Taipei, Taiwan. The friendliest people you will ever meet, living and working in the most convenient country you will ever visit. Everything for daily life is within walking distance but if you do need something a bit further out, public and private transportation is exceptionally cheap and effective. The weather is fantastic year-round (save for heavy rains sometimes coming from the ocean) and taking a weekend to visit Kenting in the south by high-speed rail is a treat. I'm already saving up to do it.
My fiancé is from Taiwan and recently moved in with me in Europe.
I've been there a couple of times and can not agree more with what you say! We want to live a couple of years together in my country and eventually switch to Taiwan once I feel comfortable with leaving my family and current life behind (and when she has (western) working experience & study that will grant her instant "You worked/studied in the west? Take our money!" privileges)
We will live like king and queen together!
Will it ever feel comfortable? I'm in the same position as you, on the brink of moving far away (not Taiwan), but the anxiety of going somewhere new (possibly permanently!) so far from family always restrains me.
I would only disagree with your characterization of the weather; mid- to upper-nineties with extreme humidity during the summers is not "fantastic". I'm sure someone from Austin or Atlanta would be fine, but as a native of coastal California, I found the weather a real challenge to deal with, necessitating 3-4 showers per day.
Additionally, the excellent public transportation meant that spending time walking outdoors (to the subway, etc) was much more likely than in a city where you are just walking from your office to your car. Just my 2¢.
Other than that, I agree. Well, and also the giant, flying cockroaches. They're pretty bad too.
I've only been there as a tourist (and happened to go during a period of historically awful weather last February), but I'm inclined to agree with all of this. I've never felt as safe walking around a city alone in the middle of the night, the food is crazy good, and the people are educated, courteous, industrious and free. I maintain that if aliens came to Earth, there could be no better place for them to land and get a first impression of mankind than in Taipei.
If you're going to be living there 10 years, then yes. If you're there for 30 days, nah. Just a few phrases like hello, goodbye, where's the bathroom, thank you.
The road signage and markings are identical to my home country of Canada. People drive on the right. The electrical plugs are the same. Almost all of the road signs and public transportation signs are in English as well as Mandarin.
The one notable exception are the Taipei city buses. Those are Mandarin-only. I guess they don't expect too many foreigners to be taking those!
