Hey after living many years here in a city, I am thinking of relocating to Pingdong. I have never really been there before, only passing through to other destinations. Does anyone live there or have information good or bad to share with me???
Thanks
Hello. I have lived in Pingtung for a year, and worked there for many more.
I like it. People are friendly. There are nice places to eat. I don’t like the air pollution and it’s often really hot.
Many people travel from Pingtung to Kaohsiung for things like watching movies, going to disco, etc. It is a 25 min (?) train ride.
My suggestion to you would be to spend a few days there before making the jump. Pingtung is certianly not for everybody; it’s very hickish and has a bit of a “wild west” feel to it. However, it has less pollution than Kaohsiung, is less crowded, and housing is very cheap.
If you like Taiwanese food and your Taiwanese and/or Mandarin is decent, it’s fairly easy to live there. However, if your language skills aren’t so hot, keep in mind that there are very few restaurants that serve western or other foreign food and have English menus. Choices are very limited, but it is definitely improving. Because so few locals have English speaking ability (or the desire to try and use their English), communicating can be frustrating (and incredibly infuriating with the way many react with laughing and shouting to each other) if your Chinese is not up to par.
Many foreigners there like it because of the proximity of Kenting and Kaohsiung, coupled with low housing costs and the ease of getting around without getting stuck in traffic, but also strongly dislike the hickish mentality, beetlenut / blue truck culture and complete disregard of rules and regulations, namely on the road. The difference in driving is seriously tangible when you cross the bridge entering Pingtung from Kaohsiung, it’s that bad.