After college, on a whim inspired by the complete disintegration of all my plans and the recommendation of a half-Taiwanese friend, I ended up here. I didn’t know I was going until about nine days before I stepped off the plane, so I had no idea what the lesbian scene would offer.
It turned out to be wonderful. Taiwan is a beautiful tropical island with an interesting mix of cultures and languages, as well as a large expat community. I’ve lived here since last September and I’m still discovering the crazy, wonderful city that is Taipei. Taipei has outstanding food, outstanding public transportation and outstanding lesbians. People here are really friendly (every time I’m lost, two or three people come up and help me figure out where I am).
*As a helpful tip for all you Anglophones, almost everybody speaks English, especially the younger people.
*Some of these sites are in Chinese! If you put the site HTMLs into google translate, google will translate the site for you.
*I’ve included stops on The Taipei subway system (MRT) for some of the places so that you can get an idea of where they are.
The Queerest of Areas
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Red House
(MRT Ximen)
Easily reachable via MRT, Red House is a major shopping area and the location of the first gay bar in Taipei. The Red House was built in 1908; it’s a major historical land mark and the area around it has grown to include Thai restaurants and leather bars. There is also an excellent lesbian burger place in Red House called Cosbys. They have some of the best burgers around (well-priced and American style, which is hard to find) and they turn into a bar at night.
Shida
(MRT Taipower)
Many of the lesbian places are locacted within a few blocks of a small street/night market area called ShiDa. ShiDa Night Market is close to the two biggest universities in Taiwan (NTU and NTNU). It’s crawling with foreigners and young and fasionable college students. In the night market, you can get traditional foods like Stinky Tofu that are must-tries for Taiwan! Most stores pack it in around ten every night, but are open later on weekends. It’s a bright, hectic place filled with students, coffeeshops and small restaurants with every kind of food you can imagine, from Tibetan to Mexican (the last a great rarity in Taiwan). For traditional Taiwanese fare, go for the street food; it’s some of the best in Taipei. Try the shaved ice! And the dumplings! Actually, try anything people are lining up for. It’s an fascinating area of town and it’s within walking distance of The Love Boat, GinGin’s, Fembooks, The Hours, Witch House and Twiice.
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Lez Clubs
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Taboo
(B1, No. 90, Sec 2, Jianguo North Road, Taipei City)
This club is almost entirely lesbians; they charge girls 300-500 NT at the door ($10-15 U.S.) while men pay more. Taboo is an underground (literally, underground) club with live music on Thursdays and a small dance floor that doesn’t get packed until twelve. There are booths along the wall and and once you get in, it’s all you can drink. The music vaccilates between ordinary club music, Justin Beiber and Linkin Park, and the occasional menstrual pad commercial. The dance floor is filled with adorable butch girls who — and though most everybody is Taiwanese — you’ll probably be able to communicate with, even without much Chinese. If you know what I mean.
Twiice
(No. 222, Section 2, Jinshan South Road, Taipei City, Taipei)
This is a club where you can bring your guy friends, though they can only party on the first floor: the second floor is exclusively lesbian. It’s again, $15 to get in, all you can drink afterwards.
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Bookstores and Meeting Places
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The Loveboat
(1F, No.11, Lane 240, Sect. 3, Roosevelt Rd., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei City 100)
This isn’t so much a bookstore as a general store. The Loveboat has books, movies, rainbow wristbands, rainbow earrings and basically rainbow freaking everything. There are flyers for all the queer events happening in the area, as well as a huge wall of chest binders. There are also booths along the wall, one of which provides lesbian tarot readings. There’s a wall of super dapper tomboy clothes, The L Word with Chinese subtitles and even baby clothes!
fembooks
Fembooks
(No. 5, Lane 56, XinSheng South Road, Sec.3)
This bookstore is next to the lesbian cafe Witch House. Fembooks is on the right with nothing more than a sign and a small set of stairs leading upward to mark it as a store. It has all sorts of books on feminism, LGBT books, Chinese feminist writings and periodicals.
This is also the headquarters of the activist organization Gender and Sexuality Rights Organization Taiwan. According to the plaque on the stairs, it’s the first feminist bookstore in the Chinese community!
GinGin
(1F, No.8, Alley 8, Lane 210, Sect. 3, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei 100, Taiwan) (MRT Taipower)
This is an EXCELLENT bookstore. There may not be any English books but there are a ton of English movies. It’s directed more towards gay men, but there are a lot of lesbian movies in stock at fairly cheap prices. They have flyers for all the gay events in Taipei so it’s a good place to go if you want to be informed. Right next store is the H*ours Cafe. (This bookstore is conveniently about a block from the Love Boat!)
Eslite Books
(No. 245, Section 1, Dunhua South Road, Taipei)
For bookaholics who can only speak English, the largest, most widespread bookstore in Taipei is Eslite. It’s even twenty-four hours, for those 5am book-related emergencies!
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Lesbian Cafes (They Exist!)+
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witch house
Witch House
(No. 7, Lane 56, XinSheng South Road, Sec.3)
At first, I was under the impression that this was only an awesome cafe where you could buy drinks, eat overpriced nachos that are actually just Doritos, and spend a few hours playing board games with your friends. Their menu is advertised as ‘the naughtiest menu in town’ and they have an extensive drink selection (HELLO blended fruit mimosas). But, they also have live music in the evenings AND, according to the menu, you get a ten percent discount if you can do twenty pushups on the floor. I think it’s time to go back to the gym. Did I mention their chairs are decorated with bras?
Hours Cafe
(No. 12, Alley 8, Lane 210, Roosevelt Road, Taipei City, Taipei) (MRT Gongguan)
This cafe is right next to GinGin’s and is owned by the same people. It’s a laid-back place with good drinks and a chill vibe. Lots of rainbows!
Norwegian Wood
(No. 9, Lane 244, Roosevelt Road, Taipei City, Taipei) (MRT Gongguan)
This is a indie cafe where a lot of college students study and converse. According to The Internets, it’s a gay hang-out spot, but it doesn’t particularly set off my gaydar. Either way, it’s fancy coffee in an artsy setting. As I would expect for a cafe named after a Haruki Murikami novel (or perhaps a Beatles song?), this place is whimsical, artsy and a bit weird.
street food
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Do Things: Events + Activism
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Lezmeeting
This is a once-a-month lesbian dance party that takes place in one of the popular clubs around Taiwan. There’s always excellent music, great dancing, and a plethora of lesbians! What more could you ask for? This company also runs a Chinese language magazine. Seriously, everyone should go to this. I’ve never seen so many lesbians in one place before.
The other big event is, of course, Pride. Taipei has the biggest Pride Parade in Asia. This year, 50,000 people showed up, myself included, and the parade filled the large thoroughfare. You can check out some great pictures on this radio blog. There were singing acts and a giant party afterward. If you’re around Taipei in October, you have to attend!
the loveboat
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There are lots of activist groups in Taipei, but to join them, you have to be far more fluent in Chinese than I am (Also, if you come here on a work visa, volunteer work is technically illegal, though not impossible. Shhh!!) Events are staged, such as the Mass Lesbian Wedding of sixty couples in August. The two major groups are: Gender and Sexuality Rights Association Taiwan (GSRAT) and Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline
The laws here are fairly progressive, with protections against workplace and educational discrimination against sexual orientation. Marriage was proposed under the Human Rights Basic Law in 2003 but the bill stalled and has gone nowhere since. However, school textbooks now include anti-discrimination encouragement and the history of LGBT human rights.
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The Dating Scene
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One of the things you should know about the Taiwanese lesbian scene is that a lot of the girls are divided up into Ts and Ps, or Tomboys and Pos, taken from the Chinese word for wife. If you don’t fit into one of these conventions, expect to clarify your preferences at a club. It’s a lot like the stereotypical old school butch/femme divide in western culture. Tomboys usually date Pos. Not always and not everybody, but usually. Some of my more androgynous friends, or my femmy friends that like girly girls, have trouble finding girls who take them seriously. However, though it’s a little harder, it’s definitely not impossible.
Sometimes the gender roles are expected to carry over into the relationship, in terms of intimacy or who pays for dates. However, you can be very, very feminine and still get read as gay in Taiwan. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Taboo or just buying t-shirts, straight is not the assumption because there are so many very feminine, very lesbian women.
*An additional cultural note: Sometimes girls or boys or that are friends hold hands. There’s more same-gender physical contact and less cross-gender physical contact than in America.
(Mini) Tomboy Primer
Tomboy Fashion stores
Like I said, Tomboys is a style (which is what many of the tomboys here emphasize to their families), high fashion, and a very big industry. As previously mentioned, the Loveboat is well-stocked with Tomboy clothing and accessories (nothing too kinky though).
T-Kingdom
(No.8, Ln. 118, Yi’an Rd., Zhonghe Dist., New Taipei City 23576, Taiwan) (R.O.C.)
This is a binders-only store! They also run the Republic of Castro, which is a Gay and Lesbian Chinese language site.
Taiwanese Tomboy bands:
An all-tomboy Taiwanese band? Yes, please. Misster.
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Your Health+
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Jung Shiao Shing Fu OBS & GYN
(No. 4, 5th floor, No. 128 Jung Shiao East Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei City) (phone: 02-2776-2222)
This is a gynecologist’s office where the doctors speak English. No one cares what your sexuality is, so no worries on that front. Also, health care in general is very cheap here, even cheaper if you have health insurance: we’re talking around $5-6.
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Cost of Living
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Taiwan is fairly inexpensive, with rent for a one-bedroom ranging anywhere from $200-500. Food is pretty affordable, too. A meal at a restaurant might be $3 (Taiwanese food) to $10 or more (almost always foreign). Street food is ridiculously cheap and you can expect to be fully stuffed for $2 or less. Although Taipei is the most expensive city in Taiwan, the cost of living is still lower than most major cities in the US. The pay for professions such as teaching is very good. Overall, I think it’s very affordable.
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Queer Friendliness
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Well, yesterday I kissed my girlfriend in front of my elderly neighbor (we mistimed the opening of the elevator doors) and she was totally unfazed. Everyone here seems to be accepting, for foreigners at least. While it might be different for people who have families here (I know a lot of people who are still in the closet), everybody I’ve encountered has been completely tolerant. According to the National Union of Taiwan Women’s Association, 75% of adults believe that homosexual relations are okay, so there’s that! I’ve also gotten zero street harassment here, which is significantly better than in Los Angeles.
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Also Also Also
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For even more queer-relevant info on Taipei, visit the Information Library! Most of the websites won’t translate using my current browser, but from what I can figure out, there’s a ton of clothing stores, support groups, lesbian personals and a lesbian(?) church. It will take ages to explore everything in Taipei, so finding this resource was pretty exciting.
Where has Misster BEEN all my life???!?!
My thoughts exactly… I think I love them.
YOU GUYS IT’S A BOI BAND!
Unless I’m totally out of the loop, Taiwan has the rest of the world beat on that one. Awesome.
Taipei seems so wonderful and quirky. Push-ups for discounts? 24hr bookstores? Biggest pride parade in Asia? Love it.
Thank you sooooo much for this. I’m doing a study abroad term in the fall in Taipei this year. Now I’m even more excited to go!
I was in Taiwan for two weeks in February and I didint go to any of these places unfortunately but I have to say Taipei is AWESOME. The food is amazing and every one is super friendly ( a person I didint know gave me a ride to my hostel! Walkers hostel is great by the way if you backpack there!) I will definitely go back one day!
hooooly shit. in about a year or so i want to study abroad somewhere where mandarin is a primary spoken language, and taipei is sounding pretty awesome so far. thanks for this!
woohoo, totally just found my summer plan when I go back to Taiwan this summer. I have got to print this out!
Taiwan Represent!!
i led a student trip on Buddhism and ethnography to Taiwan and we were in Taipei for a little bit. Tomboy culture is really visible! Audrey/anyone else, do they refer to themselves in any Mandarin/dialect terms besides the English?
“you can be very, very feminine and still get read as gay in Taiwan”
how does this happen?
Taiwanese street food. you guys. so much food. so well-priced. so yumz. -hungry.
advice to travelers: read up/have travel guides and maps handy. traditional Chinese characters are no joke. most young people speak English and many Taiwanese i met were helpful and friendly.
i wish i had found this stuff before i was in Taiwan! would have checked out those bookstores and cafés for sure.
Well, about the being very feminine, there are just so many girls who look completely feminine that…people just take chances? I’m not sure.
And tong-zi is Mandarin for gay/lesbian–nu tong zi for lesbian. It’s way more formal, though–I’d translate more as homosexual. (It also means comrade in China, so…there’s that. Po is Chinese for feminine lesbian. Sorry I don’t know the tone! And I think just tom is for boi.)
Tongzhi (同志) means comrade but its been co-opted as slang to be members of the LGBT community, nu tongzhi (女同志) would just be adding the female descriptor in font of tongzhi. The traditional word of homosexual is actually tongxingzhe (同性者).
Oh and po (婆) comes from laopo (老婆), it’s in the rising tone (lǎo pó).
It now has the same use in China (as well as the original meaning ‘comrade’)
Oh yes, I had 5 Tomboys (=lesbians) in the Philippines last year and all were excellent. After the 2nd, Marianna from Cebu, she recommended me her gfs. I’ll spend my next vacations again in the Philippines, highly recommended.
Regards
Sonja McDomell, 24, Flight Attendant swiss Airlines sonjamcdonell@yahoo.com
also, the Tomboy bandmember with the blue hair is called “Milk”??
Taipei! Oh god, I just left after a year and a half and MAN, I miss this city so much. Including, yes, the outstanding food and the outstanding lesbians, and MISSter. This article is awesome, and really comprehensive. Nice one!
GTFO. GET THE F OUT. How did you know I arrived here yesterday? GET OUT OF MY HEAD.
this is brilliant! thank you!
I’m so bookmarking it for the next time I’ll go to Taipei, which is hopefully really soon because NIGHT MARKETS!
If you like misster, you might like the korean girl band f(x). They have a member in there named amber, who is practically every fangirl’s dream. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKS12iGFyEA
And Amber is of Taiwanese descent!
aaah Misster are the best thing ever <3
SO EXCITED about my return to Taipei next year. mostly for the shaved ice, but now FOR ALL OF THIS TOO.
Taipei is awesome!! If for no other reason than that its people are possibly the friendliest on Earth. I should know, because I’m from the mainland, so the Taiwanese have plenty of reason to hate on me.
For you femmy girls out there who want to be taken seriously by other girly girls, there’s a category called niang T (娘 T, “tomgirl”). It describes more feminine-presenting gay ladies who tend to “top” another feminine-presenting gay lady. The closest incarnation of this type would be Bette from The L Word.
“If for no other reason than that its people are possibly the friendliest on Earth”
so true! Definitely why Taipei’s basically my fav place in Asia
Ahh MISSTER (thats such a brilliant name!) Androgynous woman is right up my alley! I can feel an obsession coming on..
This post makes me want to go to Taipei real bad. How bad? Well, I just told my girlfriend that if Obama doesn’t get re-elected, we should seriously consider moving. :D
Do you mind if I show Misster your article?
:DD I’d would be THRILLED
WHATTTT
!!!!!!!!!!!
I can’t believe I’m seeing this article on AS! This totally made my day!
I’m an AS reader from Taipei, and I gotta say you did a great job introducing my city! Thank you so much for this post!! :)
For those of you that really do want to visit Taipei, if ever that day comes… I would be more than willing to be your guide. (If I am available)
Hi CJ, is your offer still valid? I’ll be in Taipei during the last 2 weeks of December. Meet up? Would love to visit some of the places mentioned in this guide!
Is this still a valid offer? I just arrived to Taipei for a full year exchange at NTU. I would LOVE to have a friend here to visit this awesome queer places!
I’m also in Taipei until the middle of the year at NTU. So if you guys are looking to go out and visit these places, I would love to join you. Just reply or send me a message. I would much prefer to go visiting with a few other people because it’s more interesting than going by yourself.
Sadly I will never be able to use this guide because the only time I ever go back to Taiwan is to visit my extended family (who I am not out to) and it would be hard to escape from my mom (who I did come out to) that always travels with me on these visits since she’d “rather kill herself than accept me with a girl.”
I am, however, so glad to see that there is such an environment which exists in Taiwan and that they are somewhat accepting of the Queer culture. I couldn’t be more proud of my homeland. Maybe I’ll move back there if things get crappier here in the US…
Awesome piece. That street food pic is like porn for me. I’ve been interested in Taiwan for the last year or so, ever since I started crushing on Yani Tseng.
You guys are the nicest people ever! Thank you so much for reading this and those that are in Taipei should totally visit :DD
Interesting how things change. Back in the day, Esha was the one lesbian club, then Taboo came about, and now there’s Twiice? Awesome sauce. The only bad experience I had in Taboo was with one of the bartenders who used to dress up like a Nazi and when I made a comment about it, she saluted and said “Hail.” It was seriously messed up, and it made me sad. But other than that, I’ve always had fun at Taboo–and Taiwan! What a great island! Thanks for the article!
So freakin’ proud of my birth country now. I freakin’ love you guys for posting this.
had no idea Taipei was so effing cool. thanks for posting this.
I was born in Taipei and lived there for the first 10 years of my life. Glad to know it’s as progressive as I had thought it would be. I have a Taiwan birth certificate but I’m not a citizen (I’m British/Canadian) so this could be my guide to finding a wife if I return home :)
Hi Audrey thanks for posting this article! I had idea taipei has all these places… :)
I just moved from LA and South America for a 3 year contract in taipei… so I don’t have many friends yet to try all the amazing food and nightlife. Soooo yes, if any of you are in town, I could really use a friend!
Hey, sorry, just saw this! There’s a group on autostraddle that I think meets up occasionally and if you email me (kva1989@msn.com), I could send you the links to a few other places. Also, we might go out to taboo this Friday?
Hi Audrey, I just sent you an email too, to find out if you are still in Taipei.
So glad to have found this atricle, really great read! I had been thinking about going to Taiwan in a few months time and I think I’ve just been sold. Always good to know theres a lot of gay going on! When I arrive I’ll be hunting loads of these places down!
I remembered this article just as I landed. Anyone in Taipei now? I’m here as an exchange student the all year, and would love to meet some friends to discover the city.
send me an email!
Hi, I’m here in Taipei. I’m not quite sure how to send you an email actually.
Thanks for this. Could you please include the Chinese names and addresses of these places? For those who can read Chinese.
hello!!
I’m coco from Korea.
I’m going to tiwan in December alone.
so, I want to meet peolple in Tiwan. (I don’t want to be alone in tiwan,,,,,)
can i contect of them on online or anyway they using?
There are many spots that i hope to go!!!!
plaese reply to me!!
Thank you!!
have a good lez night!!
Hey Coco what are your plans for the long weekend? Let’s hang out!! email me dreambig311@yahoo.com
Hey awesome article !! I’m from Taipei and this article is really interesting. I’ve always wondered how foreign lez girls think about Ts in Taiwan, now judging from the comments its not so bad ahh? Hope you guys have a mind-blowing trip in Taipei !!
Thank you for the article! As a Taiwanese that grew up overseas, the city and the gay/lesbian scene is foreign to me. I’m temporarily living in Taipei now, and glad to know these places are out there! I’m open to meeting up with new faces and get to know the city!
Hi S. I’m in the same situation – just here for a while in Taipei. I’d love to meet up and go and visit these places too.
Heyyy! I’ll be in Taipei from the 29th of Jan till the 2nd Feb! Meet up maybe? :D
Cheers,
Ashlee.
To anyone who’s looking at the posts and wondering who to meet up with in Taipei, feel free to private message me (as people have been doing) and I’ll put you in contact with other people here.
Are you still in Taipei?
HI,
I will be in taipeh this Sat night from KL. Msian Chinese. Can meet anyone there?
hi there..i would like to make friends in Taipei..please put
me in contact with other people.
thank you very much.
Brenda
Hello Kate
Are you still in Taipei?
I am really looking to Make some friends and find a community here.
Message mé on lucymarie486@gmail.com
If you would like to chat or meet up sometime
Hi :)I`m going to move to Taipei in August! Would love to meet some friend there~
My email is lost_reason @ hotmail . com
A Trans Lesbian is OK?
Connect with me ASAP
I had fun and got a lot of help from my L friends when I was studying abroad,
so I’m willing to do the same thing back in Taiwan.
If anyone needs some help or wanna make some friends, feel free to msg me! :)
(I’m a native who currently studying and working in Taipei. )
Hi! I’ll be in Taipei during the last 2 weeks of December. Would love to hang out with any Autostraddlers and visit some of the places mentioned in this guide. Anyone keen? Do email me: paranoidyandroid@gmail.com
:D
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Thanks for the article. :D I am visiting Taipei in October with my girlfriend. Will stroll to some of the places mentioned. So excited!
are there any AS meet-ups before next Friday? I’m in town on a last minute trip.
I just came back from Taipei, unfortunately Taboo and Twiice are now close.. I thought I should tell you.
Does anyone happen to be in Taipei and want to check out some of these places together? I’m here for a few days for work :)
In town now for Pride!
Hi girls in Taipei or coming to Taipei, Taboo nightclub is definitely still up and running (despite the comment above). Other nightclubs have come and gone in Taboo’s time, but Taboo remains the coolest, friendliest and most successful with the best boss and the best staff. They are now opening Taboo Plus Cafe Bar: cafe during the day, bar at night. This is the place to go if you’re a girl who wants to chat and have a drink around girls, rather than dance the night away (for that, go to Taboo nightclub). Taboo Plus Cafe Bar is Nanjing East Road, Section 5, No. 52, Level B1 (南京東路五段52號B1, Ph: 02 2747 8557 if you can speak Chinese, Facebook: search TABOO PLUS CAFE BAR for the latest updates). Taboo nightclub is Jianguo North Road, Section 2, No. 90, Level B1 (台北市建國北路2段90號B1, Ph: 02 2518 1119, Facebook: search TABOO for very regular updates in Chinese). Hope that helps!
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Yess thank you so much for posting this! I’m solo traveling in Taipei for the next few days and knew that it’s a queer friendly city but didn’t know where to go- this is so incredibly helpful!
Hi is anyone who commented on this still living in Taipei? I just moved here for at least the next year and I’d love to do an AS meetup if that’s still a thing.
second this! just moved here last week and I’d love to meet new people.
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Wow, I knew Taiwan is an open-minded country. But never expected to hear this! I moved to Taipei 2 months ago due to studies and will be settled here for at least 4 years. Can’t wait to visit all these places, I am already prepairing my to-visit list. Thank you so much for posting it, you just made my day :)
I’ve just created the accout. Comment above is my comment. Hopefully I will achieve my other goal why I moved here. Thanks again for having this posted
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I’m in Taipei! Message me if you want to hang out or just get a rec list of all the best cafes to go to.
I’m not there anymore, but check out the Facebook group Red House Shore. That’s how I linked up with people in 2012 and it’s still an active group.