Living in Taipei commuting daily to Hsinchu?

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
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21

That is to funny, I laughed out loud… but it is also disconcerting. I have been working at rural high school in NY state for seven years and I have to remember that I am moving to a much more densely populated area and that crime will be an issue.

So, I guess that scooter scenario is not doable. I do not think riding a scooter for 30 minutes every morning after a 30-40 minute train ride sounds like something I want to endure for years to come.

I will be arriving in Taiwan on July 15th and the school year does not begin until September so I have time to look for an apartment. I will most likely get an apartment in Hsinchu until I have a better feel for the lay of the land and the public transportation system.

I am surprised that there is no monthly commuter pass for the HSR. Is the MRT station in Chubei going to connect the HSR to the Guang-Fu road area? I wonder how long a MRT ride from Chubei to the Tsing-Hua University would be.

How long does it take to drive from Xmingding in Taipei to Tsing-Hau University in Hsinchu by car? I was told it was over an hour even in the best traffic conditions.

To all of the contributors thank you so much for your time and advice. I have been coming to Forumosa for over a year as I have been researching for this transition and the boards have been so informational; thanks to all of the regular posters.

Chris

22

Oooooh… that’s a tough one.
On a map, Hsinchu looks like a suburb of Taipei, and in reality it’s not very far at all. That being said, getting back and forth between the two can be an utter nightmare, especially during rush hour. You have to queue for train tickets, and as people have mentioned, the HSR station isn’t even in Hsinchu, and it gets expensive. If one of you is working in Taipei and one in Hsinchu, you’re both going to be tired, especially the one who has to travel.

I think that the TRA (regular train service) has something resembling a monthly pass, and the MRT in Taipei is convenient; it’s feasible to live in Hsinchu, park near the train station and then commute. If you don’t mind standing, it shouldn’t be a huge issue, and the station is smaller and easier to navigate (ie. catch your train on time) than in Taipei. It takes about an hour, less if you only travel as far as Banchiao. Best part: parking is quite plentiful near the train station, especially in the morning.

Parking at the Jhubei HSR station is pretty secure; there is crime, and scooters get stolen, but it’s not a den of scooter thieves or anything like that. Normally scooter parking is surrounded, so it’s difficult to steal a scooter (or to get your own scooter out if you’ve misplaced your card).

You could also do the opposite and live in Taipei, in a much smaller apartment with a much larger rent. Then you’d have the MRT, though, which is VERY cheap and convenient.

Whatever you decide, good luck. It will be challenging, but I’m sure the two of you will sort it out!

23

Thanks again to all posters. We are leaning towards me renting in Hsinchu, there are some very decent places going for 8-11k a month, she will live with her parents in Taipei for about a year while we figure it all out.

It is just weird to think that we are going to be married an not living together during the week… not ideal. We have discussed saving our pennies and buying a home in Juibei because it is near the HSR.

Chris

24

Ya a friend of a friend is newly married and she lives with HIS parents in Taipei because she likes her job in Taipei while HE lives in Hsinchu because his job is there. And they meet up on the weekends. Well I donno, maybe this is the formula for a very long lasting marriage? But for me, I would want to be with my baby everyday :slight_smile:

25

If I were selecting a place to live near NTHU/NCTU, I would prefer the “back side” of the campuses, along Baoshan Rd., esp. if you like to bike. NTHU has a Baohsan Rd gate, so I would cycle to NTHU.

26

Thanks for the advice this is where well will be starting our search next month.

27

As everyone seems to highlight the commute time as the main sticking point, why not take a day or two during the week and time it?

Door to door at peak time, see with a bit of planning how efficient a route you can come up with (biking to the station, leaving from TMS or Bianciao, etc), and then see exactly how long it takes you. If through a bit of planning you can make it to work in about 1.5 hours, I guess that might be within a reasonable time for you. On the other hand if it takes 3 hours+ door to door, it may open your eyes a tad as to what you’re getting yourself in to.

Tony

www.taiwancelts.com

28

Anyone maintain apartments in both Hsinchu and Taipei? I’m exploring the possibility of getting a room in a shared Taipei apartment for weekends, while I live in Hsinchu during the week.

29

Damn, everyone’s so negative. Can’t anyone please say something nice about the commute, such as

“I love it. The time flies past and it gives me a chance to listen to music and unwind.”

“I found the commute very productive. I got work done and found it actually shortened my work days.”

“If I hadn’t had taken the Hsinchu job I wouldn’t speak Chinese. As it is, I’m totally fluent due to the time spent listening to pimsleur on the HSR.”

“I commuted daily for 10 years and would do it again in a heartbeat, without a moment’s hesitation.”

Pleeeaaaase. . . . somebody. . . :frowning:

30

Taiwan is actually small compared to say California, but it can take a heck of a time to get anywhere.

80Km may as well be considered 80 Miles. Sure theres the HSR between the cities but theres transport to get to the HSR from where you are in Taipei as well as getting from the HSR to where you want to be in Hsinchu. YOu may as well drive. then theres traffic jams, etc, etc.

Driving it would be like driving SF to Sacramento and back on a daily basis. You can do it but it would get old real fast.

31

Yea but. . .

What if, hypothetically speaking, a guy were sick and tired of his crappy job with his crappy company and his crappy boss in Taipei and the possibility of landing employment with a much better, more prestigious company, with a better boss in Hsinchu were to arise, but he didn’t want to pick up his whole family and relocate. . .

THEN it would be a terrific opportunity, right, and the commute would be no big deal, and in fact he might find it to be productive time and discover that all the naysayers were wrong after all, don’t you think? Isn’t that likely???

Please say yes. . . :pray:

32

YES, as long as you dont commute for long, or you will be divorced or so stressed out by commuting you will not be able to live a proper life.

33

What kind of productive work would you be able to do hanging from a strap?

34

[quote=“Mother Theresa”]Yea but. . .

What if, hypothetically speaking, a guy were sick and tired of his crappy job with his crappy company and his crappy boss in Taipei and the possibility of landing employment with a much better, more prestigious company, with a better boss in Hsinchu were to arise, but he didn’t want to pick up his whole family and relocate. . .

THEN it would be a terrific opportunity, right, and the commute would be no big deal, and in fact he might find it to be productive time and discover that all the naysayers were wrong after all, don’t you think? Isn’t that likely???

Please say yes. . . :pray:[/quote]

For the last 2 1/2 years I’ve been doing a commute that takes 3 hours every day (round trip).
It makes me want to blow my fucking brains out.
It’s like having a second job.
And the fantasy of doing anything productive on the bus/MRT is just that, since one’s so exhausted from getting up early to be out the door at 0615 and getting home at 1930-1945 that, even when one gets a seat, one passes out anyway.
Even if it looks good on paper, the reality of it is a fucking nightmare.

35

MT, why don’t you do a test run this weekend? It’ll be a fun outing, and you’ll get a sense of what is really involved.

I commuted to grad school 2 hours round-trip every day. I listened to a ton of books on tape (this was 1993). It was somewhat painful but I got through it.

36

MT, hypothetically, one could sell their house in Taipei and buy a wonderful house (maybe even a Taiwanese version of a McMansion?) in Hsinchu for the same money. I would avoid the commute at all costs unless it’s just a short term thing. Unless, of course, the job is right near the train station or bus stop. Then maybe it’s doable.

37

[quote=“Tomas”]MT, why don’t you do a test run this weekend? It’ll be a fun outing, and you’ll get a sense of what is really involved.
[/quote]
Best to take a day off sometime and do it midweek at the same time you’d be commuting. There’s a massive, massive difference in traffic density on the weekend compared to midweek rush hour.
My door-to-door daily commute takes about an hour each way. That’s traveling only from Xindian in the south to Sungjiang Rd in the north of the city, and if it was any longer it would seriously do my head in.
From downtown Taipei to Hsinchu and back, five days a week, in rush hour? I can’t imagine you tolerating that for more than a few weeks at most. By that time, you’ll have burned your bridges at your Taipei company and will be happy to rent a studio in Hsinchu where you’ll live during the week. But somehow I don’t get the feeling you’d be prepared to forego your time with family.

In fact, however, if you’re commuting to Hsinchu you’ll STILL not see much of the family – you’ll be up and out of the house long before they’re awake and you won’t be home until they’re sound asleep, at least in your daughter’s case.

38

Some companies/institutes have shuttle buses that run between the two cities, I know a guy whose been doing it for years, he says he just sleeps on the bus. He doesn’t have the type of job you have to do overtime or which changes frequently though. He also starts work at 8am or 8:30am and he has to get the bus at 600am or something. This is only possible because he doesn’t have a managerial job in a company.

The science park access routes jam up as everybody is coming in between 8 and 9am, both to the park and ITRI beside it. So sometimes you can spend 20-30 mins for just the final part of the journey coming into the park.

I did a kind of commute thing for a year (Xindian-Nangang), had to take the company bus, what annoyed me was the fixed schedule, which is often difficult to deal with when you have an urgent assignment that everybody is ‘supposed’ to voluntarily pitch in for, or when they schedule meetings at 7 even though your bus is at 6:30pm sort of thing. Didn’t go down well with them and I only lasted the year’s contract out, by mutual agreement really. If I missed the bus it would take me more than an hour to get back …really hated that.

I have a great commute now, it takes about 3 seconds from my bedroom to my office :slight_smile: Ah yes…and my superior is about 3000 miles away. If you can do it the best way to go is ‘free agent’ in Taiwan…or ‘remote agent’ of a foreign company. MT, why don’t you check the possibility of freelancing for tech companies.

39

Thanks everybody.

I know I didn’t really need to ask, it was already clear from the first 3 pages of the thread, but you’ve all confirmed it even further: it would really suck, big time.

I know what I was hoping for wasn’t so much someone else’s opinion that all the others were wrong; what I was hoping for was that somehow you guys could alter the universe for me so I could take that terrific job and somehow the issue of the commute would disappear entirely.

But of course you can’t and I can’t. On the surface it might look briefly like a terrific job, but it’s not because it’s way the hell over there and I’m over here.

We’re not gonna sell our house either. We just bought it and it’s a wonderful house in a great location with a rooftop, trees, etc, my daughter just started school a week ago half a block from our house, and we’ve lived in and greatly enjoyed the neighborhood for 9 years. It’s also just 15-20 minutes from my present job and a 5 minute bike ride from the riverside paths.

SO, it seems extremely unlikely any solution can arise to make it worthwhile commuting 3 hrs a day and giving up time with family and morning bike rides, etc. I think I will make a trial run just to confirm, and if I decide to move forward with the idea I’d make another trial run or two for interviews, but it’s hard to see how it could be worthwhile. Oh well.

40

Ok, thought considerably about this last night and had good discussion with the wife. It’s all far from certain, and so far there’s not even been a job interview, much less an offer, but something like this sounds like a reasonable/doable compromise, if the new job would clearly be a big step up, which I think it would be.

Spend weekends with family in Taipei.

HSR or company shuttle bus to Hsinchu Monday morning.

Spend M, T, W nights in a small apt in Hsinchu.

Th night take HSR or company shuttle back to Taipei.

Work at home in Taipei on Friday if possible.

Or, if working at home’s not an option:

Spend weekends with family in Taipei.

HSR or company shuttle bus to Hsinchu Monday morning.

Spend M, T nights in a small apt in Hsinchu.

Wed night take HSR or company shuttle back to Taipei.

Thurs morning HSR or company shuttle back to Hsinchu.

Thurs night in Hsinchu apt.

Fri night take HSR or company shuttle back to Taipei.

Option one means only commuting round trip to Hsinchu once per week. Option two means just two round trip commutes. :ponder: