Tai WANDER YEARS

I am an American technology worker who just moved to Taiwan.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

...but it's not all the land of silk and money

Since I've been doing a lot of raving about life in Taiwan I don't want anyone to think that I've stumbled upon some Shangri-La, or that I'm a shill for the Taiwan Tourism Board. There are many negatives to Taiwan that one must take in stride in order to cope. Shirley's school sent her a guide book on living in Taipei and it discusses a multi-step program to overcome Taiwan depression and I've already met a few colleagues who have gone through some cycles of discontent.

In earlier posts I've covered the notion that simple things can be difficult and there is often some cumbersome process in place to accomplish the simple things. If you need to credit your parking token before sticking it in the machine, then why doesn't the machine just reject an uncredited token instead of swallowing it whole and require you to either crash through the barricade or phone the parking lot company? They certainly have that technology.

Some other issues:


  • Pollution: air quality here is pretty bad. I swear all the postcard pictures are Photoshopped. Taipei 101 is always in a cloud of smog.
  • Weather in Taipei tends to be rainy, especially in the winter. Summers are hot and humid with blistering sun. Typhoon season is starting; they can get 6 typhoons in a year. Mudslides are common in the more rural areas or hillsides. Earthquakes are common if that sort of thing bothers you.
  • Cleanliness: On top of the pollution, it can be dirty. For some reason they don't like leaves. They'll hire someone to pick leaves off the ground individually with a pair of tongs, right next to an area that is littered with plastic bags, bottle and broken glass. But the trash is on the opposite side of some line of demarcation. 
  • Traffic: On top of being slow and congested, it is insane and lawless. Mandatory insurance coverage is very slim so if you get run down, who knows if you will have financial recourse. Today, for the first time, I saw the aftermath of someone going down on a scooter. It could have been a lot worse. Parking is always a challenge and good luck getting out of the spot you get into because they park so tightly, you may have to do a 10-point turn to get out.
  • Sewage: The sewer system is questionable. Between the smell on the streets to not being able to flush toilet paper in certain areas and they still have squat toilets in some places: a porcelain hole in the ground with the ability to flush. Carry your own toilet paper in public just in case!
  • Luxury of internet: I miss not being able to do much online. A big part is the language barrier but it is also the culture. People tend to go into banks here. I've been to my home bank once in two years, and that was to use their notary service. I have to pay my utilities at 7-11. In the U.S. I can buy a car online,have it delivered to my door, with insurance and registration already taken care of. My experience so far here is most business is conducted in person. Mostly in cash.
  • If you're into that American sense of freedom, I think you may have issues here. I'm talking about the "pry my gun from my cold dead hands" mentality. You will have no guns here. You will be recorded on the highway. If you break the law you may get a ticket in the mail. Doesn't matter if you were not the one behind the wheel.
  • I see some people complain about being a foreigner and getting stared at in public. I have NOT found that to be the case. I get more looks from Westerners who are, no doubt saying, "Holy Shit, another Westerner!" I think locals are afraid I might shoot them if they stare. We were joking at work that in the American pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, they exhibits would all be centered around violence. Maybe gun violence now joins jazz music as the two things most uniquely American. I realize that it's not just America, there are other unstable countries prone to junta that share this problem.
  • I haven't started travelling yet but getting off the island seems a bit expensive compared to North America or Europe. For the cost of getting off the island, you can fly coast to coast in the US, and hit most of the EU capitals from central Europe on Easyjet. So there is a bit of claustrophobia.
  • It hasn't bothered me yet but there is a difference in the level of personal security that you have here with the potential for conflict with PRC and issues on the Korean peninsula. I get a lot of Taiwan vs. China jokes from friends but I think the economics serve as the ultimate peace keeper.
  • If you're a capitalist and proud of it, you may struggle with the economics. It's heavily socialized, heavily subsidized. Other than the foreign retail store (Ikea, Costco, SOGO, etc), I can't think of anything that appears to be economically sustainable without subsidy. Actually, scratch SOGO, I don't buy it. There is an army of employees in this department store. Every 10 feet there is an employee standing there to greet you. The cosmetics section is unbelievable as it is loaded with sales personnel with nothing to do other than text and play with their hair in the mirror.
  • Pizza sucks! Don't even try and convince me that Alleycats is real pizza.
I don't know, is that enough? I just want to make sure that someone doesn't show up here and hate it and blame me. I also want to document my observations and see how they change over time. I've done a decent amount of travelling and if there is one utopia; it has to be Switzerland. Taiwan ain't no Switzerland.  You'll be lucky if you can find Swiss cheese here.

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