We moved to Kaohsiung recently. Been in Taiwan quite a long time but it’s a bit of a new adventure heading down South. This is where I will share my impressions of the place , the good , the bad and the ugly.
Found a 4bd apartment in a fairly central area, 22k with management fee, and parking near the MRT and trains, so pretty happy with that.
City is very well laid out. It’s a very big city so you are going to have variation as to where you live. Found Zuoying to be busy but got most of what you need except a cinema. There’s a bunch of Western bars, loads of restaurants, coffeeshops, department stores, you name it.
Youbike is great for getting around and there’s lots of bike paths. The river side bike path is really good now, very pleasant this time of year.
Lanting lake has a wake boarding place and sailing facilities and an outdoor swimming pool, and a nice walk and bike path around it.
The harbour areas are surprisingly quiet as they are less developed and less people live there. That whole area is developing really well, all they are missing is the international tourists.
The famed pollution has been obvious on certain days but so far I didn’t feel it was very different to other places I’ve lived up North and Central.
Some of the roads have heavy traffic as to be expected, need to avoid those industrial areas or highway exits and entrances. Driving can be very poor, about the same level of Taoyuan which is not saying much. The streets and intersections are better laid out and all the main roads have footpaths.
The main difference with the North at this point in time? It’s extremely parched and dry. All the parks are brown and burnt out, and some hillsides are extremely dry. It seems there’s been an extended drought here. I miss the greenery, otherwise enjoying the sunshine and nice temperatures practically everyday. It is not hot , it’s even been surprisingly cold at times, overall just very pleasant Weather, very predictable.
