Hello,
So it looks like im moving back to Taiwan after about 7 years away. Im Taiwanese american, born in the US and i did my highschool in southern Taiwan (KH Area). Any old hands around here to give me an overview on what to expect living there again? Ill be moving to the Taoyuan area due to work and family in that area, so i know nothing about it at all. So any pointers about what to expect?
I have visited a few times in the past, but never really a long term trip, and ive been living in the Mainland for the last 5 years.
Things im on the lookout for specifically:
Places to eat, as i remember it Taiwan was famous for places that were once popular to suddenly disappear with no warning.
Night life- Night markets and clubs and bars.
Shopping for bigger people, im tall and im not a stick so i remember having huge amounts of trouble to buy clothes and shoes in Taiwan when i was living there in the past, even in beijing. Waist size 36-40 depending on brand and cut, 12.5-13 USA shoe size, XL shirt sizes (american sizes)
If there are any massive prejudices over long hair on guys with lots of piercings. When i was there before i had short hair and 1 or 2 earrings, but now im up to 13 and probably hair down to my upper back. Need to be prepared if its something that will get bad enough id need to consider changing it.
Any huge changes in pretty much anything else that is super important in that time.
Thanks in advance guys!
You went to High school in Kaoshiung and your family lives here, I think you must know a lot of this already, especially the piercings thing. Tattoos seem more acceptable now, piercings probably less so.
I don’t think Taiwan has changed so much in 7 years in terms of people’s attitudes, maybe other posters think differently. To my mind Taiwan’s built environment changes a lot faster than society.
It’s easy to tell the ‘best’ and ‘most famous’ places by the horrendous crowds hanging out of them on weekends, you will have it figured out in no time.
Taoyuan comes up a lot on these boards, maybe you don’t want to search for it though 
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[quote=“headhonchoII”]You went to High school in Kaoshiung (Gaoxiong) and your family lives here, I think you must know a lot of this already, especially the piercings thing. Tattoos seem more acceptable now, piercings probably less so.
I don’t think Taiwan has changed so much in 7 years in terms of people’s attitudes, maybe other posters think differently.
Taoyuan comes up a lot on these boards, maybe you don’t want to search for it though .[/quote]
There are a few things you assumed that arent totally spot on.
First of all. My mother is not traditional Taiwanese, even though she was born and raised there. The first time i met my family in Taiwan was at my grandfather’s funeral and i have almost no contact with them except for my aunt who i help out with translating and help out sometimes with other things for her company. She ran away to marry my father after divocing her first husband years ago in HK. And she literally RAN away, with no Hongbao! My high school was limited to an American School in taiwan. and during that time i hung out with all the foreigners, and none of the stuff ever came up. And i was raised as american, as my mom had already assimilated for the most part in the US once i was into the developmental years.
And yes i should use the search function, i am in the process of combing these forums so it may take a while This is more an opinion based thing then anything else.
I should have started with ‘Welcome to Forumosa’ . The reason why I said search for Taoyuan, is
- Searching first is always a good idea, but don’t use the forum search, use google.com and then ‘Taoyuan forumosa.com KEYWORD’, that works better
- Taoyuan is a bit of a dump, sorry to break it to you like this dude. But it is fairly close to the big smoke, Taipei.
I am always amazed at how many Taiwanese who left the island young did not maintain much contact or understanding of the country, even wanted to distance themselves from Taiwan (the dual passport holders too), but later want to come back or learn more. Of course it is the parents who did this. You’ve also spent the last few years in the mainland, the difference between Shanghai and say Taipei is not so big in reality and in fact there are more foreigners there than here. But there is a lot more stuff to do in Taiwan countrywide and people are genuinely friendlier here.
[quote=“headhonchoII”]I should have started with ‘Welcome to Forumosa’ . The reason why I said search for Taoyuan, is
- Searching first is always a good idea, but don’t use the forum search, use google.com and then ‘Taoyuan forumosa.com KEYWORD’, that works better
- Taoyuan is a bit of a dump, sorry to break it to you like this dude. But it is fairly close to the big smoke, Taipei.
I am always amazed at how many Taiwanese who left the island young did not maintain much contact or understanding of the country, even wanted to distance themselves from Taiwan (the dual passport holders too), but later want to come back or learn more. Of course it is the parents who did this. You’ve also spent the last few years in the mainland, the difference between Shanghai and say Taipei is not so big in reality and in fact there are more foreigners there than here. But there is a lot more stuff to do in Taiwan countrywide and people are genuinely friendlier here.[/quote]
Ya i figured it wasnt the most happening part of the island, but i was hoping id get something local since a lot of people in Taoyuan commute to Taipei. I did some prelimiary searches that lead me to these forums, but all in all not too much information on it, 90% of the links are to the airport and something about getting out of the city
For me the story honestly is different. I did HS in Taiwan, in the more “ghetto” (classmates words) part of Taiwan and i loved it. I left after finishing HS and did the whole uni thing for a while back home, and i hated it. I cant put my finger on why, but its just a feeling i got, so i went to China and started working and traveling and having a great ole time, exploring and learning about the culture. But now with visa restrictions in to China getting much stricter, its time to take a hiatus from that adventure, and go on a new-ish one. I wish i was raised here, but im glad i did make the cutoff on being able to apply for a Taiwanese citizen without needing to give up my US citizen ship. Its just the year without being able to leave that is keeping me from jumping on it right away, well that and conscription.
And i dont know if the difference between say shanghai or Beijing and Taiwan is so small. My feeling from all the Taiwanese outside of Taiwan here on the mainland tend to stand out quite a bit. I mean beyond the international cities. But all in all, i think Taoyuan might be a great fit for me. I don’t want to end up somewhere where i feel like its just another international city, like Taipei. When i wanted to go to Taiwan, i want a real Taiwan experience. Not one that has been super “westernized” if that’s the best way to say it. And if i need to, its not too far from Taoyuan to Taipei. And its where my family is, which i hope to try to reconnect with.
Taiwan is quite different from the Mainland, I was just pointing out that in terms of development and education levels and interests etc. the average Taipei city person and Shanghai city person wouldn’t be a whole lot different.
Taiwan has a veneer of Westernization, certainly some things here are Westernized to a degree (and also influence from Japanese, which is one of the biggest differences between Taiwan and China), but there is a lack of Westerners as compared to say Singapore and Hong Kong! Which should fit you to a T as it is easier to do the Taiwanese thing if you so wish. I’m sure you can go days in Taoyuan without seeing white people for instance. Not that you may be looking for white people, just giving an example. Taipei has by far the most Westerners in Taiwan, but even then it’s not exactly crawling with them.
A lot of people are more into Korean soap operas and Japanese food although there are lots of Western restaurants of varying degree in Taipei.
Taoyuan is a bit of a dump though, I started off in Taoyuan, as I know quite a few posters here did too.
Only real difference I’ve seen over the years is that prices for stuff has gotten a lot more expensive, while wages have remained more or less the same.
As for long hair and piercings, even if they object to it no one will really care because in the Chinese society, if you’re not family you’re nobody. Taipei is full of guys with long hair especially at Ximen. There’s a general stereotype that guys with long hair are artists…