Have you lived in Taipei?
Taipei gets hit first.
In SanChong for about a year â I honestly donât notice much of a difference in heat (but do notice a big difference in the winters)
I have a theory that ANY city looks good with slow motion drone footage in 5K.
Hell, they could probably make Taoyuan look like paradise.
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No, Kinmen and Matsu islands will get hit first, as theyâll serve as base for invading PRC forces.
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I lived there for years but I found it to be like a fishbowl after a few years with there being less and less I hadnât seen and then got bored and wanted to move. I went to Taichung which IMO is worse than Kaohsiung, but now plan to move to Yilan due to its closeness to Taipei while enjoying the more laid back atmosphere.
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Yeah, like I said itâs not the worst, but Iâve been here 4 and a half years and already tired of it. The first year was interesting, but by my second year I had pretty much seen everything Ktown had to offer.
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I feel the same way after about a year
Worse how? This is literally what I was thinking of doing - that or Tainan
I think Tainan and Taichung have their good points, but Iâd still choose to live in Kaohsiung over those two.
I havenât spent much time in Taoyuan (besides airport hotels), but I hear a lot of people dumping on that as the worst city in Taiwan.
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What were you figuratively thinking of doing?
Taichung just isnât my bag. It could be the city doesnât jive with my style. Itâs hard to describe, there isnât much going on in the city, traffic and public transportation isnât very good, the people seem somewhat standoffish, the weather doesnât seem to vary much, parks seemed meh, and overall seemed boring after a short time. Tainan at least has a lot of cultural feel to it and old Taiwan charm.
(Edit)But you know what⌠it may work for you and youâll love it there. It really is a personal thing if you love where you live. If you donât love it, you can move.
What? Impossible!
Well OK, to each his own, but Taoyuan is my Taiwanese âhometown.â The Used-to-have-peaches Garden City will always hold a special place in my heart. 
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Parts of Taoyuan donât actually look that bad these days 
. Parts. It certainly doesnât look anything close to that picture at all.
In an ex Taichung and Taipei residebt as you know. Truth be told Iâve never made a lot of friends in either locality and donât think the denizens are all that friendly. Taipei has a great range of neighbourhoods to visit connected by the MRT surrounded by great hills and bike trails for hiking and biking.
Taichung I enjoyed for its sunny weather all year round , itâs more open space (although rapidly developing),
cheaper housing , slightly slower pace of life and the fantastic access to the rest of Taiwan on any given weekend (I spent many weekends buzzing around random mountains in Nantou and Chiayi). Taichung has some very high quality neighborhoods to live in with quality new housing often stand alone houses , that you simply with my find in North Taiwan. If you have kids you can send them to kindergartens and schools with ample outdoor space, not prison like conditions like kindergartens in Taipei area. Taichung is indeed a bit boring but itâs still way more interesting and liveable than the commuter suburbs of Taipei or Hsinchu. Oh yeah Taichung also has fantastic tea and tea vendors , unfortunately many of the famous tea houses have closed . I learned a lot about tea living there .
But I agree that Tainan and Kaohsiung feel more like the 'real Taiwan â , especially Tainan , which after all was effectively the capital city of Taiwan for centuries. Fantastic range of restaurants there actually although public transport is lacking so need to be able to ride a scooter possibly .Some fascinating neighbourhoods .
Kaohsiung also has some great parks and the harbour, the part that lets it down is the heavy industry (not everywhere but some areas you need to completely avoid ) and traffic on the highway and the driving on the sidewalks. Air quality is a real concern .
Last point. In terms of earning money itâs very very hard for âbusiness professionalsâ to find a well paid job outside of Taipei or Hsinchu. TaichungâŚAlmost impossible. I tried and wasted my time and money and had to leave the city. If you a teacher or business owner it might work out better in places like Kaohsiung. Or if you have a remote gig, yeah.
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What about Hualien and Kenting?
You also need to factor in the overall attitude (example: factory bosses driving aggressively, because of course they do); the industrial pollution, old and new; and the plethora of bad food.
In short: itâs more than just bad architecture. : D
Guy
Yes I have to agree with most of these points . The architecture in Taoyuan isnât actually worse than Taipei.
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This area the waterfront in the photo has changed a lot, miss the open space to skateboard or bike ride, and some the old shops. Now is more modern, nicer hipster cafes (though more expensive like $300 coffee). The one thing on the west side of the river I wonder will ever fix the tall empty office tower which has been like that for years.
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