Oh, and I hope I can avoid repeating myself here. This entry follows the "City vs. Country Living" entry I wrote a month ago, and is a continuation of it. In the most general sense assume that comparisons between urban and rural Taiwan are also applicable to discussions of west Taiwan vs. east Taiwan. 我希望不要在這裡重複之前的內容。 這篇文章接續著上個月的大城市比鄉下生活一文 。 討論大城市跟鄉下的差別與討論西部跟東部的差別有很多的相同點 。
The East Coast 東部
Population of Hualien and Taitung 花蓮跟台東的人口: 539,633 人
Population of Yilan, Hualien and Taitung 花蓮 , 台東跟宜蘭的人口: 992,720 人
Area of Hualien and Taitung 花蓮跟台東的面積: 8,144 square kilometers 平方公里
Area of Yilan, Hualien and Taitung 花蓮 , 台東跟宜蘭的面積: 10, 288 square kilometers 平方公里
Population Density of Hualien and Taitung 花蓮跟台東的人口密度: 66 people per square kilometer 人 / 平方公里
Population Density of Yilan, Hualien and Taitung 花蓮 , 台東跟宜蘭的人口密度: 96 people per square kilometer 人 / 平方公里
Why am I listing "Hualien and Taitung" AND "Yilan, Hualien and Taitung"? Because many people consider Yilan as belonging to North Taiwan, and thus not part of the east coast. The primary reason for this is Yilan's proximity to Taipei, and the ease of travel between the two areas. Yilan's weather is also more similar to Taipei's. 為什麼把 "花蓮跟台東" 和 "宜蘭 、 花蓮跟台東" 分開 ? 因為有的人認為宜蘭在臺灣北部 ， 不算是臺灣東部 。 原因是宜蘭靠近臺北 ，它們之間的交通比較便利 ，天氣也很像 。
Although if you're asking me, I'd say that Yilan belongs to the east coast. Sure, there's a tunnel between Taipei and Yilan, but there are also mountains between the two places. 如果問我 ， 我認為宜蘭屬於東部。 當然，臺北和宜蘭中間有隧道連接 ， 可是畢竟中間還隔著多座的山 。
The East Coast: Pros 東部的優點
You'll feel a lot closer to nature on the east coast. There are more wild areas, and the population in most places is much smaller. 在東部有靠近大自然的感覺 ， 自然環境比較多 ， 多數的村鎮人口少 。
Air quality is another bonus. The air on the east coast is almost always better.空氣品質更是一大優勢，東部的空氣總是比較好。
You're not likely to encounter much traffic on the east coast. Aside from maybe downtown Taitung City, downtown Hualien City and downtown Yilan City, traffic is almost nonexistent. The bigger towns and cities on the east coast only get crowded on big holiday weekends, and that's only so when the highways and the train system are functioning as they're supposed to.東部海岸線的交通不擁擠。除了臺東市區、花蓮市區和宜蘭市區，你在路上幾乎感受不到車流。東部海岸線比較大的鄉鎮只有過年過節才有車多這個問題。
I've met people who've moved to the east coast to be closer to aboriginal culture. I think that's a lot of nonsense. There are plenty of aboriginal people living in the mountains on the west side of the island.我也遇過一些人是想搬到東部認識原住民文化的。我覺得那個理由很奇怪，因為臺灣西部的山裡也有原住民啊!
The East Coast: Cons 東部的缺點
If you're not an outdoorsy person you'll probably feel very bored on the east coast. There's little to do indoors, and what little there is to do indoors is done on a much smaller scale. People who like crowds and excitement are going to be disappointed with the east coast.如果你不喜歡戶外活動，你可能會覺得東部很無聊。東部的室內活動的場域很少，規模也小，喜歡人群和熱鬧的人可能會對東海岸感到失望。
From a vocational perspective there are fewer opportunities on the east coast. A lot of people want to live there for the scenery, but quickly discover that steady sources of income are few and far between. You can definitely make enough money to get by on the east coast, but you're probably not going to get rich, and you're probably not going to feel very "important" while you're doing so.從職業的角度來看，東海岸的工作機會不多。很多人因為風景優美而想住在那裡，但很快地發現那裡穩定的工作機會少。你當然可以賺到足夠的錢應付生活，但是你可能不會在金錢上很充裕，你也可能不會感受到工作帶給你的"存在感" 。
The West Coast 西部
(a.k.a. "South Taiwan," "Central Taiwan" and "North Taiwan")
Population 人口: 22,338,587 人
Area 面積: 25,601 平方公里
Population Density 人口密度: 873 people per square kilometer 人 / 平方公里
Notice the arrows pointing away from Yilan on the map. "North" or "East?" We're far from a consensus. The dividing lines between "South," "Central" and "North" are also debatable. The map above includes Jiayi in "South Taiwan," while Miaoli is the northernmost county in "Central Taiwan." I'd put Jiayi in "Central Taiwan," though I understand reasons for labeling it "South" in the map.注意到地圖上的箭頭從宜蘭指向其他地方，"北"或"南"?我們可能不會有共識，分割"南"、"中央"和"北"的線也會有不同的意見。上面的地圖把嘉義歸到南臺灣，苗栗則是中台灣最北邊的縣市。我了解為什麼在地圖上的嘉義屬於南部，但我自己會把嘉義歸到中臺灣。
The West Coast: Pros 西部的優點
If you're living in central Taipei, Taichung, Tainan or Kaohsiung you'll probably feel like you're at the center of the the action. This is especially true of Taipei and New Taipei City. Watch the local news if you don't believe me: it's usually "Taipei, New Taipei, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, somewhere else, New Taipei." Local news coverage is a reflection of where most people live and work, and the volume of this coverage can be very life-affirming for those living in big cities.如果你住在臺北市、新北市、臺中、臺南或高雄，你大概會覺得自己處於活動的中心。尤其是臺北市和新北市的人的感受會更深刻。如果你不相信，只要看新聞，每天都是臺北市、新北市、高雄和臺南的事情。新聞顯示的是大部分人居住和工作的地方，和住在大城市裡的人們關心的事。
Public transportation can be an advantage to living on the west coast. Provided you're not tucked away in the mountains or living in some remote location near the sea, you'll be near a train station, you'll have access to freeways, and you might even have access to an MRT system.公共運輸是住在西部的一大優點。如果你不是住在深山或遙遠的海邊，那就是靠近火車站，有方便的高速公路，甚至有捷運站。
You'll also be able to buy a lot more stuff, there will be more opportunities to make money, and you'll have more choice with regard to what schools you attend and where those schools are located. The quality of Chinese language instruction is, on average, much better on the west coast.你也可以容易的買到許多東西，也有更多賺錢的機會。你有更多的機會選擇去哪個學校。西部的華語教學的品質也比東部好 .
The West Coast: Cons 西部的缺點
For me the biggest negative with regard to most (not all) of the west coast is air pollution. Behind air pollution I'd list traffic, crowds and distance from nature. 我覺得西部最大的缺點是空氣污然 。 除了空氣污染， 塞車 、人潮 和缺乏自然環境也是問題 。
Along with the good things listed above there also comes competition. Want to teach English at that prestigious university next door? Get to work on that resume, and make sure it looks good, because odds are you'll be competing against A LOT of other people for that position. 隨著上面提到的優點而來的是競爭 。 你要在隔壁有名的大學教英文嗎 ? 趕快準備一份亮眼的履歷 ， 因為想在那邊當老師的人一定很多 。
Then again, some people enjoy competition. I can understand that. Being an "important person" in Hualien? Not so difficult. Being an "important person" in Kaohsiung? Yeah, that requires more effort and, if you're into that kind of thing, can be more rewarding. 話說回來 ，有的人享受那種競爭 。 想在花蓮當重要的人物沒有那麼難 ， 但在高雄就需要多點努力了。 有的人覺得大城市得到的成就感最好 ，這我不會說他們是錯的 。
Related Entries 相關的文章:
NOTE: the numbers for population, area and population density are approximate, and only provided for the sake of comparison. I didn't include Yilan's data in the west coast section for reasons explained above.
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