You had previously asked for the coolest area during the summer [Where is the coolest place in Taiwan to live in throughout the summer? - have you abandoned that idea now or found “near Taipei” to be that area?
And seeing what goes down those rivers at the west coast I wonder about swimming or surfing there… [/quote]
Not really… I have always known that Taipei would not contain the coolest area to live in which is near the sea nor would I wish to live in taipei with all those masses of high-rises and surrounding mountains… Taipei is a blubbering cauldron of heat in the summer…
I am really looking at the small towns or more rural areas along the west coast… just trying to get the feelers on these areas from people who may have lived or seen these areas before…
wow taidong seems to come up a lot in these type of discussions… nothing on the west coast? besides pingtung? … the west coast seem to have more efficient transportation up and down taiwan…
The west coast isn’t good for surfing because it’s on the Taiwan Strait. It just doesn’t doesn’t get waves. The east coast, on the other hand, gets them rolling across the Pacific Ocean (which is quite deep not too far away from Taiwan) and then, bam, they hit Taiwan! The other reason you wouldn’t want to surf on the West coast is that it’s much more densely populated and there are tons of factories (on both sides of the strait) pouring who knows what out into the water. You could grow a dorsal fin.
… or see parts of your anatomy rot away.
Anyway, all you have been telling us about the lifestyle you are looking for makes “on the west coast near Taipei” seem an unlikely choice - but, then, what you write today (in several threads) gives me the impression that being really close to Taipei is actually an overriding issue.
So, if the south is not an option, then there is still the northeast coast (as others have mentioned, too - example: Toucheng): it is relatively close to Taipei (direct train link to get there within less than an hour) without having the disadvantages of the west coast…
HH: Really hard to say. When I used to surf weekly a few years ago at Waiao and Toucheng, outside of the summer peak season (when the waves were actually pretty crappy), there’d be thirty or so people on any weekend (so maybe three or so times that number in total across the entire season). Winter (when the waves were a decent size) would have a couple of dozen on the weekend at most. Some were actual locals, then there were a fair number of people who travelled from Taipei or Taoyuan every weekend. Then there were a dozen or so foreigners at the most (many of whom I rented a huge beach house – it had five bedrooms I think, plus a big kitchen, a couple of big common areas, and several balconies – with for 3,000NTD/bedroom/month).
During summer, it was fucking insane. You literally couldn’t put your arms out sideways on a Saturday afternoon without touching someone on either side. It was actually ridiculous because there were so many people that there were always collisions. Then there’d be tons more people trying it for the first time in the shallows. Summer surfing at Toucheng/Waiao pretty much sucks because of the small waves and the number of people. There were whole weekends when it was as flat as a pancake or when even if there were small waves, there were ten guys trying to get every single one unless you got up really early. Waiao and Toucheng must have at least a dozen surf shops with attached accommodation and they get full in summer and rent out tons of boards. I eventually stopped staying at that beach house and stayed at one of the surf clubs (I think it was about 3,000NTD/year for board storage and a dorm bed on a first come, first served basis, though you could ring ahead on the morning of your arrival and reserve a bed) and there were probably a half dozen or so guys (plus the owners’ son) who were there every time I was there.
I spent about a week surfing in the middle of summer in 2008 and of a weekday, there were very few people at the beach, including locals (who presumably had normal jobs), though in the afternoons, more people would arrive, including some local kids (some of whom were damned good).
I surfed at Kending way, way back in early 2008 and it was absolutely flat for the entire long weekend I was there, which really sucked.
I don’t know about Taidong. I haven’t surfed there yet. I heard from the people at the surf shop I stayed at in Toucheng that the waves are bigger there and that they get pretty intense in winter. I’ve heard there’s a decent-sized scene there, and I know some people who live in Taidong who do actually surf almost every day, but I really don’t know much about it. I was in Southeast Asia for all of last summer. I sent my board to Taidong earlier this year, but I was really sick for a while and I’ve had a whole lot of other stuff going on in the past few months so I just haven’t been out there. I’m going to Australia next weekend, so I basically won’t get out there to surf until August or September after I get back. I want to get back into it though.
I had a kiwi English teacher friend who was based in a small town in Hualien over 10 years ago, he had the whole bay to himself and he even admitted that it was a bit freaky thinking if a shark got him no one would ever know. Times sure have changed, I wonder what he would make of it all. I’ve visited some of the surf spots recently but not impressed with polluted streams running straight onto the beach and too many people and messy.
My original point was not many people really care about surfing that much to base a decision on where to live on it.
I guess if you wanted to do something different you could try around FuLong, around an hour from Taipei on the train.
If you must have the beach action and still want a relatively normal life then you’re probably limited to Pingdong / Kending in the south.
There are some great properties available in Taichung at good prices but our lifestyles seem to be completely different so I don’t think you would like Taichung as much as me.
If you tell us your budget we might be able to give you some better suggestions. There are houses available from $5k-$500k all over Taiwan, take your pick.
I am particularly interested in this topic. I own a stand alone house on the outskirts of Chiayi city. It doesn’t have very much land surrounding it (A small front yard) and I am interested in selling this place and looking for something with land large enough to put in a swimming pool. The area I would be most interested in would ideally be somewhere outside of Kaoshiung city due to it’s proximity to both the city and Kenting. I love the beach and want to be able to get there in less than an hour and a half. If anyone knows of an area they may have seen please PM me. Thanks.
That’s a great idea, we have been talking about buying some land in Gaoxiong to build on maybe 10 years down the line. We would really like a US style single storey home but we don’t want to live in the US. Actually we would prefer Taichung and there are some really beautiful plots in the mountains here but sadly they are plagued by mosquitoes and almost unlivable.
[quote=“Icon”][quote=“crystaleye”][quote=“Icon”]There are some stand alone houses for rent in Xindian, in the mountains. There are entire neighborhoods of townhouses, and because of the distance, half the places are empty all the time and most are empty during the day, so if it is quiet you seek, you’ll find it.
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Did I mention rivers? Hot springs? Half an hour drive to Yilan and East coast beaches? Close to supermarkets and great buffets, plus those great seafood places where the fishies, crabs and lobster await their fate swimming in tanks next to you.[/quote]
I stand corrected. Yesterday I saw a documentary about a female surf instructor in Taidong. She lives in a “townhouse”, but it was awesome, with space in front to have impromptu concerts, while having the beach in the back. Ther eis a whole surfing community there, so if OP is into that, it is a no-brainer: Taidong is the place to be. I remember you gusy said there was someone who built his own house there.
There was also this foreign guy on the news who built his house in Pingtung out of “paper bricks”. Cool.
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