The new highway. Ilan to Taipei in less than 30 minutes. Say you live near Jaioxi and want ot go shopping in Costco in Neihu. You get on the freeway no 5, and you will be on no 3 20 minutes later. From there it’s easy and fast to get to costco. Just drive to Xizhi take hte costco there, or drive on at freeway 1 to Neihu - 5 minutes at most from Xizhi. Cheeses, such as a good swiss, cheddar etc will be available there - but remember ot pach a huge fridge into the container, as everything is in family-sized packages in that shop.
OutofChaos,
I suggest bringing an American wash machine and dryer.
American and European wash machines always have hoses for both cold and hot water, but Taiwanese wash machines only have one hose so you can only wash your clothes in cold water or scalding hot water, but not warm water.
Also, in Taiwan, it’s almost impossible to find a front-loading wash machine. Front-loading wash machines are much better than top-loaders because they use much less electricity and much less water, they are much quieter than top-loaders, and they are also much more gentle on the clothes.
As for dryers, American and European dryers are far superior to Taiwanese dryers. Taiwanese dryers usually take about 90 minutes to dry only half a load of clothes, and it’s impossible to fit a whole load (7 to 10 kg) of clothes into the dryer because if it’s more than half full, then the clothes never get dry. So you have to dry each half-load of clothes separately, which means it takes three hours just to dry a whole load of clothes! (The capacity of every Taiwanese dryer that I’ve seen is only 2.5 cubic feet (70 liters), which is only half of the size of the smallest American and European dryers.)
American and European dryers usually only take 30 minutes to dry a whole load of clothes, and the capacity is usually between 5 cubic feet (140 liters) and 7.5 cubic feet (210 liters), so it only takes 1/6 as long as a Taiwanese dryer takes to dry one load (10 kg) of clothes.
In addition, American and European dryers almost always have a moisture sensor so that they automatically cut off when the clothes get dry, but Taiwanese dryers never have a moisture sensor.
However, American and European dryers usually take between 25 and 30 amps of current at 230 volts. In Taiwan, there’s a 220 volt outlet in almost every room except the kitchen and the bathrooms, but the problem is that the 220 volt outlets in Taiwan are always wired to a 20-amp fuse and the wiring is only thick enough for 20 amps maximum. So in the room that you plan to have the dryer, you will have to have an extra 220 volt outlet installed, and make sure that you use thick wires that are rated for up to 30 amps. And you’ll have to bring over a 230 volt outlet from the States because they’re different than the 220-volt outlets used in Taiwan, and besides, the 220-volt outlets in Taiwan are only rated for a maximum of 20 amps, so they would probably burn up if you tried to use them for 30 amps.
Well, you could avoid the electrical problem by bringing over a gas dryer instead of an electric dryer. But gas dryers are always designed for natural gas, not LPG. In Taiwan, natural gas is only available in Taipei County and Miaoli County, as far as I know. Everywhere else in Taiwan, when people say “gas” (wa3 si1), they mean LPG, “liquid petroleum gas”, which is 95% propane.
By the way, American ovens also use 230 volts, and they use 50 amps (30 amps for the oven itself and 20 amps for the stove), so you’ll have to install new wiring and a new outlet for your oven, too.
Mark
So we are awaiting the packers to arrive next week and I get this stern call from the company to
The rule that “Everything that was made in China is prohibited from being imported to Taiwan” is very out-dated. Nowadays, lots of things in Taiwan are made in China, including toys, electronic appliances, computer hardware, and even beer and cigarettes.
But there are still lots of things that aren’t allowed to be imported from China to Taiwan. For example, books, magazines, and newspapers that are blatantly pro-Communism are prohibited in Taiwan.
[quote=“Taiwan’s Board of Forign Trade website”]VI. Regulations on the Import of Mainland Chinese Commodities
[quote=“lime*monkey”]
- Tea
quote]
Taiwan has some of the best tea in the world
Just about everything on your list is everywhere or easy to get…
RJF writes [quote]Just about everything on your list is everywhere or easy to get[/quote].
Okay.
But what are the items that are not everywhere or easy to get?
What substitutes, if any, are available?
At what compromise or advantage?
What would you have brought that you did not or what did you bring that you now know you could have left behind?
– Five days to packing.
OOC[/quote]
[quote=“OutofChaos”]RJF writes [quote]Just about everything on your list is everywhere or easy to get[/quote].
Okay.
But what are the items that are not everywhere or easy to get?
What substitutes, if any, are available?
At what compromise or advantage?
What would you have brought that you did not or what did you bring that you now know you could have left behind?
– Five days to packing.
OOC[/quote][/quote]
With the possible exception of the ceramic heater (I don’t know anything about them one way or another - but there are all kinds of heaters for sale everywhere), there was absolutley nothing on your list that I couldn’t buy within a 1/2 hour drive from my house (Tian Mu, Taipei).
The only purchasing problem I have had in 17 years of living here is finding nice shoes for a foot size above 9 1/2. There are shoes available in the larger size range - but even for the stores that carry them, the style choice is quite limited.
In the old days, there used to be a momma and poppa factory outlet shoe shop that would take my measurements and send them to the factory to have them made to my measure - nice styles; good quality; and only a few bucks more than their off-the-shelf counterparts.
But the neighborhood they were in got torn down to make way for a park and they decided it was finally time to retire.
Anywyay, these days I stock up on shoes on my trips back to the States.
Amazing
I moved the posts on Chamomile tea to the newly clarified “Where can I find” Forum so it (and indeed Camomile tea) can found more easily in the future: forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?t=17282
A very simple question and waiting for all relevant answers.
Could it be Western medicine?
Toothpaste, 
Peanut butter…
Underwear fitting our Caucasians bodies (eh…with a BMI above average)
An open mind set?
New bought Hugo Boss, Armani or Gucci clothes (or are the REAL ones cheaper there?)
US Dollars :America: or Euros. :Europe: …
What did YOU forget to bring along when you arrived here? :taz:
A case of your favorite deodorant. One hundred cases of your favorite beers (j.k.; you can’t bring in more than a sixpack or so dutyfree).
You don’t need to bring PB or toothpaste; nor are those imported clothes cheaper here. But if you’re big, definitely bring undies, clothing, etc. for quite a while; extra shoes, too.
Bring an econo-size bottle of aspirin. You can only get them in packs of 12 or so here (and they’re expensive!)
The best advice I was given b4 making the hop was to bring:
- Clean Air
- Clean Water
- Privacy
I’ve added a fourth to that list:
- Towels
After going to China I lugged a heap of stuff over here that I didn’t need.
Don’t bring travellers checks, they’re a pain in the butt.
How long are you staying?
Get an international drivers license. If your here long term, get your real drivers license endorsed at your local quasi Taiwan embassy.
Diplomas/degrees.
A lot of patience and a sense of humour.
Mosquito repellent. Honestly.
Ditto. Why is it so damned hard to find?
Damn, I sitting here scratching (and posting) at 1:58 cuz of these fucking bloodsuckers. Deet. Gallons of it.
Instant mashed potatoes-- not to be found here
Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, Milky Ways, 3 Musketeers…
(if you have a favorite candy other than Snickers or M&M’s you probably will need to bring it)
Mt. Dew (can be found sometimes, but not consistently)
Nesquick (they have Hershey’s syrup and Milo, but it’s not the same)