In the early part of my life, I lived in over 25 different locations, almost one a year on average. So living here for 10 years in the same place is quite a challenge to my restless spirit. The good news is that the area we live in has grown up nicely in those ten years:
1. New supermarket – although it’s just Wellcome, and a small one at that… it’s still a good choice for buying products that you couldn’t otherwise buy in this area, and the ONLY place to buy fruit and vegetables after the traditional market closes at 6:30pm!
2. Carrefour – Carrefour has been open here for years, even before we moved here. In the early days of living here, the branch was dirty, poorly stocked, and an unpleasant place to shop. Now, it is the Island headquarters for Carrefour and everything has been improved several times over! We get nicely made French breads, imported brands, Carrefour imports, and stuff that can’t be found at other branches.
3. The Tamsui River – About five years ago, the local council built a cycle track along the river bank for people to ride or walk on. The views of the river are astounding: Bali straight ahead, Fisherman’s Wharf on the right, sweeping vistas to Taipei on the left. Though there is little tree cover, and the prospect of a highway being built from Tamsui to Taipei, right now the riverbank is just incredible.
4. Starbucks, BlockBuster, 85C, 7-Eleven, Yoshinoya, PizzaHut, etc.. have all opened in our area in the past few years giving us a decent and very convenient shopping selection within five minutes walk from our house.
5. Did I mention the subway station? … Convenient access to Taipei, the Trains, the Airports,…The subway system has grown extensively in the ten years since it first opened with new lines to Panchiao, Tucheng, Neihu, … and several more lines under construction!
Wow! I am shocked by how much this area has changed in the past 10 years. Part 2 another day…