Long time lurker here poised to move to Taiwan. My current residence is in South East Asia and the particular city/country I am in is a very bad fit, to say the least so after much research I decided to check out Kaohsiung for a little bit. Seems like a great place for the most part, but I have a few concerns about my day to day life.
One of the reasons I am deciding to leave this insufferable country is because the people are so childish and rude and disrespectful, rip me off, etc. They mock me and passive aggressively say things behind my back but put on a very unconvincing facade that they are friendly, hospitable people. In reality foreigners are quite hated here despite the majority of expats always swooning about the place like itās Shangri-la. Will I have problems like this in Taiwan, or more specifically in Kaohsiung, especially for someone who is ethnic looking/non-white?
I will be freelancing from home or cafes and doing cultural things like temples and beaches and learning Chinese. I have a very strong interest in the Chinese diaspora so Iām a little excited but also perturbed about what āthe realityā is on the ground.
Would love to get some feedback if possibly. Thanks everyone!
Spent the weekend down there they are undoubtedly the most friendly people on the island. They are curious too and can be very inquisitive but very different than Taipei or Taichung. Might be a good choice for you.
Taipei and Taichung to a lesser extent are very busy cities people donāt have time to chat.
A lot of K towners mostly speak Taiwanese though :).
Hey, I live in Kaohsiung. Itās a bit slower going than Taipei and the air pollution is quite bad. A bit less developed than Taipei and food is also not great. But people are (generally) friendly, thereās some pretty sights, public transport is decent enough, itās less crowded feeling than Taipei, and job market and real estate are both better. Donāt know how itād be in your case as Iām a white dude, though.
I was going to choose Taichung but I canāt ride a scooter and the MRT is a clutch in Kaohsiung from what Iāve observed so far. Whatās the deal with the food exactly? Iām certain itās better than Filipino food?
Iām kind of an introvert so I prefer the to slink my way through quiet cafes where Iām one of three people working in the corner with maybe some smooth jazz or traditional music in the background, maybe attend the occasional small language exchange and find 1 or 2 expat/local friends to keep me company. Thatās what I like.
A lot of places here except the expensive expat joints are off-limits to me because as soon as I walk in, you can here the comedic record scratch and the silent groans as I walk to the counter to make my order, or to the receptionist, or wherever. Just a bad vibe and not really my scene. Not to mention the taxi scams, bad food, disguised hateful stares. Good place to vacation but not to live.
I live in Kaohsiung, non white person, but of Japanese-Western national. Since I look Japanese I think they (locals) treat me very well. That being said someone other that is non white or not Japanese/Korean maybe not so much, often I hear not good comments some non local ethnic groups, but I think most people are ok. I think other factor would be your job or what you do here, a better status job would get you better treatment. As far as the city, I like it as I am used to it. I am in Taiwan about 50% of the year, rest in various places (AU/NZ/USA). All this being said, itās better you drive car or scooter (Taipei is the best as far as public transit) and not so much non Taiwanese here thus less non local food (except lots of Japanese food). My reason for living here is live out of the big city (Taipei) but still have access to it (High Speed rail) and comfortable life. Things here are slower and cost less (but to me Taiwan is cheap nationwide) and I know people (good friends) so I have nice social life.
Put it this way: I spend as much time in Taiwan as possible to get away from precisely the problems you describe. If I didnāt, either my head would explode, or Iād go postal.
Kaohsiung people are just ā¦ Taiwanese. Taiwan is a very small island and there are definite cultural differences as you head south, but theyāre not as marked as (say) the difference between central Luzon and Mindoro. Kaohsiung used to be a bit of a dump, but itās been tidied up over the last 20 years and is now a very nice place to live. Property prices and rents are still a lot cheaper than Taipei.
Food: Taiwanese people take a lot of pride in their food. Itās a common topic of conversation. While you can certainly get bad food here, if you go out of your way to find it, any random restaurant will usually serve you something better than 7/10. Down south they seem to be quite big on fishy things served in gloopy sauces, but Kaohsiung is a pretty international city now and youāre sure to find something you like.
You certainly wonāt encounter the sort of nonsense that youāre used to over there. At least not on a daily basis. Once a year, maybe.
Incidentally, Iām ānon-whiteā and Iāve not noticed any issues specifically related to that.
Itās not bad per se. Itās just boring and unremarkable. Taipei has a lot more options, especially for international cuisine. We have better seafood though.
Is Filipino food bad? I went to Cebu like 6 years ago. I liked lechon, and adobo chicken. I wouldnāt touch balut with a 10 foot pole though.
Iām so much of an introvert I stay at home with my wife and daughter every weekend, and I think it was 2017 the last time I walked into a pub. So I canāt help with your hunt for smooth jazz holes. The Lighthouse is the main ex-pat pub here, and maybe itās too extroverted for you, but they certainly donāt discriminate against anyone.
actually, i was surprised at how LESS Taiwanese is spoken on the streets, stores, etc. after moving here. Yes, some speak it, but i feel itās almost the same in ratio as up north (my opinion).
Kaohsiung is great for cafes. sometimes my wife and i feel that no one works in KHH, but just drink in cafes, or 7-11, or whatnot during the day and at night . And because real estate is Not expensive, you can almost always find an empty seat, because the cafe shops are bigger in size.
true, if they know or you show you can speak Taiwanese. otherwise, theyāll continue in Mandarin.
i notice also that random conversations on the street are more natural and can carry on longer than they might in the ābusy northā