You will likely meet more cosmopolitan people in TPE who speak English. Not so in KHS.
It is much warmer in KHS all year round.
KHS has less bus routes. TPE is generally much more accessible by bus and MRT.
You are within 30 min. to 1000M hills and hikes in TPE where you are amongst trees. Not in KHS.
Good Chinese food, shopping and amenities are at your doorstep in TPE but not likely in KHS.
If you like living in a densely-packed hillside with a smelly harbor at your doorstep, then go to Jilong.
[quote=“Mucha Man”]Have you seen the purple butterflies in the winter at Maolin? They migrate from the north and winter in Maolin. There’s a small park on the west side of Maolin Village where the park’s people built a shelter. Hundreds of butterflies in the shelter and more around the park grounds. A local aboriginal told me that in the valley behind the park thousands of butterflies can be found together.
[/quote]
I’ve seen lots of butterflies out there but I don’t think I’ve actually hit peak season when I went there. I’ve heard the same thing, If you go at the right time of year, it’s supposed to be quite a spectacle.
YES. In central TPE you definitely get soot. In fact anyone who uses a fan will notice a coating of sticky, black soot stuck on the blades after only a few months.
They say that breathing the air in TPE is equivalent to smoking a pack or more a day. 
There are a lot of drawbacks to living in Kaohsiung, the worst of which is the pollution. When the pollution is bad here, it is hideous.
However, I think Kaohsiung is improving in leaps and bounds. Especially around the river and up north around Heti Rd.
But the thing I like best is that the people here are so friendly. I love going to Taipei to visit, but it’s a big city and the people feel more distant somehow. I know people from the south often get called country bumpkins, but I kind of like the warmth that comes from this.
[quote=“L-A”]There are a lot of drawbacks to living in Kaohsiung, the worst of which is the pollution. When the pollution is bad here, it is hideous. [/quote] No kidding, yesterday morning, I could barely see out the windows.
I live near Heti Rd. They have spent a lot to improve that area, it’s a little cleaner and well kept it seems around there. I like it.
I did not know that. This is the city for me because I’m a real country bumkin. The village I come from had 2000 people.
I agree though, Tapei is the metropolis of Taiwan.
Do you prefer to get kicked in your left nut or your right nut? I can help you choose between the two but in the end it will still be painful. The same goes for choosing to live in Taipei or Kaohsiung.
Painful…no, not that bad for me but a little depressing for sure. Just came back from the Philippines and looking down at that lovely blanket of yellowish/brown smog when making our descent to Kaohsiung intl. airport, was enough to make me miss home. I need more time off to get out of here more often. I like the place but the pollution kills me. Literally.
I used to live in Taipei, and the dust was always grimy and black, and thick after a week. In Tamshui the dust is white, non-sooty, and there’s less of it.