East Coast vs. West Coast 東部 vs. 西部

Brace yourself for some massive overgeneralizations.  I'll be discussing some HUGE areas in this entry, and generalizations are unavoidable.  If in doubt, assume that each statement below is qualified by the phrases "where most people live," and "in most cases."   我在這裡是以大範圍的地理位置來討論某些地區 , 所以其中有不被認同的意見是正常的。  我在這裡的觀點是以"最多人住的地方 "和"大多的例子"為基礎的 。

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:

City Vs. Country Living 大城市比鄉下的生活

A Few More Pictures 多一些照片

Thoughts on the Last Election

Playing Tour Guide 當導遊

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.

City Vs. Country Living 大城市比鄉下的生活

The City 大城市

I've lived in downtown Taichung (4 years), downtown Hsinchu (1 year) and downtown Taitung City (13 years).  I also visit Kaohsiung at least once a month. 我住過台中市區 (四年) 、新竹市區 (一年) ，還有台東市區 (十三年) 。  我也每個月最少去一次高雄 。

City: Pros 住大城市的優點

Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung all have MRT systems, HSR stops and regular bus service.  Taipei's public transportation is the best, followed by Kaohsiung, which is in turn followed by Taichung.  When I lived in Taichung I never owned a car.  I didn't see any point. 台北 、 台中跟高雄都有捷運 、 高鐵跟公車系統 。  台北的公共交通系統是最好的 ， 高雄是第二名 ， 台中則是第三名 。  我住台中的時候沒有買車 ， 我不覺得有買車的必要。

Buying things in a big city is much easier.  Cities have department stores, sprawling night markets, Carrefours and RT Marts.  In the city 7-11s, Family Marts and Hi-Lifes are ubiquitous. 在大城市買東西比較方便 。  大城市有百貨公司 、 大夜市 、 家樂福跟大潤發 ，到處都有7-11 、 全家 和 萊爾富。

One of my favorite things about the cities are the restaurants.  The cities have a wider selection of ethnic foods and a much wider selection of bars.  Items such as burritos, Indian curry and dark beers are much easier to find in a big Taiwanese city, even though the selection isn't going to be as good as what you'd find in Seattle or Montreal. 我喜歡大城市的其中一個理由是餐廳。 在都市裡有多樣的異國料理選擇，也有更多的酒吧選擇。 例如:摩西哥捲餅 、 印度咖哩和黑啤酒......等。比較容易找到類似的食物和飲料。  選擇當然沒有像在西雅圖 或 蒙特利爾那麼好 ， 可是比臺灣鄉下地區好很多 。

Those looking to date and/or form other relationships with Taiwanese people are going to be happier in a city.  It's just easier to do that there.  Yes, urban living has its own kind of loneliness, but in many ways people in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung are easier to know. 在找男、女朋友的人，或是想跟臺灣人交流的人應該適合住在大城市裡 。 當然，住在大城市裡有一種寂寞感 ， 可是在台北 、 台中跟高雄交朋友會比較順利 。

City: Cons 住大城市的缺點

Air pollution in most cities is a problem.  This is particularly so in central and south Taiwan.  There are certainly cities where air pollution isn't a problem, but those cities are much smaller and thus more difficult to find work in. 空氣污染在大部分的城市是個大問題 。 在中 、 南部這個問題特別嚴重 。  有的城市空氣品質沒問題 ， 可是這些城市比較小 ， 沒有那麼多的工作機會 。

Crowds are often an obstacle in cities.  You'll go somewhere, have to line up, and end up waiting an eternity before you get what you want.  This is often just as true in hospitals and government offices as it is in local night markets.  Finding a quiet place to be alone can be difficult in the city, though it can be done. 大城市人潮壅擠 ，  去到哪裡都要排隊 ， 有時需要等很久才能得到你要的 。  這不只發生在夜市裡 ， 有時候在醫院或公家機關也要排隊等候服務 。  要在大城市找到一個安靜可以獨處的地方有點難 。

Living in the city can feel very materialistic.  If you're the kind of person who likes to get out into the woods and contemplate, you might struggle with life in a Taiwanese city.  "A quiet place to think" is probably going to be your tiny apartment, with all other options being far away from where you live and work. 大城市的生活充滿唯物主義感 .  如果你是喜歡接觸大自然和沉思的人，大概會覺得在台灣的城市生活方式很煩惱，因為能夠安靜思考的空間大概只有自己的小公寓 ， 其他的選擇都離家很遠 。

Traffic is a daily issue in the city.  Even getting on the MRT can be a challenge.  If you're new to Taiwan, I would highly recommend finding a place to live close to where you work.  There are always nicer places further out, but the time you spend fighting traffic between home and work will make these nicer places less attractive over time. 在大城市，每天會碰到塞車的問題 ，甚至要擠上捷運也是一大挑戰。  如果你剛搬到台灣， 我建議你住在工作的附近。  雖然市區外圍有比較好的居住環境  ，可是每天在住家與工作間通車、塞車，會慢慢的讓那些居住環境的好處消失 。

The Country 鄉下

I lived in Xinkai Village, Fangliao Township for two years, and I now live in Sigou Village, Hengchun Municipality.  My wife is from a small village in Yunlin, and I visited her village regularly during the four years we lived in Taichung. 我在枋寮鄉新開村住了兩年， 今年搬到恆春鎮四溝里 。  我太太在雲林縣的鄉村長大 ， 我們住台中那四年常常回去她的家鄉 。

Country: Pros 住鄉下的優點

This is not always true, but the air in the country is usually better.  By way of example, the air in Fangliao, about 50 minutes away from downtown Kaohsiung, is usually in the green or yellow when the air in Kaohsiung is firmly in the red. 並不是每天都這樣 ， 可是鄉下的空氣品質通常比較好 。  比方說離高雄市區50分鐘的枋寮，它的空氣品質通常是綠色或黃色的。 高雄大部分的空氣品質是紅色的 。

Depending on where you are in the country, you'll also be closer to "nature."  Often this "nature" will be the crops grown on local farms, while at other times this "nature" will be actual Nature that you can both explore and admire from a distance.  Living close to green things can be good for your mental health, though in the context of agriculture it can have a negative aspects with regard to your physical health. 根據你住在鄉下的哪裡，通常 "自然 " 是農田中的農作物  ，有時候這個 "自然 " 是你真正可以在一定距離欣賞和讚嘆的大自然 。  住在比較自然的環境會讓心情更好 ，可是農業有時反而是居住在鄉村的缺點。

Are people in the country friendlier?  I would say that yes, for the most part they are, but be aware that conversations with country people can be limited by a) their lifestyle, which will probably be very different from your own, and b) their reliance on Taiwanese and other languages.  Where city people can be evasive, country people can be very open, even if that "openness" can sometimes translate into a kind of "rudeness" for the uninitiated. 鄉下的人比較親切嗎 ?  我覺得他們比較親切 ， 可是跟他們聊天會碰到兩個問題 : 第一個問題是他們的生活方式跟你差很多 ; 第二個問題是他們常常用台語或是其他語言聊天 。  大城市的人會很閃躲， 鄉下的人比較坦率 。  有時候會覺得這種 "坦率" 不禮貌，可是慢慢的也就習慣了。 

A lack of traffic and crowds is a definite plus to living in the country.  If you live near a big tourist attraction, weekend traffic can be a problem, but otherwise getting around is much easier.  One of my favorite things about living in the country is going in the direction opposite everyone else on holidays.  When the Kaohsiung people are headed south to Kenting, I'm driving north to Kaohsiung or Taitung; when they're headed north back to Kaohsiung, I'm driving south, back to Hengchun. 不會塞車和沒有人潮也是鄉下的好處 。如果你住在著名景點附近， 那周末的交通就會是一個問題 。 住在鄉下地方交通比較順暢。  我住鄉下最喜歡的一件事情是節日出遊開車的方向和大家相反。  當高雄的人開往南邊的墾丁的時候， 我正開往北邊的高雄或台東 ， 高雄的人開回去北邊的高雄時， 我在開回去南邊的恆春的路上 。

Country: Cons 住鄉下的缺點

The wind in certain areas can be a big problem.  Without large buildings to block it, the wind just rips through everything, making outdoor excursions less attractive during certain times of year. 有的地區的風很強。  沒有大樓擋風的時候 ， 風鋪天蓋地的吹， 讓特定時候的戶外活動變得沒吸引力。

Related to the "nature" mentioned above, the question of what local farmers are putting into their fields and spraying onto their crops can be a source of worry.  I don't live that close to any farms now, but when I lived in Fangliao I was surrounded by wax apple and mango orchards.  I often wondered what kinds of fertilizers and pesticides local farmers were using on their fruit trees, and how much of those fertilizers and pesticides were leaching into our air and water. 上面提到的 "自然" ，  農夫在農田中噴的農藥會讓人很擔心 。  我現在住的房子不是很靠近農田 ， 可是我們以前在枋寮的時候到處都是蓮霧跟芒果園 ，  我那個時候常想當地農夫用什麼肥料 、 噴什麼農藥 、多少肥料 ，和農藥是否流進地下水，或殘留在我們的空氣中 。

Country people can also be a bit rough around the edges.  One of our current neighbors raises dogs, and attempts to discuss his noisy dogs with him have been hit or miss.  There's also the prevalence of loud KTV systems and temple festivals in the country, which can easily put an end to a good nights' sleep. 有時鄉下居民的水準有點差 ， 我們現在有一個鄰居繁殖狗 , 請他注意狗的噪音不是很有效 。  鄉下有很多人愛大聲唱KTV ， 廟會活動也會讓人睡不著 。

One of the biggest problems with living in the country is the distance you need to travel.  Sigou Village isn't so bad, but when I lived in Fangliao I often had to travel vast distances to buy the most unremarkable things.  The nearest 7-11 was twenty minutes away by car, and buying anything not available in the local "variety stores" (正一百貨) involved a drive to either Pingtung City or Kaohsiung. 住鄉下最大的問題是所有的地方離家很遠 。  四溝里還好 ， 可是在枋寮買東西不方便 ，  最近的7-11要開車20分鐘 .  如果附近的正一百貨沒有我們在找的東西時，要開車到屏東市或是高雄市區 。

And public transportation in the country?  Honestly I wouldn't bother with it.  In more rural areas a scooter (or at least a good bicycle) is a necessity. 鄉下的公共交通系統呢 ?  我只有搭過幾次 。  在鄉下地區一定要一台摩托車(或至少一台好腳踏車) 。

That, and living in the country can be lonely at times.  Most of your neighbors will be much older than you are, very set in their ways, and a bit awkward around foreigners and other strangers.  You can get around that awkwardness in time, but it's not easy. 有時候住鄉下也很寂寞。   你的鄰居大部分年紀比你大很多 ， 生活方式很固定 ， 也不大會跟外國人或陌生人溝通 。  隨著時間這個問題會慢慢消失 ，可是你一定要有耐心 。

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