On The Move: Changing Places in Taiwan

Da Nang Traditional Market

A while back I was writing about finding a new home in Taiwan.  Well, we finally decided to actually do it.  So we have moved into a new home in Bade, City.  Bade is right next to Taoyuan City, in fact, unless you know where to look, you can’t tell where Taoyuan ends and Bade begins.  

We actually only moved about two kilometers from where we were before, but the atmosphere is completely different.  We are living half a block from the famous Da Nang market.  It’s not actually a famous place except in my little world.  The traditional market is sort of like an American swap meet and bazaar at the same time.  People are yelling out what they’re selling. It’s colorful and interesting…and absolutely wall-to-wall with people.  They sell everything there, from meat, to vegetables, to clothing to sundries, to prepared food.  I can just hang out there and watch people.  The nice thing about the traditional market is that is an eight square block area with vendors on curbs and in buildings and is the most handicapped accessible place I’ve been in Bade.  Everything takes place right on the street, no curbs and steps to worry about.

10th floor view

The apartment we moved into is a brand new modern building.  We live on the tenth floor.  Every two apartments on each floor has it’s own elevator.  Say for example, apartment 2 and 4 next to each other.  Only those two apartments on each floor have access to that elevator, all the way up, (twenty-six apartments per elevator).  The ground floor has a garden, gym and an entertainment room with pool and air hockey tables.  Each apartment has three levels of security, the guarded entrance, security elevators, and door locks, so its all safe and secure.  There’s not a lot of violent crime in Taiwan, it’s one of the ten safest nations to live in, but I get the feeling there’s a lot of theft. 

The easiest way to find an apartment is through a real estate agent.  Typically, real estate firms charge half of the first month’s rent to help you to find a place.  We had some friends who went on websites that list apartments and found this one for us.  There are many listings in just about any place you want to live.  Most apartments are for sale, but some individual owners are willing to rent.  Apartments in places like Taipei are fairly expensive, but outlying areas like Taoyuan or Bade City are less expensive and it’s only a thirty-minute train ride from Taoyaun City to Taipei.

Part of the moving Crew

When we moved here from the US we used a company called Lucky Moving to transport our stuff to Taiwan.  I thought they were reasonably priced for that move.  They came to our home, packed up all of our furniture, moved it to their warehouse, loaded it into the container, sailed it across the Pacific Ocean, stored it until we had a place to live, then delivered and unpacked it and set it up in our new home.  They really worked with us on making sure that all of our needs were met.  So when we wanted to pack it up and move we remembered them.  Again for a reasonable fee they took all of the stress and pressure out of the move.  They hauled our furniture to two different locations (one location for storage the other was our home) and gave us the same high level of service we had as an international customer.  They made sure that their on the job supervisor was fluent in English and even agreed to come another day for some other things.

Lucky Moving's Phone Number in Taoyuan City

We've had bad experiences with moving companies in the US.  One company refused to unload some of our furniture until we paid them with a credit card and the payment was secured.  The price was higher than quoted and the crew was unhelpful, even insulting.  But this move was carried out professionally, for exactly what was quoted.  The crew was young, energetic and positive, what a difference.  We were lucky to find Lucky Moving!

Lucky Moving is located in Taiwan and three cities in the US:

Lucky Moving, Irwindale, CA 626-333-1306

Lucky Moving, Sugarland, Texas 281-265-6233

Lucky Moving, East Brunswick, NJ 732-432-4299

I received no goods, services or money for this post.

Other posts you may be interested in:

On the Move:  Finding a Home in Taiwan
Taiwan Travelogue:  The Traditional Market