Moving out of Taipei

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

I’m thinking of moving out of Taipei after I finish with my current job. I originally moved here from a rural town in SK -(where I was teaching - I’m from the UK) and chose Taipei because I was sick of living in such a quiet, boring, nothing to do place - also wanted the Westernisation, for ease of communication, home comforts and so on.

Naturally I’m now dreadfully bored of Taipei. After thinking it over I remembered the reason I came to Asia was for adventure, wildness and whackiness - not just to do the things I do at home in an Asian setting. Although I think I’ll eventually head toward mainland China - I need to stay here a little while longer to continue with savings I’ll need to return home before China.

For all the strong recommendations for Taipei I find that its (for my tastes) too Westernised, dreadful weather, too concrete and expensive. People rave about the nightlife - but I think its kind of boring, and expensive. I’m not really into clubs so much - prefer a bar/pub vibe. Taipei is certainly good for convenience, size, choice - but for a travelling and living experience I’d say it was ‘meh’ rather than ‘WOW’

So anyone recommend a place with the following - a reasonable amount of expats, with various activities and things going on amongst them. Cool friendly locals (although thats probably everywhere in Taiwan) Some natural beauty around or nearby. The opportunity to make at least enough money to get by and save a little. Also convenience - and I think this might be a major thing - the ability to get around without a Scooter (I neither have a license or have ever driven one)

2

Hualian?

3

This thread may or may not have some ideas for you: [url]What is the best place to live in Taiwan?

4

Xinzhu?

5

I suppose I mostly agree with you here, but to be honest I’m not sure how many homes can ever be “WOW” - after all, if it’s your home, then it almost inevitably becomes dull. For example, I now spend a month a year in Vancouver, and I absolutely love visiting - but when I lived there, it was ‘meh’, and for my friends who live there now, it’s meh. They’ve remarked that they enjoy my visits because it makes them appreciate Vancouver a lot more.

Unfortunately, your list of what you want leads me to recommend… Taipei!

Cities of the west coast. I get the impression that Taipei’s the only place where expat activities don’t necessarily and always involve alcohol. (I used to live in Tainan, and once I lost interest in getting drunk, I never seemed to see other foreigners.)

Friendly locals everywhere, but outside the big cities I generally find there’s a foreigner-as-exotic aspect that can get pretty tiring over the long term.

Taipei, with Yangmingshan, Maokong, and the nearby north coast probably beats any of the other west coast cities. Of course Hualian and Taidong have natural beauty, but I doubt they’d meet your other criteria. I suppose Taichung is an OK hub for getting into Nantou, and the northern part of Kaohsiung County is really nice, but if you’re not driving you can’t get to those places as day trips.

You’re probably stuck in the cities. I get the impression the smaller towns don’t have enough work to provide fulltime hours these days; you’re a decade or more too late.

This is the killer. Definitely Taipei. Maybe Kaohsiung these days, with the newish MRT. Probably nowhere else on the island.

Outside chance: find a school somewhere in a town on the east coast that’s looking for a fulltime or near fulltime teacher. If you’re in a town like that, a bicycle might be enough for you to get around, and it could be quite pretty. On the west coast, jobs in smaller towns do exist, but most of those small towns are quite unappealing. However, I doubt you’ll find much of an expat community.

6

[quote=“lostinasia”]

This is the killer. Definitely Taipei. Maybe Kaohsiung these days, with the newish MRT. Probably nowhere else on the island…[/quote]

I live in Taichung without a scooter. Its a pain sometimes but I’m mostly well served by cheap and plentiful bus services to all the places I usually go (cause-effect?). Only problems is going out late at night (which I don’t do that often) and getting around when its hot (because cycling can lead to unsightly sweat patches if you don’t wear the right shorts). I also love walking. Most of the time it is really nice. I had a couple of scooters before but much prefer being without. I’m not shy of using the odd taxi when I need (150NT once a week). The trick is to get your location right.

7

I’m a pretty sociable, extrovertive person (or a dick if you prefer) so I’ve actually always enjoyed this - a lot in fact. Even when its little kids going ‘Uhhh Mama Laowai!’ I find it endearing, rather than annoying. I can certainly see why some people of other personality types would be driven mad by it. My best friend here in fact went crazy when some out of town girls ran into him on the street and insisted on photographing him and talking to him - whereas if that had been me I would have enjoyed it - for lack of a better saying - It gives you something to write home about.

In South Korea you get it in a big BIG way, although much different in style to the Taiwanese (at times unpleasant or incredibly strange in fact) - but it is something I miss a lot, and one of the reasons life I find life a little dull Taipei (a combo I suppose of too many foreigners AND the locals being largely unfazed by them)

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^^kinda weird, right?

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I’m a pretty sociable, extrovertive person (or a dick if you prefer) so I’ve actually always enjoyed this - a lot in fact… I find it endearing, rather than annoying. I can certainly see why some people of other personality types would be driven mad by it.[/quote]
Oh, I get it - I still tend to enjoy it when I’m travelling, but less so when I’m “home”, which is now basically Taiwan. A big part of my fatigue came after I got a Taiwanese girlfriend; attention that had been mildly amusing when directed at me become rather annoying when directed at us.

10

like others posted here. without a scooter I guess life is very difficult outside Taipei and mayybeee Kaohsiong. You can definitly forget about Taichung, which otherwise would just be perfect.

Why without a scooter? It is fun and a essential part of being in Taiwan.

11

unless you go somewhere down the east coast or to a small rural town, you’ll basically be living in a shittier version of Taipei.

12

[quote=“touduke”]You can definitly forget about Taichung, which otherwise would just be perfect.
[/quote]

Except for this:

Taichung’s the pits. Don’t go there.

13

I have to agree with the other posters so far.

Basically, for me, I’d only ever live in Taidong, Hualian or Yilan Counties , or if I really had to, Taipei City (perhaps Gaoxiong City – don’t know about how much there is to do there, but I like the feel of the place). The big west coast cities are friggin’ awful, every single one of them. I’m not that fond of Taidong, Hualian or Yilan Cities either, but I live in Taidong County in a small town so I’m out of the hustle and bustle.

Without a scooter, in most of Taiwan, you’re going to be up shitter’s ditch, as they say. Other than outdoor activities, entertainment is basically going to be limited to singing karaoke and spitting binlang with the locals. The quality of poontang drops off a cliff the further you get from Taipei too.

Taipei is personally too hectic for me and still not nearly cool enough for such trade offs. If I really wanted to live in a city, it sure as hell wouldn’t be in Taiwan, and it probably wouldn’t be in Asia other than maybe Tokyo, but who the fuck can afford to live there? I should imagine that place would also be way too crowded for my liking. Taipei is as good as it gets and it’s still way too hectic and too formulaic. Two chicks planking is about as organic as it gets here in terms of any real kind of modern cultural scene. Fuck that for a joke. If you’re going to live in a developing nation and want a cool city, move to Istanbul. There must be plenty more, but Taipei is not one of them.

In my opinion, Taiwan’s biggest advantage is the differential between the cost of living and how much you can earn, though these days, that’s getting worse and worse for a lot of Chinglish teachers by the sounds of it and Taipei is expensive to live in also, so I’m not sure how well many people there really are doing these days. I’m not sure that Taipei actually makes sense for saving money, but then, Taoyuan is like the ninth circle of hell. I guess you can’t always get what you want.

14

[quote=“spaint”][quote=“touduke”]You can definitly forget about Taichung, which otherwise would just be perfect.
[/quote]

Except for this:

Taichung’s the pits. Don’t go there.[/quote]

bullshit.
After living in Taipei for about 6 years I moved to Taichung and life is much much better here for me.
we have sunshine all around the year, literally weeks and even months without getting wet.
we have mountains & nature galore
we bought a big apartment for 9 wan/ping near the art museum, for that money you can’t even get a tao fang in a similar area in Taipei.

Each time in Taipei I am glad I’m leaving. My wife used to make a joke “you go to Taipei, don’t forget the umbrella”

15

TAiching can be magical. Its got a nice “feel” to it, if you open your mind up a bit. I loved the year I lived down there.

Adn the weather is soooo much better then the big pei.

16

You get a lot more bang for your buck in Taichung if you want to live long-term and own a house etc but it does depend where you live and if you like to drive or not. I, like Touduke, would never purchase a place in Taipei, if we purchase we will purchase in Taichung most likely as it is much more reasonable. There are certainly some very nice areas in Taichung such as the Art Museum area, Science Museum area, Nantun and quite a few others. I think a lot of people don’t have good knowledge of Taichung even if they have lived in Taiwan quite a long time, I certainly didn’t and I discovered a lot of nice places in the city after I moved here. If you just go the train station or old central area you wouldn’t get the right picture.

I would go crazy if I didn’t have a car here in Taichung. Taichung county is a write-off mostly, too much industry and the coast has been largely destroyed, I don’t do a lot there but we do spend time in Miaoli and Nantou and it is handy for going to South Taiwan. It’s also only 45 mins on the high speed train to Taipei. Taichung City doesn’t have much going on though…very few cultural events. There are few foreigners in Taichung and it is more parochial than Taipei and not enough new Western restaurants or bars, not that Taipei is an international mecca though!

Taipei is better set-up overall, has great places nearby like the North Coast (if you like the water) and Yangmingshan and Muzha, more events and concerts etc, but is very expensive and crowded. You need dollars in Taipei. GIT’s right, most small towns and villages here are smaller but WORSE versions of the cities. Living in areas outside Taipei might be a good choice, Guandu, Tamshui, Yingge…might not be too bad. The weather in Taipei is pretty crappy though, often damp and then extremely muggy in the summer, exacerbated by the crowded living conditions and often poor quality of the older apartments.

Xinzhu has a lot of great nature and is not far from the big city also.

For me there are major issues with living in all Taiwanese cities…over crowding, pollution, too expensive property, culturally backward and insular…they need a lot of improvement in general. Unfortunately even with the great relative improvements in Taipei with infrastructure it just exacerbated other problems like overcrowding and cost of living!

17

[quote=“touduke”][quote=“spaint”]

Taichung’s the pits. Don’t go there.[/quote]

bullshit.
After living in Taipei for about 6 years I moved to Taichung and life is much much better here for me.
we have sunshine all around the year, literally weeks and even months without getting wet.
[/quote]

The fact that this is the major positive that Taichung-dwellers drone on about is a clear point to show that there’s actually FUCK ALL to do in that backwards, polluted, overgrown little shithole.

Where the fuck are they? Ask anyone in Taichung “What is there to do in Taichung?” and they’ll tell you all the things you can do OUTSIDE of Taichung, if you’ve got wheels. And they’ll tell you how wonderful the weather is. Which basically means that all the filth and shit from those coal power plants never gets washed out of the air. Occasionally, after a rainstorm, you can see how big those mountains are that are near Taichung, but usually they’re invisible through the grey smog.

True, but you’ll be in Taichung, the polyp on Taiwan’s arsehole.

[quote=“touduke”]
Each time in Taipei I am glad I’m leaving. My wife used to make a joke “you go to Taipei, don’t forget the umbrella”[/quote]

And each time I’m unfortunate enough to find myself in Taichung, I wish I were dead.

To the OP: you’ll eventually be able to get around Taichung without a scooter or car. The city is building a metro system, and once the appropriate bribes have been paid and construction has dragged on about two or three decades longer than it was supposed to, you’ll have an elevated rail system that takes you from nowhere to precisely nowhere; showing you all of the sights that Taichung has to offer.

18

Spaint, you are full of it yourself. Taichung ain’t that bad, your experience of living in Taichung was bad. Taichung is in fact a far far nicer place to live than many many towns and cities in Taiwan. Your claims are really over the top.

It has it’s bad points like air pollution from the coal plant but you can afford to get good accomodation near nice parks (try doing that in Taipei…no chance unless you are loaded or your in-law had property) and the traffic is very light and it is easy to drive around and it is still an open an low density city compared to most others in Taiwan. I have driven around Taiwan a lot this year and I noticed that when Taichung had air pollution MOST of the island has severe air pollution so it was not relegated to Taichung by any means.

I was in Taipei again recently and the vehicle pollution must have 5X what I experience in Taichung, just stand around Civic Boulevard or Zhongxiao Fushing and on a muggy hot afternoon…the ozone levels and the noise is incredible, I have never experienced anything like that in Taichung. Kaoshiung and Taipei are really bad for vehicle air and noise pollution. It is also very rare to get any sort of breeze in Taipei due to the basin effect, Taichung does get breezes and seems to cool down more at night. Winters in Taipei are damp and soggy, Taichung has about a month of Winter and that’s it.

It depends what you want and what your budget is but it’s bit like comparing a yelllow mango with a green mango, not much difference except your personal preference.

19

funny how Taichung is getting lauded for its ‘nature’ when in reality the ‘nature’ around Taipei is literally right behind your building, while you live right in the city. And if you want to drive 45 minutes you can be in some of the most pristine places in the country. Also I think the pollution in Taipei is pretty tame compared to a lot of the more industrial cities. sure the rain sucks, but if you are planning to live somewhere long term, why not do it in a city where you can participate in all the activities you want and have an easier time meeting like-minded people.

20

I think Taichung is not as good or as bad as some of the posters mentioned above. Taipei City has great nature all around it, that’s probably the best part. If you want to enjoy it is best to have a car though and then you will probably need to live far out in the suburbs or New Taipei City…regular families can’t afford to buy a home and run a car in Taipei City and the overcrowding makes it unbearable in my book…New Taipei City is a better bet for families and in getting close to nature but then it is also overcrowded, overpriced and infrastructure is also poor . But it’s definitely the case that people are having to move further and further out…is living in Ankeng or Tamshui or Yingge still living in Taipei City? Let’s have a fair comparison eh.

I live in Taichung in an awesome apartment for half the cost of Taipei, with gym and swimming pool. I run my car really cheaply, I DONT pay for my underground parking space, I hardly pay anything for parking in the city and it is mostly very convenient to park and shop and visit places, we save a bunch of money so we can have a FUTURE and get around the island very easily. Having a family and not having a car is very difficult, being single is a different kettle of fish. So it all depends on your priorities and your income and your needs.

Lastly Deuce talks about ‘living in Taipei long-term’. I find very few foreigners can live in Taipei City long-term due to the expense…we are priced out unless the in-laws help out. Most foreigners I have met in Taipei leave the island after a few years of fun, a few have moved to other regions of Taiwan and even fewer have stayed due to the expense VS income problem. I earn more money than the average English teacher and I can’t afford to live in Taipei City proper and save and still eat out and travel regularly, so I don’t know how anybody else could either.

Edit: Just add a few comments about Taipei. I used to live in Xindian and work in Zhonghe, both areas are extremely crowded and getting MORE crowded as time goes by. I coudln’t afford to live in Da’an or Xinyi and I was busy and lived far away from those places, they were of no use to me mostly. Now even Muzha or Xindian are expensive to live in good apartments…you’ve really got to commute quite long distances if you want to work in Taipei in many cases. The MRT is getting more and more crowded all the time, if you come in from near Tamshui you are probably standing all the way on your commute in, same with the train from the suburbs. So it’s not a bed of roses even if the public transport infrastructure is better. So if we are going to compare Taipei with Taichung let’s include Zhonghe, Yonghe, Xindian etc…where many foreigners actually live.