in Taichung. Honestly speaking it’s fairly run down and not easiest to access. In a word, depressing. I’m probably one of the few here who has actually visited the place and I also have some familiarity with Neili.
Wuqi area is quite industrial and fresh air is not what you will experience. There are some open expanses and some ok bits of coastline but mostly that’s Taichung port and industrial zone and also has a massive power plant nesrby.
I think I would strongly recommend Neili to be honest as it’s in between Taoyuan and Zhongli , fairly quick into Taipei and not so isolated with good transport links.
