Like many cities around the world, Taipei city houses people in a variety of dwelling types, including low- and high-rise apartments and detached or semi-detached homes. When I lived there, I sampled both tall buildings and 3 or 4-floor apartment buildings. I've never been a lover of skyscrapers, but after experiencing an earthquake while living on the 15th floor of a tall building, all my subsequent dwellings were 3-floor constructions by choice.

One of the things I loved most about the city of Taipei was the endless supply of tiny alleys. Unlike in many cities, where alleys might be used for parking, garbage storage, and are generally not places one spends much time, the alleys in Taipei are hubs of normal, daily activity. Many, many people enter their apartments and do their shopping from alleys, and most are bursting with flowers and other plant life growing on balconies and various nooks and crannies.

I spent many hours wandering alleys throughout the city at all times of day and night. It was relatively safe, and I would come across interesting little shops, cafés, or micro-temples tucked into a corner or in between the entrances to different apartment buildings. I loved the alleys so much that I would prefer to take a more winding path rather than the main roads when walking to a destination. The only thing you really had to watch out for besides creepy local men who tended to prey on lone, foreign women, were the scooters and motorcycles, which were a common mode of transportation.

What is very common, especially in mainland China (which I'll showcase in another article) is the migration of working-aged people from the countryside or villages to the cities. In the countryside remain older people and the very young. Parents often leave their little ones there and work to earn money. The goal of many people I've met is to have a place in the city and to build a detached house in the countryside like the one I featured in my last post. Some families want to own two apartments in the city in order to give one to their child in adulthood. This isn't a goal unique to Taiwan or China. It is common in Georgia where I currently live as well. It's very different from what you experience in places like my homeland of Canada where the rate of home ownership is much lower, where you are lucky if you can afford to buy one home, and where parents don't generally buy property for their children unless they are quite wealthy.
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