Hello, just looking for a bit more advice so I can make an informed decision before I start signing my life away.
I was wondering if anyone has spent much time in Hsin-Chu, the town 80kms from Taipei, and suppsedly Taiwan’s “Silicone Valley.”
I know the population is about 300,000, but I’m wondering if the nightlife is anything much? Of course it’s proximity to Taipei makes a visit very easy, and I hear Hsin-Chu is very clean. Still, will I be bored here if I am the type of person who likes to go out at least three nights of the week?
If anyone can tell me anything else about this place I will be extremely gratefull.
[quote=“selfimposedexile”][quote]
I was wondering if anyone has spent much time in Hsin-Chu (Xinzhu), the town 80kms from Taipei, and suppsedly Taiwan’s “Silicone Valley.”
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I don’t know if there is any more or less silicone in Hsinchu than say anywhere else. Check at your local hardware store like B&Q. I do however know that there is a lot of silicon there.
Seriously though, as far as I can tell (planing to move to Hsinchu after Chinese New Year ) Hsinchu has at least one foreigner bar and from what I hear it’s not too bad. And you’re right about it being close to Taipei. So if you long for a larger entertainment environs it is within reach. Good luck.
lots of western comforts there. even ponderosa and burger king.
lotsa movie theaters. a couple of western bars.
hsinchu is a primary stop on the rail route and you can get to tpe quick enough.
but three nights a week? i doubt if there is anywhere is taiwan than can endure your partying standards for long. you are bound to fatigue yourself of any environs before long.
hsinchu is seriously windy (like lake front chicago) in winter.
Really, what is wrong with the place. I realize that at 350,000 people it is fairly small, and seeing that’s it’s number one attraction is the science park, is probably not very exciting.
Still, 80 km from Taipei, several bars, cheap rent, apparently obscene amounts of sillicone. How can you refuse and offer like that?
No really, has anyone ever been to this place? I don’t want to make the worst mistake of my life. I already drove through Rochester NY this year, I don’t need any other disasters.
If you have narrowed your choices down then the best thing for you to do is to get here and actually visit the places on your short list. Only you can make the decision.
I wouldn’t worry too much about having enough places to go to when you want to party. Believe me, you can’t swing a dead cat in Taiwan without hitting a pub, talking bar, disco pub, tea house, whorehouse, or 7-11.
You best bet for making your stay in Taiwan a pleasant one is to find a good school to work for. If you do that then everything else falls into place.
[quote]Suppsedly Taiwan’s “Silicone Valley.”[/quote]Silicon is what microchips are made out of, Silicone is what Anna Nicole Smith is made out of.
:moo:
I spend a fair amount of time in Hsinchu, and because of the tech industry here, there’s actually a fair amount here. Nightlife, it’s nothing compared to Taipei, but it’s ok. There’s this one street that has a bunch of bars, but I’m not sure about full clubs. Some local residents even told me that Hsinchu is probably the most cosmopolitan area of Taiwan outside of Taipei, but they could be biased.
If you’re familiar with Silicon Valley, think of it as Hsinchu is to Taipei what San Jose is to San Francisco. Just about everything you would want is there, but for some reason, it’s just not as cool as the city to the north. Even the driving distances are about the same.
If you like to go out three nights a week, then you might go through the options for places to go very quickly.
That said, when I came, I was given the option of my office being based in Hsinchu or Taipei. I picked Taipei.
Have a buddy that lives there and have been down to see him a couple of times. It is only about an hour and 15 to an hour and a half to get there by bus. There are a couple of western pubs…one that has every song you can ever imagine and they play whatever you ask. There is also a couple of clubs and at least one rave club (where I can’t remember, I only remember walking back to the hotel in daylight). The locals tend to stare a bit more at the foreigners there because there aren’t as many of them and the foreingers that are there are mostly engineers.
If you can’t find something to do, you can always check out the mad amount of beetlenut girls and their skimpy and quite provocative attire (read: hardly anything!) Careful which ones you hit on as my buddy took a baseball bat to the head for trying to pick up the wrong one!
A couple of my buddies went out to grab a bite to eat in Hsinchu and then one of them had to get back to see the wife. The other one (the one in question) decided that he had enough to drink at dinner as to be somewhat more daring than usual (liquid courage and all). So, since he had been talking to the betel nut girls for quite a while previously, he decided that he would “move in for the kill” so to speak. Well, I guess that didn’t go quite as planned as her boyfriend / pimp showed up and started to pick a fight with my buddy. He said the usual “relax, it’s okay, sorry” kind of thing and the guy didn’t want to let it go and took a baseball bat from behind the counter and cracked him upside the head. :shock: Split his head open and had to go to the emergency and had seven stitches to sew him up.
I have never had that kind of trouble down there but I do not go around trying to find stray pussy either. Live and learn I guess.
Unfortunately, this came after the weekend he wiped on his scooter and cut up most of his right hand side from fingers to ankles. Poor guy.
I will see him this weekend and try to pass along an update if he’s up to leaving his house.
I saw a blurb on TV once about the Betelnut girls. There was one part where they were describing how people try to pick the girls up or solicit more than just betelnuts and drinks. They said that a lot of the girls are young and quite conservative, and only wear what they do for the job, and their clothes do not necessarily mean they are “easy”. As such, the owners of the betelnut stands (who are usually not far away behind the scenes), are prepared to protect their employees from pickup artists and Se4 Lang2, as I guess some people find out. They went to GuangFu Road in Hsinchu where there’s a row of betelnut stands, and interviewed this guy who owns several of the stands there.
Well I’ve lived in Hsinchu for 5 years which must be a record or something. My distaste for this city is fairly well known so perhaps I should tell you what is good and right about the city. Its an easier list to write than all the negatives.
If consider nightlife to be drinking beer than you will always be satisfied. There are a few bars that foreigners hang out and about a million other dives on just about every street. There are even a couple movie theatres. Nothing else though.
Plenty of restaurants for you to try here. Some are pretty good and sense most will be out of business in 6 months or so you always have this fresh rotation to chose from.
I have a huge house in the downtown, within walking distance of all the bars, restaurants, and empty shopping malls. In fact the back entrance to a bar is almost in front of my house - so convenient. Its huge and cheap. Maybe you can be as lucky. Unfortunately I love hot showers and the water pressure in our neighbourhood seems to be rather fussy.
There are plenty of new shopping malls with nothing of quality for men to buy in them so you are going to save a lot of money.
Tsing Hua University is a wonderful place to walk.
Rent is far cheaper than Taipei.
There is a train station and many bus stations many of which will take you to Taipei, Kaoshiung, or Taichung. You’re close to the airport.
Of course like elsewhere in Taiwan, the locals who get to know you will be the greatest friends you have ever known. The people, when not driving a motor vehicle, are quite relaxed and friendly.
I saw a blurb on TV once about the Betelnut girls. There was one part where they were describing how people try to pick the girls up or solicit more than just betelnuts and drinks. They said that a lot of the girls are young and quite conservative, and only wear what they do for the job, and their clothes does not necessarily mean they are “easy”. As such, the owners of the betelnut stands (who are usually not far away behind the scenes), are prepared to protect their employees from pickup artists and Se4 Lang2, as I guess some people find out. They went to GuangFu Road in Hsinchu (Xinzhu) where there’s a row of betelnut stands, and interviewed this guy who owns several of the stands there.
It was an interesting show.[/quote]
I went out one night and interviewed (or I should say tried) the betelnut girls on Guang Fu rd. They are not so pretty when you see them up close and yes their Lao Ban are very protective. Overly so. Though that is probably a good thing…
Hsinchu is ok. It isnt bustling like Taipei, but youll have a good time for a while and youll meet some really cool people. PM me or email me at pimshih@NOSPAMhotmail.com. Remember to get rid of the nospam part.
