Something that is both an advantage and a disadvantage of Taipei, is it's convenience. On the one hand most parts of the city are the same as each other, and every block has the same shops and restaurants on it. This kind of makes living in the city a very bland experience. But on the other hand I am reluctant to move out of the city as the convenience is just too great. Anything and everything I need is within walking distance of my apartment.
One recent development is building large new apartment buildings on the outskirts of the city. They are usually pretty nice, and have great views because they are near places like mountains or riversides, but the real catch is that they just aren't "Taipei." What i mean is they only build the apartment buildings and nothing else. No supermarket, no morning market or night market, no convenience stores, no lunch box restaurants, no noodle stands, none of the various taiwanese stores. For some this might be a blessing, but I can't help but feel like it's too artificial. yes taipei can be a pretty monotonous place, but these new developments are just too sterile.
I also have a hard time adjusting to the inconvenience of these areas. Not just the no shops in walking distance, but the lack of a subway station or sufficient bus routes. Considering that most people don't have cars, living here is almost like living on an island. Granted a lot of people have scooters, but with all the rain, scooters aren't the most pleasant experiences.
In the end it's a good option to have, especially for those sick of city living. And i'm sure in the future those shops and restaurants will end up popping up here as well, as the city slowly expands outward. Hopefully it will expand far enough that I can have my nice secluded place on the beach but also be near a lot of restaurants and shops. Yay for unobtainable dreams!
In the picture are some new apartments south of the city along the river. Since my dog was getting thirsty I exited the riverside here, thinking there may be a convenience store where I could get her some water. I was quite amazed when I got onto the main road that there was no convenience store in sight. I actually took a picture of that street as I think it must be the only street in Taipei that doesn't have any convenience store on it. It was like seeing a unicorn. But like photos of mythical creatures, it was too blurry to make out anything.
