Hi everyone,
Would any of you recommend looking for a an English teaching gig in Nantou? What would the benefits be?
Thanks.
Being close to natural surroundings ranging from pleasant to awesome, and not much else unless you really want to experience the small-town Taiwanese lifestyle, I would think.
You would have a job.
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Itās rural, but the air quality isnāt as good as youād think it would be. Iām assuming a lot of the air pollution from Taichung gets blown up there. If you like hiking in the mountains it would be good, but transportation into and out of that area isnāt going to be ideal.
Have you looked at Douliou in Yunlin County? Youād be fairly close to Nantou and itās a bigger city/town. The air is worse, but itās on the freeway/train line. Iām assuming you live in Taichung from your user name.
Work in Jhushan and Nantou City would be harder to come by, but I suppose you could find something.
Most people tell me that as a young male in my early 20s that being in a rural place like Nantou doesnāt make much sense.
Depends on what you optimize for. Do you want great nightlife or save some money?
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A good question to ask myself. Would it on average be hard to make friends in Nantou? I do not know anyone there.
Probably yes.
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Maybe Hualien is a better alternative?
Most likely difficult.
I knew a guy who lived in Puli surrounded by a betelnut farm and he loved it. Theyād go off joining, jumping in water fall pools regularly . He also worked in the uni part time.
But he had a steady gf from the area.
You are talking about āquietā towns, although there are a lot of foreign labourers in those places !
The air quality in Puli and Nantou isnāt good a lot of the year. There is even a huge industrial park just outside Nantou city .
But Nantou county is a really beautiful place.
I lived in Taichung and it was just a one hour drive to Nantou.
Sounds like an adventure!
Yeah it could be an adventure. Living in those places is really really different than Taipei . You have to push yourself out there. Thereās things to do if are into the outdoors especially. Some stoners and also some missionaries live out in the boondocks too. I met some āend of daysā Christians in nantou before. They really were waiting for the end of the world and that was already seven or eight years ago. 
Oh BTW those guys were teaching English and selling cinnamon buns to earn a living. 
Hahaha. Sounds like theres some interesting characters over there!Tbh it has a certain appeal about it. Feels way more free than the stress and bustle of Taipei.
Iāve known people who live in Taoyuan country, Hsinchu county, Taichung county, out in the small towns thereās a lot more freedom loving individuals, letās put it that way!
But it can be a bit lonely (sometimes not as they are part of hippy or stoner groups or whatever ), itās a trade off, some can make friends and learn to occupy themselves .
Thereās a bunch of āhippiesā that live around dakeng , edge of Taichung city and they always have activities , thereās another bunch in the long-tan area. Maybe thereās another bunch in nantou 
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I would really like to not have to work so much to make ends meet and have money for fun and not have much free time like in Taipei. Donāt get me wrong Taipei is a cool city, just prefer to visit than to live full-time there. Feels like your living to work and not the other way around.
I would like to have time to ride my scooter around the mountains and gorges, make some friends, eat cheap and decent food, explore and adventure. 
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Oh yeah man you need to move out then to these towns in the hinterland. If you like the freedom you have ALL the freedom you ever wanted .
I used to live in Taichung and I would motor into Nantou and Chiayi for days at a time just checking out different places. If you lived there you can easily scooter around too. Donāt forget to acquire a feral dog or two, maybe a cat, second hand fish, tortoises, some squirrels , a wild girlfriend for good measure.
Itās just like living in a different country it really is.
Hahahaha sounds chill asf. Are the local Taiwanese over there relatively more chill/ down to earth than elsewhere from your knowledge and experience?
Nantou City transportation is fine.
Has freeway no. 3 and a bus station with connections to any large city. Otherwise a scooter will suffice getting around the city quickly.
Pros
Much lower rent than large cities.
Less people if you donāt like huge crowds.
Swimming pool, Cinema, night markets, shopping mall (incl. Carrefour)
Mountains protect from worst of the pollution from Taichung.
Cons
Not much ānightlifeā if you are looking for some fun.
Downtown has no sidewalks, parked cars block safe walkways
Tbh all the pros are to my liking. Regarding nightlife, i stopped clubbing after i turned 20/21. Done it all already ahah 
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