I am looking to move to Taipei. I have lived in the sticks for the last six months, so the environment is cleaner and the air is fresher there. However from what I have seen of most of Taipei…the air quality is poor and and it is a germ paradise. Are there any clean places/areas to live in Taipei, with a good supply of Oxygen and not CO2
The best place to live for that is in Hsintien.
This area is down south and on the green line if you take the MRT (this area includes the ChiChang stop). The area south doesnt get as much pollution due to how the mountains are situated and how the air currents operate in conjunction with them. There is enough of a breeze that most pollution is swept upwards to main Taipei.
This doesnt mean there isnt pollution at all. (Its pretty much everywhere). But it is not as bad as most other spots in the city.
Another bonus about Hsintien is that it is so much cheaper to live in than Taipie central.
Rich
you
I think Taipei is one of the more cleaner cities in Asia to live. I have lived here 5 years and compared to when I first arrived, with basically open sewers, the place has come along way. Maybe if you are that worried about your health, meaning you have asthma or something them it is better not to live in such polluted areas.
I
Is there anyway to reduce exposure to pollution in Taipei ?
Yes try not to breathe : )
One thing about the pollution that that I think makes a difference is if you’re driving on a bike to buy proper mask with a charcoal filter. I think these really work, although I’ve never seen anyone else wear one. You can buy them from some cycle shops. One that I know has them is on the corner of Hoping West Rd and Chungching Sth Rd in Taipei.
PD, Good advice I read for staying healthy is that in a more temperate country you have to pay attention to those little hygiene rules that we sort offorget about becuase we don’t really need them. Things like wash your hands before meals etc.
Bri
Check out Neihu. It is sort of like Tienmu without the foreigners.
Actually, most places outside Taipei city are pretty nice (not Yung-Ho or Sanchung… they are even more polluted than Taipei!)
I used to live in Hsintien and I agree with Hunter that it is a great place, now enhanced with the MRT! Jingmei and Mucha are great too. Now I live in Kuandu, three MRT stops before Tamshui and it is a very nice area, close to the National Institute of the Arts. Nice park, nice view, fresher air.
Susana
Consider living high above the pollution on a mountain. There are many mountains to live on around Taipei as it is completely surronded by mountains. You also might want to consider buying a car. Air Con, roof away from the rain, and total insulation from the pollution. Any city in the world will seem polluted if you were sitting on a bike or scooter behind some big smoke belching bus.
Living in downtown Taipei it is not reccommended to open your windows. I cannot vouch for many places, but here goes. Chung Ho when I first got here…mop the floors and one or two days later, your white socks are black on the bottom. Tien Mu halfway up the mountain in Sect. 7 Chung Shan N. Rd. open windows and clean air and floors. HSICHIH, HSICHI, SHIJR umm, I have seen three spellings for this place so I use them all here. Downtown ShiJr sucks. Only live up in the mountains surronding this valley. Look up and see all of the homes up there on the sides of the moutains. That is a poor man’s YangMingShan. You would need a car though, but it only takes me 25 minutes to get to NeiHu, TunHwa Rd. or Jianguo a there are many highways connecting this place to the rest of Taipei. if you have a car it is a much better place to live than TienMu as there are no highways connecting TienMu to anywhere.