Job Discussion Forums

[maya.the.bee]

Hello all, I am looking into Taiwan as a destination next spring. But I am having trouble finding info about the various cities in TW. If this thread has been repeated to death just point me in that direction. As I said I have little to go on at this point so preferences would include being near water, a city large enough to have good public transit, and some green spaces. My fav spot so far has been Portland, so guess I would love to hear there�s a place in TW with good bookstores, movie houses, a local music scene, and people watching spots. And apparently 30 days of rain wouldn�t put me off.

thanks in advance for any help
m

[teacha]

ahahahaha....none of that is possible. try outside shilin maybe.

[markholmes]

Taiwan is nothing like Portland, so put that thought to one side.

I would suggest doing some research on Danshui, or Tamsui (somebody correct me, I forget the spelling) which is on the water and connected to Taipei by an excellent transit line. You will find all the other things you specified in Taipei, except for the greenery, however you will be living very close to Yangminshan national park which has more greenery than you are ever likely to need.

Teacha's suggestion of Shilin (north Taipei) is actually not a bad one. It has most of the things you require however its not by the water.

[Xenophobe]

Hualien, has everything but the large foreign presence, as does Taitung. Kaohsiung has everything but green spaces, unless you head out into the county or down to Kenting on the weekend. Taichung maybe? We're on Kinmen, which only has green spaces and fresh air. There are only a few weigworen here and most of them are evangelical missionaries who are between highschool and university.

[Girl Scout]

Haulien is a great area, but those earthquakes would probably start to became an annoyance.

Stay closer to Taipei. It will have everything you want. Travel is not difficult. You can always get to the water anytime you needed.

[ramakentesh]

Taipei at this stage is the only city with a public transport system that would remind you of home. Most of the other cities rely on a bus system (which means you'll have to ask the bus driver where he goes unless you can read mandarin) or get yourself a scooter and get used to the road rules (or lack there of).
Kaohsiung is currently constructing a train system similar to the superb one in taipei. But its a pretty crowded, polluted kinda place.
But really, there is nothing like Portland or any western city I can imagine in Taiwan. Think more along the lines of Bangkok and you'll save yourself a bit of extra culture shock.
In the Taipei region, I like Danshui because it is along the main river as it meets the sea and you get some cooling breezes there and a bit of open space - while you watch the jets fly over Guanyinshan.
I also sort of like Xindian, as its on the river, before it goes through the city and turns from a nice green colour to a dark milky one XIndian is on the edge of town, so its up near the mountains and the greenery tends to cool things down a bit.
Many other Expats ive met live near Muzha which again is on the edge of town and is up in the hills.
We went down to Keelung and, Hualien and Taitung - and I liked the later two - they are remote, near greenery and it seems cooler there with the winds and the ocean nearby.
The problem with Greenery can be illustrated by a guy we met who moved to Bali - a town on the other side of the Damshui river. He had weekly run-ins with a local black snake of some description - which was apparently poisonous.
Im from Australia, so snakes arent a big deal to me, but getting medical attention over there might have been

[ramakentesh]

And as for earthquakes, if you check the Weather Bereau's website here in Taiwan you'll see that Taipei has about three 4 point earth tremors a month - And the months stats suggest island wide its over 60.

[maya.the.bee]

Okay, so how about bookstores or libraries (prefered) w/ English books. I read a lot (pulp & lit) and wonder if I will end up shipping books to tw or going w/o. For the readers in TW, how do you get by?

[Tiger Beer]

[Pop Fly]

[markholmes]

I've never been to Portland, but have a reasonable idea what its like living in Vancouver.

If you want something similar I would consider Japan, particularly Kobe in the Kansai region, which falls into the Vancouver / Melbourne kind of place and happens to be twinned with Seattle.

I think it has everything you require.

Just a thought.

[maya.the.bee]

Thanks for all the info to date. I'm not looking for another Portland (been there, done that kind of attitude), sorry it came across that way. I was trying to think in terms of features that i liked about PDX. I can definitely do w/o people going through my garbage, v. late buses(if they come at all), getting harassed by the street kids, finding needles outside my apt, ppl using our bathroom as a shooting lounge, cars getting broke into for pocket change,...but to get back on topic. We all have things that make life more bearable and when looking to move to a new place, it helps to ease some of that stress by knowing your life won't completely change. I love the water, so knowing that its only a hour away can help in a really down moment. The same goes for reading, what a cheap way to forget life for a moment. As needy as I am for these things I hope to be just as needy for exploring a completely new environment. In every new city, I like to go all over the place checking out the architecture, finding the open air markets, finding local bands, bars, & the like. I am such a dork, but I like to ride the buses and trams just to see where they go (subways suck for this 'cause you can't see much underground - haha). So once again, thanks. And as always more info is much appreciated.
maya

[wix]