Trying to be positive about Taiwan

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

I started trying to think positive about Taiwan, and list the things I like about Taiwan

MRT System (Taipei)
Bus System (Taipei)
Bike Trails (Taipei River)
Hiking Paths
Scenery (Mountains, rivers, trees, hills)
Proximity to Asia (good for travel)
Not too much violent crime (that I’ve seen)

Unfortunately, this is not a very big list. It becomes obvious that I think the bad points of Taiwan far outweigh the good points. I take that as a sign that I should probably eventually leave Taiwan and not try to make Taiwan my permanent home. I was hoping for something better, but I can’t argue with the facts.

2

Your list is quite accurate, but I might add that the Bus System may be okay, but the bus drivers are complete psychos.

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i hate the buses. overly packed and have to stand awkwardly holding those little handles trying not to fall over? no thanks. the subway is good though.

good things:
7-11
foodage
sun
night markets
mountains

4

I think there’s a lot of positives, but you know, each to their own… in addition to the above…

Food - good variety, local and international
Some reasonable international acts play in Taipei
Friendly locals
Nice hot weather down south
Some nice places to dive
Riding scooters is good fun (hectic)
Airport is pretty good / immigration easy to get through with e-gate
Internet access is quick / no censorship or blocking
The news channels are amusing
Countryside is pretty relaxing

Could come up with more for sure… Bottom line is, if ever the negatives outweighed the positives, I’d move elsewhere.

5

[quote=“tmz_99”]I think there’s a lot of positives, but you know, each to their own… in addition to the above…

Food - good variety, local and international
Some reasonable international acts play in Taipei
Friendly locals
Nice hot weather down south
Some nice places to dive
Riding scooters is good fun (hectic)
Airport is pretty good / immigration easy to get through with e-gate
Internet access is quick / no censorship or blocking
The news channels are amusing
Countryside is pretty relaxing

Could come up with more for sure… Bottom line is, if ever the negatives outweighed the positives, I’d move elsewhere.[/quote]

Have to agree with the each his own.

I didn’t think of the airport. It seems efficient and well-run (at least from my POV). Wish it was easier to get to, but I know the government’s working on the MRT to the airport.

6

Are things so bad we have to list the airport as a good thing?

The people are generally friendly here and there’s seems to be a sense of innocents. Knowing that you’re not going to get shot up here while having your morning coffee is enough for me. Pollution is probably killing me, though, but at least it’s slow.

7

I could make an endless list, but here are just a few things:

@Transportation! Buses, MRT, trains, YouBike, taxis – all of it. (I’m from LA, so as they say in Chinese 聊勝於無.)
@Safety and security! These old, awful buildings stand up in earthquakes, and you don’t have to worry about having anything stolen or being stabbed.
@The people! I’m sure many will disagree, but the majority of people I’ve associated with in 6 years here have been intelligent, well-meaning, and polite. A lot of work could be done on building international viewpoints and critical reasoning skills, though.
@Freedom of speech!
@Cheap phone plans! (I’m from the US, where a few gigabytes of data costs an arm and a leg.)
@Convenience! Food is everywhere.
@Hiking and biking trails!
@Traditional Chinese characters! Seriously, simplified is just an aesthetic failure.
@Tech! It’s awesome that everyone carries the latest phones and cameras and has a decent understanding of terms like megapixels and gigabytes. It’s hard to talk about this sort of thing back home.

That’s it for now.

8

The airport is terrible. Always digging and putting boarding up. It is terrible to get to from anywhere, even from the air - they’ve closed one of the runways which means that you get stuck in a line before takeoff and stuck in a hold on landing! I understand that they are sorting out the terminal, hence all the disruption, but they managed to mess that up and make the renovations last longer than they should. And the roof still leaks.

Burglarized twice, and just two weeks ago, had the alloys stolen off one of my cars. Well, two of the wheels, which is kind of more annoying than having all of them stolen.

7-11’s annoy me as well. They are too convenient. Lines of people pay all their bills, usually before I need to buy something like a lighter or a bottle of water, which makes things for me and other customers very inconvenient :slight_smile:

But yeah, aside from the traffic and all the other usual moans, everything else is pretty much sweet and the positives far outweigh the negatives

9

Mixed blessing, eh?

Sorry to hear that you got burglarized – that’s literally the second time I’ve heard anyone tell me they’ve been the victim of theft here. Can I ask where you live?

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Mixed blessing, eh?

Sorry to hear that you got burglarized – that’s literally the second time I’ve heard anyone tell me they’ve been the victim of theft here. Can I ask where you live?[/quote]

There are lots of burglaries here. Why do you think people have bars on their windows and balconies? My home has been burglarized, and so have many of my neighbors’ homes. I live in 天龍國.

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Mixed blessing, eh?

Sorry to hear that you got burglarized – that’s literally the second time I’ve heard anyone tell me they’ve been the victim of theft here. Can I ask where you live?[/quote]

There are lots of burglaries here. Why do you think people have bars on their windows and balconies? My home has been burglarized, and so have many of my neighbors’ homes. I live in 天龍國.[/quote]

you live in the kingdom of the sky dragon? ok, not sure what that means.

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天龍國 is how many Taiwanese refer to 大安區 & 信義區

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While violent crime is relatively rare in Taiwan, property crime is unfortunately common.

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Mixed blessing, eh?

Sorry to hear that you got burglarized – that’s literally the second time I’ve heard anyone tell me they’ve been the victim of theft here. Can I ask where you live?[/quote]

There are lots of burglaries here. Why do you think people have bars on their windows and balconies? My home has been burglarized, and so have many of my neighbors’ homes. I live in 天龍國.[/quote]

I used to think that the reason for the bars was an anti-theft measure until I was pre-typhooning my caged balcony one blustery summer afternoon and I inadvertently discovered the real reason for the bars. As usual, I left it until the last moment and as the winds were already picking up steam, a huge sheet of corrugated metal came crashing into my cage at mach 3 (give or take a mach). If the bars weren’t there, I’d be writing this without my head as I surely would have been decapitated.

Back on topic…

Compared to YVR, where leaving an empty pack of smokes on your dashboard results in a smashed window, this is a crime-free zone.

Taking that a step further, many people complain about the ludicrousity of the justice system here, but every time I’ve had to partake of it, from both sides of the bench, it’s done alright by me.

Going to 7-11 with your mates after an evening of playing rugby, touch football, fitba or yes, even ice hockey and drinking cheap beer and whiskey until all hours then taking a taxi home for pennies whilst enjoying that last adult bevvie on the journey far outstrips brown-bagging it in the west.

Massage services a-plenty and a-cheap.

My fiance. (actually should be first on my list)

BBQ/Hotpot/Haagen Daaz all you can eat, again, until the wee hours of the morn.

The fruit.

I can speak some mandarin. That in itself is amazing, as poor as mine is.

The recent protests, agree or not with the issue at hand, witnessing this fledgling democracy working out its. erm…bugs, is a front row seat to history.

Many other reasons too, but my double egg, double bacon cheese dan bing is getting cold. (I get it without sauce so I can smother it in maple syrup).

Have a hen hao day, eh!

15

and

Sincerely, in almost 20 years here, the instances of robbery I’ve heard of and even witnessed won’t add up to a handful. less than what I would see or even experience in a day in the ol country, and a lot less than what I see in the US every time I visit. Attempts in the hood have been thwarted by the neighbors’. Like I hear about “wolves” on buses all the time but I also see the news when the bus driver closes the doors and the passengers hold him down to wait for the cops. We complain about the chabuduo attitude towards Law but in general terms, there is still a sense of what I would call deeper right and wrong, and community sense. Mostly respectful of other people’s 90% of the time. And no fear. I do not live in fear here. The possibility of someone charging into my apartment is very low. That for me is the best about living in Taiwan.

MRT
Convenience rules.
It is more than OK to be a nerd, a book addict, wear glasses.
And then there’s the little things:
Most people do not think cats are devil’s spawn.
Can dress with cat shoes for work -not me, but I could if I wanted. Men can carry Hello Kitty thermos to work.

16

While I consider myself gay-positive , that statement alone negates my entire list of reasons to live here. I’ll be on the next plane out once I see that horror.

:wink:

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While I consider myself gay-positive , that statement alone negates my entire list of reasons to live here. I’ll be on the next plane out once I see that horror.

:wink:[/quote]

Ok, OK, lemme fix that:

Middle aged hard working men can carry the lunches their wives prepared for them in Hello Kitty thermos and no one on the MRT baits an eye.

EDIT:
I think it is painfully obvious they are heterosexual because, pardon the stereotype, no gay guy would wear those ties…

18

[quote=“Lros”]i hate the buses. overly packed and have to stand awkwardly holding those little handles trying not to fall over? no thanks. the subway is good though.
[/quote]

I think of it as really cheap surfing simulation and generally have a blast unless it’s raining and smells like feet.

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[quote=“hansioux”][quote=“Lros”]i hate the buses. overly packed and have to stand awkwardly holding those little handles trying not to fall over? no thanks. the subway is good though.
[/quote]

I think of it as really cheap surfing simulation and generally have a blast unless it’s raining and smells like feet.[/quote]

At least here in central Taipei I have been pleasantly surprised at the incredible improvement in the bus service. There are almost always seats even at rush hour. It’s a great alternative for trips of a few km.

20

This was at my place in Taoyuan, In Taipei I’ve never been hit, but neighbors in buildings nearby have. We have security on the door anyway - this is in Neihu. Actually, in Taoyuan, stealing stuff is pretty common. I’ve had so many bits and pieces disappear. If it’s not bolted down, they’ll have it, especially tools. Lost a gasoline generator from the lockup there couple of years back too.

Yeah, I love it when this kind of stuff goes down. A good bit of community courage makes me all warm and fuzzy inside, not necessarily because justice is served, but because of people, often strangers, working together to eliminate the riff raff.

I like that smartphone app that tells you when the bus is coming.