I’ve accepted an offer at a buxiban in Zhongli, Taoyuan. I’ve found an apartment on the west side of the city, just south of the big Xinming Night Market. I’ve lived in Taipei for a year and just wanted a change of pace.
What is life like compared to Taipei? Any differences in attitude? What is Zhongli like? Any good parks for basketball or jogging? Nightlife? Just the general vibe of the city. Where do the expats hang out?
Way less to do, traffic is less shit though. No MRT and bus routes are limited so there’s that.
Attitude in terms of students or people living here?
Zhongli is way smaller, there was one night club but it got shut down. Guys were fucking girls on the couches or getting BJs. There are some good bars here. River, Hop In, some place in the park I haven’t visited yet.
There is a park with basketball courts Zhongzheng Park. There are others too. Mainly at parks but I don’t play bball so that is just what I have seen.
If you are a big nightlife person, Zhongli is like 10 steps back lol.
Been there a couple of times. You notice a lot of Southeast Asians (Indonesians I was told), heard a few nasty things about them (catcalling and littering). A few nice parks. And yeah, it’s way smaller than Taipei.
GTFO! They closed down Search?! I guess it’s been longer than I thought since I’ve been there.
+1
More Vietnamese, Thai, and Filipinos.
Yeah, I saw a guy recently who works there and I asked him how his job is going there and he said “oh they closed it down because it is too dirty” so I said, what like too much trash and then he told me no sexual dirty stuff lol. It will prob open up again, just like Luxy was shut down and then opened as Omni.
Search was shit though man. Definitely a gangster run club and nothing special at all. I would rather take the train to go clubbing in Taipei with 4 friends and share the taxi ride cost coming back to Zhongli.
Definitely a dive. But with the right group of friends, it’s still a good time. Cheaper and closer than Taipei to just listen to the same music, hang with friends, and shake your ass a little. The few times I’ve gone we always had fun.
Chungli is now on the airport MRT, no?
Zhongli is now on the airport MRT, yes.
Enjoy paying 160nt and sitting on it for 80-90 minutes from Taipei Main
Yeah, it’s best just to use it for the end stint from the HSR into Zhongli. Bullet train is the way to go. Especially considering the HSR is also 160 NT from Taoyuan to Taipei.
Hey, that train reaches 40 km/h on the downhill section. I haven’t had such fun since I went on the merry-go-round at Brighton Pier. 
What? Zhongli has parks?!?
If so, they keep them well hidden.
Guy
Guangming Park, near the night market:
https://goo.gl/maps/AZ6t4tZs6yR2
Zhong Zheng Park, near the SOGO:
https://goo.gl/maps/SAmXTYXTFN12
Xin Shi Park, a bit smaller, but has a concrete skate park:
https://goo.gl/maps/Pt5vo4gJrLH2
The parks are actually very obvious, especially if you look at Zhongli with google maps.
They are not “obvious” if you are there on the ground. : P
It’d be interested to get stats on park space per municipality / park space per resident. I am pretty confident that Zhongli would not top the list in either metric.
Good Thai food, though!
Guy
They are not “obvious” if you are there on the ground. : P
It’d be interested to get stats on park space per municipality / park space per resident. I am pretty confident that Zhongli would not top the list in either metric.
Good Thai food, though. And check out the “big rumbin” stand near the train station / bus station—it’s better than anything I can find in Taipei. : D
Guy
i asked my gf to go there a few weeks ago as we were looking for somewhere to go on a sunday and i’ve never been. she outright refused.
I’ve been there once and I may have been influenced by the pleasant weather but it seemed nice enough. The aesthetic of the neighborhood made me feel I’d gone back to the 90’s but in a kind of cozy way. Nothing special about it perhaps but there would be worse places to live.