Living
The week before the holiday
Next Friday is Mid-Autumn. Monday is Teacher’s Day. This is the week you do the clinic, book the train, buy the fruit, and answer the balcony text.
4 min read · Sep 18
How to be here
Living
The unglamorous half of an expat paper — and the half people actually forward. Civic homework, in English.
Typhoon days
Read the city, not the national headline. Bring the balcony furniture in. Do not go to look at the waves.
Trash night
Approved bags, the song, the corner. Miss it and you live with the bag until the next truck.
NHI
Once you are on the system, clinics become ordinary. Get the card as soon as your status allows.
The 3pm storm
It is a pause, not a canceled afternoon. Stand under the arcade. Carry an umbrella you can lose.
Living
The license you brought with you
The card in your wallet is not a Taiwanese license. Thirty days, an IDP, and a motor-vehicle office: the boring version, which is the useful one.
4 min read · Sep 11
Living
Two New YouBike Docks Open in Shilin and Wanhua
Taipei added stations on Zhongshan North Road and in Xizang Road last Friday; the system is still adding docks.
2 min read · Oct 16
Living
The Double Ten weekend starts on Friday
A substitute holiday, two fireworks, and a city that mostly stays open.
2 min read · Oct 9
Living
Health tokens open October 1 for NHI adults — redeem from December
Checkups, cancer screenings, and flu shots earn points worth NT$1 each in principle. Foreign nationals on National Health Insurance are included.
2 min read · Oct 9
Living
YouBike’s October 1 rules close the free-ride loop
Taipei now blocks same-station re-borrows for 15 minutes and bills rides on a running clock, after riders gamed the first-30-minutes-free window.
2 min read · Oct 2
Living
Northeasterlies arrive as Taipei’s heat streak breaks
After days of 36-degree warnings, seasonal winds should drop highs and bring showers north of Taoyuan from Thursday into the weekend.
2 min read · Oct 2
Living
Stay in the city and watch the moon
Mid-Autumn is Friday. The moon should clear. The highways will not. Treat this as a local weekend, not a road trip.
2 min read · Sep 24
Living
The clubs that already exist here
Scouts, Rotary, Lions and Toastmasters all run in Taiwan. You can walk into a meeting next week.
2 min read · Sep 24
Living
A clinic before Thursday
The four-day weekend is not when you want a throat. Neighborhood clinics close. The big hospitals run a holiday list. Go now.
3 min read · Sep 18
Living
YouBike or an e-moped: the first-year transport argument
The honest answer depends on the hill, the rain, and whether you will actually take the test.
4 min read · Sep 11
Living
What the typhoon alerts actually mean
A yellow, orange, or red from the Central Weather Administration is not a vibe. It is a set of decisions about work, schools, and whether you should still go to Costco.
5 min read · Sep 4
Living
The Friday trash ritual
Taipei does not have a chute. It has a truck, a song, and a set of bags you can only buy at certain counters. Get this wrong once and you will not forget it.
4 min read · Sep 3
Living
English-friendly clinics, without flying to Hong Kong
Taipei has a real medical system. You do not need a medical tourist corridor. You need an NHI card, a number ticket, and a short list.
4 min read · Aug 31
Something we got wrong for your city? Tell the desk.