Okay, less than 9 months to figure out where to move to in Taiwan - bringing husband and will-be 3 yr old daughter. What, in your opinion, are the best cities/towns to raise children in while in Taiwan and why? Looking forward to hearing what you think!! 
I would guess Taidong. But not much work there. Taichung is probably more realistic.
Nowhere. I wouldnât bring kids to Taiwan. They suffer all the drawbacks without being able to enjoy the benefits (nice slinky babes and 24 access to booze).
taipei over taichung
taidung over taipei
depends what yr criteria are? clean, safe, access to other western children, kids learning chinese, you having access to other foreigners, foreign restaurants and food etc etc
EDIT just noticed from anther thread you dont want taipei or taidund⌠weird. your criteria all point to taipei -
- We do not want to be in Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taidong
Odd
- No big cities, as little pollution as possible
Even odder, this is Taiwan. Living in a city with no pollution will be very tough to find
- Not completely rural either- a few other English speakers, an internet cafe and some Western cuisine would be nice
Outsdie the cities you said you dont want this will be even tougher
- By the ocean or a hiking area would be ideal (we like the outdoors)
Ocean wise the east coast and Kending way are your only options
- We donât speak Chinese (although we will try to learn!)
Cool
- We have a lilâ one so transportation on scooter or crowded subway alone would not be great
Taipei subway is brilliant
Travelling by car in Taiwan can be as stressful as travelling by train
I suggest you think about the outer suburbs of Taipei, seriously.
I live in Muzha and am 40 mins from a good beach and only minutes from great hikes.
Other good suburbs to fit your criteria = Xindian, TienMu, Beitou
Kending has great beaches, beautiful scenery, good foreign food, excellent walks and countrside, I could go on. BUT it may not have many schools to teach at. Strange I made this post before and it has been deleted due to simple pictures I posted of Kending. Why is this?
My wife & I discussed this at great length before our marriage. We both decided that had she not already been established in Tainan, we would not live on Taiwan. She had an 8yr old son, he is now a 10 yr old.
She is well established in her career and I do not teach engrish.
Tainan has the best mix of culture and âsmall townâ feel for us. And its the friendliest in our opinion.
Based on what AWOL repeated I would suggest you check out a town called Hengchuan (check the spelling). It is about 15-20 minutes outside Kending. There are a few foreigners there, lots of western food and beaches and hiking just a short drive away (wow, Iâm thinking of moving myself)
Oh! and BTW Tainan Cowboy, do you ever miss an opportunity to mention you donât teech Engrish?
Hengchun
You might also look at Pingtung. Not that far from Kaohsiung. Smallish city with sleepy back streets (for Taiwan) and less air pollution than Chiayi. Close to the mountains. I would guess little work and a serious danger of dying from boredom. Meinung to the north would be similar, but smaller. You would need a car in either place since public transportation in these areas is almost nonexistent.
[quote=ânavillusâ]Oh! and BTW Tainan Cowboy, do you ever miss an opportunity to mention you donât teech Engrish?[/quote]Navillus -
Not if I think its a relavent factor.
In this case, I am of the understanding that the OP has untentions of becoming an engrish teechur on Taiwan.
In stating my views regarding Tainan, I wanted her to be aware of the fact that I could not view this city from the stand-point of someone in the profession she wishes to pursue.
I, IMO, feek this is relevant to her decision making.
You are in this field I believe (I could be wrong about this), and live in the Tainan area. Perhaps you could give her an idea of Tainan from your viewpoint. It may be of more help to her than my opinion of Tainan.
Oh itâs pretty rural.
a few, yes, and very far between
Of course, where else would the gangsters get together.
Forget about it. Rice noodles and pretty much nothing else. Fortunately I learned to cook somewhere along the way.
Just giving you a hard time TC. Iâve only been to Tainan twice. My opinion wouldnât count for much.
[quote=âFeirenâ]Hengchun
You might also look at Pingdong. Not that far from Kaohsiung. Smallish city with sleepy back streets (for Taiwan) and less air pollution than Chiayi (Jiayi). Close to the mountains.[/quote]
People seem to think because Pig-Dung is located near the mountains it therefore has clean air. Actually itâs air is normally in the âUnhealthyâ reading because all that pollution gets trapped by the mountains.
Today the pollution readings all over Taiwan are good but keep an eye on the readings over a monthly period and youâll see what I mean. Even Kaohsiung air is usually alot cleaner than Pig-Dung. EPA air quality website: http://210.69.101.63/eme/default.aspx?mod=PsiAreaHourlyE
Thanks Hongda.
This is a good example of how just a few visits to a place is not a good way to judge its liveability. The air was quite good in Pingtung on my several trips out there in the past couple of years. But listen to people who have actually lived there and visit several times if possible before making any decisions.
Meinong is not exactly rural. Itâs a typical farming town but a lot nicer than most. I thought they could drive into Kaohsiung fir a day in the big city and some western food.
And what about Kaohsiung? I spent a few days there a couple of months ago and thought it was really pretty liveable. Much better traffic/parking/feeling of space than in Taipei.
[quote=âFeirenâ]Thanks Hongda.
This is a good example of how just a few visits to a place is not a good way to judge its liveability. The air was quite good in Pingdong on my several trips out there in the past couple of years. But listen to people who have actually lived there and visit several times if possible before making any decisions.
Meinong is not exactly rural. Itâs a typical farming town but a lot nicer than most. I thought they could drive into Kaohsiung fir a day in the big city and some western food.
And what about Kaohsiung? I spent a few days there a couple of months ago and thought it was really pretty liveable. Much better traffic/parking/feeling of space than in Taipei.[/quote]
I think the air quality changes with seasons. It could be that itâs ok in summer but I was watching this website all last winter and it was bad then. You can order past reports from that website I think to see the trends.
I was considering Hengchuen (north of kenting) some time ago and this is why I got into the monitoring. Very clean air down there but also a very high UV index. Another problem down there is very strong winds which throw up dustâin winter I think. Most houses have shutters on the wondows because of this.
Kaohsiung is not bad actually and judging from the EPA websiteâif you get near the harbor or navy base youâll have fairly decent air for Taiwan. Also, once the MRT starts running it should become much more liveable like Taipei has. Rents are far cheaper than Taipei also, although I think Taipei has alot more stuff to do.
I think if I were choosing a locaion Iâd also take into considration, access to the high speed rail which would make trips very convenient.
If you want great schools, the best place is TienMu. Loads of parks and it is a nicer place than some areas with sidewalks (yes do not take them for granted). Within a 10 minute walk there are more than 5 parks and an equal number of English and/or Chinese and Japanese language pre-schools. This is the place where the foreign community congregates and for good reason. I recently moved from the burbs in Taipei County to TienMu for my 2 year old. Loads of kids at the parks every day of the year and lot of other foreigners to talk to you while your children plays. Besides that, there are restaurants and coffeeshops galore for your husband and you and there is still the local side of life in the form of day markets for fresh produce and night markets for street food, as well as gourmet foreign super markets like Jasonâs Market Place. Also just a quick drive to scenic Yang Ming Shan National park or a little bit further to DamShui river strolls and Peitou/HsingYi Rd. hotsprings in the winter.