Before I was leaving the U.S., my dad was paranoid about whether I had enough street smarts to take care of myself in Taiwan. He didn't know much about the country because he never needed to while growing up and working. "You're going to a third-world country," he told me. He also told me about all kinds of travel precautions for me to take from the perspective of his experience in India. However, modern Taiwan couldn't be any more different, even compared to the U.S.
Every day, I commute to the university through a timely and well-planned bus system or an extensive metro station that departs from each station every five minutes. In my first week, there was a city-wide festival for the Lunar New Year, and popular events were managed and organized with high technological and logistical sophistication. Skyscrapers with bright LED displays surround Taipei's horizon, and a high-speed rail system connects all the major counties on the island. Sure, there are still a lot of old buildings from the '80s that show visible degradation, but the interiors are well-maintained by the people who live in them. Crime is very low, and there is little risk of harm at night in the city, especially at night compared to American cities.
