Any info on Toufen?

[finley]

How far is ZhuNan from Toufen?

Have a look on Google maps. They're basically the same place. You can drive from Toufen centre to ZhuNan centre in ~10 mins. I have walked from the Toufen interchange to ZhuNan station just to see how long it would take (well over an hour!).

[superguavaguy]

the locals haven't yet found a way to concrete over everything.

I don't really understand this obsession with living in cities. 99% of the stuff that cities have - the art gallery, the famous brain surgeon, the IMAX cinema - you will use once a year, at most. Possibly never, in the case of the brain surgeon. For the privilege of knowing those things are somewhere nearby, you pay double or triple the rent and breathe four times the fumes. The only thing that Taipei has that Toufen doesn't, and is worth having (IMO) is the MRT system.

Apart from that, you wouldn't know the difference, if you were standing in the street, between Toufen and (say) Yonghe, Taipei.

But yeah - ZhuNan is a bit more interesting. It has a night market, for example, and a proper train station.

I can understand expats might want to hang out with other expats, but in the absence of that possibility ... well, the internet was invented by nerdy US Army employees to to improve their chances of meeting girls. Little-known fact. And it's still working well.

That's pretty close to how I think, but having a social life is important, and it's very easy to get isolated in a place like Zhunan.

[headhonchoII]

Well it's not far from Hsinchu so you can also go there for a bit of variation every now and then. Ride a scooter and you will have more options and see more of the countryside.

[the bear]

Actually there is a bit of a scene at the beach next to Longfeng harbor. I was there on Sunday avo and there was around 20 foreigners there doing the kite-surfing. Not sure if they were from Zhunan itself.

[superguavaguy]

Actually there is a bit of a scene at the beach next to Longfeng harbor. I was there on Sunday avo and there was around 20 foreigners there doing the kite-surfing. Not sure if they were from Zhunan itself.

Yeah, I was at the beach all the time. The people kite surfing are a mixed bunch, some from Taizhong, some from Hsinchu, and are always people coming from abroad.

[Kh_cincy]

Well it's not far from Hsinchu so you can also go there for a bit of variation every now and then. Ride a scooter and you will have more options and see more of the countryside.

I'm a little nervous about the scooter scene. I've heard it's a bit crazy, not looking to sustain any serious injuries while in Taiwan. I would like to be able to travel easily though...

[boho]

Well it's not far from Hsinchu so you can also go there for a bit of variation every now and then. Ride a scooter and you will have more options and see more of the countryside.

I'm a little nervous about the scooter scene. I've heard it's a bit crazy, not looking to sustain any serious injuries while in Taiwan. I would like to be able to travel easily though...

If you've had any experience riding motorcycles/dirtbikes before, it shouldn't be bad. Even if you haven't and are pretty good with that kind of stuff, you should be fine.

I first came to Taiwan to visit when I was 17 and I rode scooters around. As long as you have some good agility and aren't a panic driver you should be good.

Personally I feel people overreact about the dangers but that's maybe me just not valuing my body parts enough.

[finley]

If you've had any experience riding motorcycles/dirtbikes before, it shouldn't be bad.

More relevant experience would be herding pirhanas, active service in a war zone, or night duty in an insane asylum.

Even if you haven't and are pretty good with that kind of stuff, you should be fine. I first came to Taiwan to visit when I was 17 and I rode scooters around. As long as you have some good agility and aren't a panic driver you should be good.

It's not enough to be "good". You have to have eyes in the back of your fingernails.
To be fair, I find small towns a lot less stressful than big cities. You know other drivers are going to be as bad, if not worse, but at least there are few enough of them that you can watch them all and GTFO of their way. The road from Toufen to Hsinchu is wide and rarely has much traffic on it.

Personally I feel people overreact about the dangers but that's maybe me just not valuing my body parts enough.

Yes probably . The OP is right to be concerned. Underestimating the situation is a sure-fire way to end up in the ER, and I personally know three people (and have heard of many more) who did. Fortunately they got patched up and it doesn't show, but in each case there were consequences beyond the immediate unpleasantness (one lost a dream job because she couldn't physically turn up on the expected start date). Be careful, and you'll probably be OK.

[Omniloquacious]

Be careful, and you'll probably be OK.

Or rather: Be extremely careful, and at least you'll have some chance of being OK.

[nemesis]

The best part about Toufen is that there's a main highway junction, allowing you to leave quickly by car. And I think I saw a couple of nice antique shops. The rest was typical, small-town, Taiwanese living. Take all of the bad aspects of living in the country in a western country and all of the bad aspects of living in a city in a western country and put them together, and VIOLA! You have Toufen.

I'm not a huge fan of Zhunan, either. It is the ONLY place in Taiwan (other than the icky brothel district of Taoyuan) where I've felt unsafe walking around at night; scooter punks swarming, and you just know to stay out of their way. I'm not talking about all areas, just one specific area, near the hospital/morning market. On the other hand, as has been mentioned, it has Ciding Beach (and another beach, too, I think), a proper train station, and also an exit allowing you to get onto the highway, although not with the same degree of haste as the Toufen exit.

Self edit: Just remembered that Zhunan has the Taiwan Beer Brewery. Haven't been there yet, but have heard it's a good time! One more point for Zhunan, I guess!