That is your personal choice, as you see everyone has different choices. That being said , I do like Tainan as well as Southern Taiwan and do not miss Taipei at all after being there a while (but do go for business and friends, but more and more my come hre to visit). As mentioned it’s very much more Taiwanese here in the South, Taipei as mentioned more international (I can see when I am in train station on weekends in Taipei). But recently I find regional cities like Singapore/Tokyo/Shanghai are much more international than Taipei and in S’pore case easy to get to from KHH pre covid. Work/Job, friends also are important, over time build network of good friends here in Kaoshuing which also keeps me here ! (I have good friends in Taipei toobut they seem so busy with work hard to see them)
Tainan, no MRT and the absolute worst driving in Taiwan. Scooter and bicycle lanes, those are used by scooters to drive the wrong way…expect this always. Oh, and driving a scooter to the middle of a park to have a cigarette…again Tainan.
Frnners, mucho crusty.
best cities: with lots of money, Taipei. U poor, then Kaohsiung. in Taipei you share a 3 bedroom apartment, in kaohsiung…well, I have a guest room and an office.
No but it’s not THAT much different. It would be at worst a lateral move. Probably a slight upgrade.
Decent beach access nearby is the main draw imo.
I’ve been here too long now I guess. 22 years. Taiwan has an excellent health care system and good business climate. Many wonderful people. Quality of life though is pretty much a steaming pile of mediocrity everywhere except for an island of international culture in parts of downtown Taipei. As a result I’m only here for the business. If I want quality of life I get it in Japan and Viet Nam.
Japan I can get for quality of life but I’m curious about your choice of Vietnam. Nice enough place, but I honestly like places that are a bit run down, as I feel it gives it some culture. (Yes I’m weird that way). Vietnam I felt was similar to Taiwan. Scooters everywhere, low cost food, etc. Japan was the clean place where not a thing looked out of place.
And that’s impossible to do now because of COVID.
I feel selfish every time I complain about being stuck in Taiwan for over a year since we’re mostly COVID free and life is pretty much normal, but holy shit not having the option to leave here for a quick Japan trip or a longer vacation to see my family in the West is tough.
Same. It’s been brutal being stuck in such a small place for so long, but there are so many far worse places to be stuck.
How long did you spend in Vietnam? I get the superficial similarities, which are common in much of Asia/SE Asia, but I never thought Vietnam was similar to Taiwan. The people, cultures, political systems, etc. are really distinct.
Vietnam has some benefits over Taiwan (food, more interesting culture, architecture, less competitive ESL job market ), but the roads and traffic are even worse than Taiwan. It’s literally a game of chance just crossing some streets. So if that bothers you about Taiwan, then it would be an even bigger problem to overcome there.
Yes, crossing the street can be an adventure there. But I’d rather die crossing the street in Vietnam than in Taiwan. 
Meh. If I were a single and in my 20s I’d rather live there. But as a Dad in my 30s who freaks out enough about the roads here, I think I’d rather stay in boring Taiwan.
There’s a massive drop off between Tapei/Kaohsiung and the other cities in Taiwan IMO. The rest of the west coast cities are boring and difficult to navigate. The east coast is beautiful for nature but not where one goes for cities.
Only a month so not long enough to understand the culture. I did enjoy going there though. The people are a little more reserved but once they know you well enough you’re part of the club.
As far as traffic if I could choose where I got run over I’d go with Vietnam. People drive slower so less likely to get killed. In Taiwan there is a lot of high speed involved.
Beaches and food. Nothing inland.
cus cravings.
Tainan and Kaoshuing are very to each other, that some live in one and work in the other.
There is also a very large community of NCKU international exchange students in Tainan. So this may be true of a segment of population but not the whole group of ‘frners’ by a stretch.
Yes. Some do commute, but unless it’s a dream job, hard to see how the time and all the HSR money would be worth it (you could also drive, but that would be double or even triple the time).
I did that for a year when I first got here by taking the train. After a few months it got old and I was tired and cranky. Nothing like getting off work at 9pm and taking a 1 hour train home and then you still need to drive home. It just royally sucked.
Agreed, but unless you’re one of them, you’re probably not going to be socializing in that group. Also, they have a habit of going home every year or two.