Now that I got a job in Taiwan and been living awhile in the same place, I decided to make some decorations to my home. For me it takes some time to make it feel like a home but this place feels very nice to live in, except MRT station could a bit closer. Dongmen, the area I live, is in Da'an district which is quite central locations and in Taipei to closer to Taipei 101 you are, the more expensive it is. Also the world famous Michelin star dumpling restaurant Ding Tai Fong opened its first restaurant here, every night it gets very busy. The same food isavailable nowadays in all major shopping malls and other busy locations. Yongkang street is maybe the most touristic restaurant street in Taipei, I rather take a lane from it and find a local place which are for sure cheaper and authentic.
Good things in Dongmen are location and peacefulness at the most. From here an MRT or a bus to anywhere in Taipei is usually less than 30 minutes. I've walked also to central railway station from here and it took around 20-25 minutes. This area gets very silent after 11 pm which make this seem like a sleeping district for many people. The people here are a mix of older people and families but also some younger ones who appreciate convenience. For me maybe a bit silent, but for a working man it's good that there are no traffic noise when you want to get a sleep. I heard that also Taipei governor lives in this area, nearly never you see any suspecious happening or begging or such (not very common anywhere in Taipei after all).
I never believed that I would buy anything from Marimekko but because my friend is a shop manager in their affiliate shop here, I visited it and wanted to get something Finnish instead of IKEA to my home. I also found a nice shop where I could buy quality beddings and other stuff. I confess I've bought also from IKEA a couple of towels earlier but I must say the quality isn't so good than in the other shop they also have towels and accessories for home. Btw IKEA restaurant is popular here, many people just go there but not enter the shop.
To my mind my life here turned to be very normal life. Of course in Taipei you don't have to think about how much it will cost if you go to a restaurant when you don't want to cook or pay too much and compered to Europe living costs are lower in almost everything. Salary level isn't too high but you can have a good living standard in one of the safest city in the world.