Taipei

My husband may be offered a job in Taipei. We have lived in Hong Kong for 2 years and would hope to complete our third before moving next summer. I know very little about Taiwan/Taipei so would love to hear your opinions about it. For instance what are the international schools like? Is it as polluted as Hong Kong? Is the medical care good? Is there a diversity of things to do?

Taiwan is very different from Hong Kong.

Taipei is a big city, it has pollution, traffic and all that comes with any big city.

Taiwan on the other hand is quite special. 90% of the people live on 10% of the land. 90% of the land is beautiful - mountains, hot springs, aboriginal villages (10 different tribes in Taiwan), beaches, rivers, waterfalls.

In my opinion, if you just compare Hong Kong to Taipei, Hong Kong has more to do. But if you compare Hong Kong to Taiwan, Taiwan has more weekend adventures than you can have in two years of weekends.

Pollution is bad.

People are very very friendly.

Level of English in Taipei is okay, rest of Taiwan not so good.

Food is amazing and fresh.



It really depends where your husband is working - if he is in the Science Park, the international school and ammenities including a golf course make it a very easy life. Or there is the area around Taipei American School, another expat enclave.


It is so close, why not take a short holiday - but be sure to leave Taipei - go to Taroko Gorge or Ali-shan or a hot spring hotel or another tourist destination to see some of the more beautiful aspects.

lived in Taipei for about 5 months and absolutly loved it. True, you have to get over the first impression of the city which is just ugly looking. But the food is great, the people are amazingly friendly, xpats and locals are just so much more relaxed than in HKG.


I personally didn't find the pollution worse than HKG. But I would say the level of english proficiency (even in Taipei) is much lower than in HKG - good chance to train your mandarin skills ;-) Would be very helpful in Taiwan.


I am not quite sure about international schools in Taipei, as I did not have kids at that time. But considering that there are quite a few expats in Taiwan, I would suspect that they are available. Medical is okay, but probably not as convenient as HKG (I was fortunate not to have neede it)


If I would have the choice and a decent job in Taipei I would go back in a minute.


Have fun - enjoy it (after the first shock of Taipei's architecture...)

I don't know about schools but do know from experience that the hospitals are excellent. Traffic is a nightmare but have friends who have been there for 3+ years and have bought scooters and get around easily. Local population very friendly and welcoming. As cri has suggested go there for a short break and look around. You might be surprised and love it.

Hate to disagree with everyone here, but I found Taipei very unpleasant compared to Hong Kong. I worked in both places in 2003.


The people in Taipei are very rude and inconsiderate. Perhaps not as bad as Shanghai, but far worse than HK. Cutting in line is very common, people taking your assigned seats on express trains is common, unwanted touching and staring is common. People lean over your shoulder at banks to see your statement during your transaction. I could go on and on. Even my Mandarin teacher, a Taiwan local, was complaining about how Taipei courtesy has gotten so much worse over the years with the mainland influx.


On the other hand, the inland areas and the south, Kaoshiung, are much nicer. The people are more laid back and nice and less intrusive.


Also, I disagree on the food. Taipei food was not a good experience for me. Cockroaches climbing up people's pants in decent restaurants, sweaty street vendors in wifebeaters, stinky tofu polluting the air, etc. I was never satisfied with Taipei food my entire time there. However, upon my first day in HK, we found better food than during our entire time in TP.


Don't get me wrong. Taipei was not terrible. Just unpleasant. When we first went to Hong Kong, I felt like we were in paradise. English is MUCH more prevalent in HK, people are more polite, and the food was awesome.


In regards to things to do, we spent about 10 weekends visiting and exploring the island. I can't think of anything we missed during our travels in Taiwan. Sure, there's alot to explore in Taiwan, but not more than 10 or so weekends worth.

In Taiwan, you might see an old man in a singlet wearing flip flops and chewing 'bing lang' and spitting red goo out on the ground... you think poor farmer or poor shop owner.

Then a chauffer driven mercedes comes to pick him up - he is the wealthiest man in the village.

Same goes for the woman clearing garbage from the field - she might own the field and the 6 acres which include those huge buildings!


Taiwanese tend not to be as image conscious at HKers or NYers.


It is not about what watch you have or the brand of your shoes, it is more about you. Of course, there are exceptions in each place, but overall it is much more relaxed and 'natural' and less like HK and NY in that regard.


The above comments are a good range of opinions. Any place is what you make of it, and everyone has different experiences.


If you go with a positive and open attitude and are willing to experience and explore you will have a good time anywhere. There will always be the challenges and the time required for adjustment, but it is really more down to you than anything else.


Like other posters above, I love the lifestyle in Taiwan, but for my business I need to be in HK.

"It is not about what watch you have"


I'm not sure I'd agree with that. I had girls all over me once I started wearing my watch. Weird thing is, no one noticed me when I wasn't wearing it. :)

Thanks for all the useful replies. Lots to think about.......As for pollution - does anyone know if there is a website with pollution figures for Taipei like the HK Observatory page? And is it possible to directly compare them?

I realize this is quite a late reply, but thought I'd go ahead, just in case you are still reading about Taiwan. We lived there on and off for over 3 years, and just moved to Hong Kong. We went back to Taipei over the weekend. It was our first posting, and was tough to get used to, but we went away loving it. From Hong Kong, you should expect feeling frustrated for the first 2-4 months; but by then, you will have met some of the most friendly and open people you will likely ever meet. It's a small place, compared to Hong Kong, and there is only one real club, a relatively small American Club. Thus, the expat community is quite a bit closer there. Someone is always apt to invite you for a coffee or to an event that is happening. People are very sensitive to newcomers. As far as living - no matter where your husband works (meaning Taipei or Tao Yuen area, I hope), you really should live in an established area - either down town Taipei, or the expat laden community of Tien Mu - the usual favorite of expats. There are many more stores and restuarants in Taipei that appeal to Westerners than there was even 3 years ago. And it's a good place to start to learn Mandarin if that is of any interest. (It is a little bit different than Mandarin on the mainland.) I wish you much luck as you get settled, and hope you come to love Taiwan! Do take advantage of expeditions and site seeing around the island while you are there! Don't leave it too late - so many of us do.

Oh - and Air Quality is significantly better in Taipei. We love HK, but miss the air in Taiwan - something we NEVER thought we'd say. :)