We’ve only been living in Taiwan for 3.5 months so by no means are we experts about the Taiwanese way of life, but I thought it’d be fun to share what we love and don’t love about Taiwan so far. Let’s start with the not-so-good stuff.
Weather. Before moving to Taiwan, we already knew the weather was going to be a drawback and unfortunately, this perception hasn’t changed. 😆 It gets very hot and humid during the summer – I’m talking at least 90°F plus humidity – and this year, it remained hot up until early November (!!!). It got so uncomfortable some days that we dreaded going out. And when it wasn’t brutally hot, there was pouring rain. It’s no wonder that Taiwanese people bring an umbrella with them everywhere – if it’s not to block the lethal sun, then it’s for the rain!
Now that we’re in mid-November, the weather has finally cooled down (most days are in the high 60s to mid 70s). We’re excited to do more outdoor activities, but we’ve also heard that it rains almost everyday during the winter season. 😑
Bugs. Because of the hot, humid weather, Taiwan has a lot of bugs. We probably lost a pint of blood to the vicious little mosquitoes here. They are relentless yet so tiny that you can’t see them (and squash them). What’s worse is that I have an allergic reaction to mosquito bites so my bites would turn into huge welts. But over time, the bites have dwindled and we found a great tool that relieves the itching and swelling. No cream or insect repellant has worked better than this little gadget!
We also get a fair share of annoying fruit flies and ants, but nothing we haven’t dealt with in SF.
Cockroaches are massive here, but we’ve only found them on the streets (thank god!) and even then they are usually dead due to Taipei’s periodic pest control efforts. C is totally grossed out by the roaches, but I don’t mind them as long as they are out of the house!
Garbage Collection. Look, we’re glad that Taiwan tries to be eco-friendly but the garbage/recycling system is a quite annoying and complicated. First, there are very few public garbage cans, which isn’t that big of a deal because we know people often abuse them. So you bring your trash home, but it has to be separated into multiple categories: general trash, soft plastics, hard plastics and metals, paper, and compost. You just bought a drink in a paper cup with a plastic lid? You have to separate the paper and plastic into two bins. But if the paper cup is dirty, you also have to rinse it before putting it with the rest of the recycling. 😫 Additionally, there are special “government-approved” trash bags you have to purchase (pictured below) or else your garage will be rejected.
In the US, apartment buildings and single family homes have large garbage and recycling bins that are usually stored in a garage and get collected once a week. In Taiwan, all garbage is kept within your home. The garbage trucks come through each neighborhood everyday except Wednesdays and Sundays at a predetermined time to collect everyone’s trash. But because there are 5 different categories, you’re running downstairs with 5 bags/bins to catch the trucks. (Side note: Some apartments include garbage collection or you can pay for this service out of pocket, so this doesn’t apply to everyone in Taiwan.)
The peculiar thing about all this though, is that many stores and restaurants still use a ton of plastic. Plastic bags, plastic utensils, utensils wrapped in plastic, plastic straws, and so on. So if the government is trying to reduce waste, why are they still allowing so much plastic? 🤔
Traffic Lights. Taipei isn’t exactly a pedestrian friendly place. The sidewalks are uneven, and some of the smaller streets don’t even have a proper sidewalk.
But our biggest issue is with the traffic lights. If you miss a light for example, it’s possible you’d have to wait up to 90 seconds. And on scorching hot days, it’s not fun at all. Sometimes, we’ve found that it was faster to go downstairs to an MRT station and back upstairs on the other side of the street. The traffic lights make walking feel like an eternity sometimes.
Food Diversity. One thing we miss about living in SF is the diversity of food (and people!) living there. You can easily find good Mexican, Thai, Indian or pizza in one neighborhood. It’s not easy to find that variety in Taipei. So far, we’ve found 2 good pizza joints and 1 decent Indian place, but still out of luck on the others. I miss a good burrito!
Finding ingredients from other cuisines is challenging too. I still haven’t found fresh dill or Cajun seasoning in stores. Either that, or the ingredients are very expensive. For example, a small bag of lentils is close to $10 and a can of diced tomatoes is $2.50. Meats and seafood are also quite pricey. We’ve found that buying groceries is often more expensive than eating out, but I still cook on weekdays because of the boys’ school schedule.
Enough complaining though – I’ll share what we love about living in Taiwan next!
Hongs Abroad 