Where's the best place to live in Taipei?

I’ve been living for ages in Tian Mu which is very highly rated by expats, but am thinking of moving…so I was wondering if there are any areas in Taipei that could beat Tian Mu in terms of having such variety…ie …healthy living (greenery and mountains), city-life, etc.
What about around Kuting/Shida? I heard it has a good bohemian vibe…
So if anyone knows Tian Mu, yet knows of greener pastures, please let me know…thanks…

[quote=“jamesmiller”]I’ve been living for ages in Tianmu which is very highly rated by expats, but am thinking of moving…so I was wondering if there are any areas in Taipei that could beat Tianmu in terms of having such variety…ie …healthy living (greenery and mountains), city-life, etc.
What about around Guting/Shi-Da? I heard it has a good bohemian vibe…
So if anyone knows Tianmu, yet knows of greener pastures, please let me know…thanks…[/quote]
Guting/Shida doesn’t have much if any greenery, let alone mountains. It’s also a somewhat noisy area but very convenient.
Linguang could fit the bill though there isn’t much there in terms of shopping and entertainment. Then again it’s close to 101 and it has easy access to public transportation to get in or out of town (busses to e.g. Muzha or Pingxi). Stayed there for my last ~2 years in Taiwan and preferred it over Guting where I used to live before that.

I’m living in Guting, and looking to leave. The grass ain’t always greener, and won’t be if you move here.

I also live near Guting. For greenery, we go to Da-an park, which is only a 10 min walk away. In the opposite direction, there’s the riverside park, a great place to bike or jog. The Shida area offers a good variety of restaurants and coffee shops, so does the Yongkang St. area just north of that. I’d pick Guting over Tianmu in light of the convenience and its central location.

Mucha. In one of the new condo developments built on the foot of Maokong near the NCCU Affiliated Junior High. Great views of the city, close to hiking and tea places, good schools, and not too far from the MRT or uni, shops, amenities etc. Only a 20 minute bus ride from 101. Close to Xindian as well. Really the best of both worlds IMHO.

Expensive to buy though. For one of the newer places, you’re probably looking at 15 to 20 m NT. Some nicer older places there as well (that have aged well by Taiwan standards on real estate–exterior maintenance), but most are still in the 12-16 m range.

Not sure about rents for new places. For older places (we rented after we sold our place), you’re looking at about 15-20K a month for an older place.

As with the OP, I lived in Tianmu for a long time before Mucha. Mucha wins hands down IMHO.

Perhaps the only benefit these days to TienMu would be if your kids went to the American or the Japanese School. The Western facilities that got many expats living there at first are available in so many places now.

it does have some nice houses on the nearby hillsides, though, if you’re after (and can afford) a house rather than an apartment.