Taipei

My first thought after quitting my job and launching a startup was, where do I work? Every prior job I had, that company had an  office that was already setup. I just showed up and did my work. Now that on my own, I had no idea where I was supposed to go.

The concept of coworking was still brand new then. The professional options were to sublease office space (expensive in NYC), or rent space from serviced office providers like Regus. As an early startup with no funding or revenue, neither of these were options.

I was  left with working from my cramped Brooklyn apartment. Many of us had to do the same during COVID. When working continuously in a tight space with no human contact, you eventually go stir-crazy. To escape the monotony, I ventured out in my neighborhood to find places to work.

This is when I discovered the joy of working out of cafes. There were a few in my part of town that were not too busy during the day, had free Wi-Fi, and seemed OK with me hanging out for hours at a time. Not all places were cool with this, though, and I may have been thrown out of a few places when I overstayed my welcome.

As I started traveling more, I would seek the café scene to find places to work on the road. Some places were relatively chill, like in Argentina or Vietnam, where cafes are a way of life. Other places like Hong Kong want you to order and get out as fast as possible. But wherever I went, few cafes were ever truly setup to be spaces to do serious work.

When I started spending time in Taiwan, I assumed cafes would be like Hong Kong. I found complete opposite. Cafes are ubiquitous, from global brands like Starbucks to local chains like Louisa and Peter Better to mom and pop operations. They are setup to be social venues and work spaces. And as long as you buy something, you can stay from open to close and be chased out.

Having been in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, for the past several months, I have started to get the hang of life here. Life is a lot more chill that I expected. Maybe it is because I am used to the pace and intensity of places like NYC and Hong Kong, but I get the sense that people are less stressed out and anxious in Taiwan.

Quality of life was one consideration when I moved to Taiwan. In the 2023 Expat Insider survey, Taiwan came in second place behind Spain for quality of life. In the 2025 World Happiness Report, Taiwan was ranked as the happiest country in Asia, ahead of Singapore, Japan, and the land of smiles, Thailand. The report noted that kindness was a factor in Taiwan’s ranking, and I have found people to be far more helpful and pleasant here than most countries I have visited or lived.

As you settle down in a new city, you start to notice little things that speak to the distinctive features of a place, like the café culture and the kindness of strangers. I have been to other cities such as Kaohsiung in the south and Hualien in the east, but most of what I have seen and experienced in Taiwan is from the lens of living in Taipei.

With that, here are some other things about life in Taipei I have observed so far, from my perspective of being a new arrival and a foreigner:

• There is food literally everywhere and at all hours. There are breakfast joints open at 6 AM, random outdoor food stalls behind side streets, vendors selling sandwiches and buns on the street for office workers, big and small night markets, and tons of restaurants from takeaway joints to Michelin star food meccas. Even train stations are awash in food options, but just don’t eat or drink anything on the MTR.

• You can get any cuisine, but it will have a Taiwanese twist. This means things will tend to be sweeter or have more stuff added, like the local pizza. That is changing though, with more authentic cuisine coming here like Mexican or Italian.

• The most common non-Taiwanese cuisine in Taiwan is Japanese. There are sushi restaurants, ramen joints, tonkatsu places, chains like Kura or Sukiya, izakayas, and Japanese stalls in the night markets. Given the history of Taiwan, it is not surprising and the quality of the food is quite close to what you would get in Japan.

• Almost no one cooks. As I was looking at apartments, I noticed many that had no kitchen or just a small stovetop. When I asked the agent why, she said there is too much delicious and cheap food outside. Good point.

• The number of bubble tea places is mind blowing. They are everywhere. I counted ten on one block right outside one of the MTR stations. Taiwan is both the birthplace of bubble, or boba, tea and also is the biggest consumer in the world per capita with over a billion cups consumed annually.

• The cocktail scene is quite legit and affordable. Most locals drink beer, whisky, or Kaoliang, which is a local Taiwanese liquor. There are more cocktail places, craft beer halls, and wine bars opening up though throughout the city. By the way, I am not a fan of Kaoliang, so please do not make me drink that.

• Everything is connected to the MRT (Taipei Metro). Though Taipei is not a large city, having the MRT makes things so much closer to get to. The trains are always on time, super clean, and very inexpensive, with most trips costing between $1 to $2 USD.

• Whiile eating, drinking, or chewing gum on the MRT is not allowed, you can do these on the other trains systems such as the High-Speed Rail (HSR) and Taiwan Railway (TRA). It is common to see inexpensive bento boxes (便當) for sale in train stations to take on the train.

• Cash is still king. Many places like restaurants, hotels, and major stores will take credit card, but smaller vendors still rely on cash. However, there are EasyCard and iPASS stored-value cards that you can use for mass transit like the MRT and for many supermarkets and convenience stores.

• No one jaywalks. Major roads are super wide, something I have never seen in most cities. Traffic lights are super long. As a New Yorker, this drives me insane, but no one ever walks against the light.

• Neighborhoods away from the main roads have no sidewalks. Not sure why, but there are green lanes painted on the roads to indicate walking lanes.

• YouBike is a commuting miracle. These are bikes you can rent at stations setup all across the city through an app. In Taipei, the first 30 minutes is free, but after that, the cost is minimal. A four-hour trip would be $80 NT or $2.50 USD. There are also many biking lanes and trails set up in the city. My favorite trail is along the Keelung River, along both sides of the river.

• Mopeds are a way of life here, much like you would see in Vietnam or Thailand. While the moped traffic is less chaotic in Taipei, the moped are everywhere on the streets, parked along buildings, and delivering food and packages across the city.

• The buildings are not super high. Taipei has a few tall skyscrapers like the famous Taipei 101, but they are mostly in newer parts of the city in Xinyi to the east or in Banqiao to the west in New Taipei City. With all the trees that line the major streets, it feels less oppressive here than many other cities covered with high-rises.

• Access to nature from the city is convenient and quick. Some neighborhoods have mountains right beside them, like in Neihu or Shilin. One of the best hikes though is to Elephant Mountain in Xinyi which provides amazing views of Taipei 101. Further out, there is Yangshan National Park that has amazing nature scenery.

• There are many parks throughout the city. Most are small squares embedded in the neighborhoods, but there are also larger parks like Da’an Park, Xinsheng Park with its wonderful Rose Garden, Yuanshan Park next to the Expo Dome, and Youth Park.

• Convenience stores in Taiwan have everything you need. You can buy food and beverages, pay bills, get money, mail packages any time day or night. It is estimated that Taiwan has one convenience store per 1,703 people with the biggest chains being  7-11, Family Mart, and Hi-Life.

• When you shop at malls, convenience stores, and most restaurants & retail shops, you receive two receipts, one which has an 8-digit number called “fapiao” (發票). Most visitors and foreigners throw these away, but they are a special tax receipt that is part of a national lottery system where you can win cash (I have not yet).

• Trash cans are impossible to find. You can find some near MRT stations or parks, but mostly they do not exist. I have gotten used to carrying small plastic bags with me to dispose of garbage until I find a trash receptacle either on the street or in a convenience store.

• Taiwanese are quite eco-conscious. Many bring their own bags for shopping and mugs for cafes to reduce waste and save money (5 NTD discount when using your own mug). Recycling is also a big deal and you have to properly separate garbage into recyclables, general trash, kitchen waste (compostable waste), otherwise you get fined.

• The garbage trucks and subway trains play music as they arrive. It is actually quite pleasant. Maybe not as pleasant if you were expecting an ice cream truck, though.

• Publicly available toilets are plentiful and clean. They can be found in MTR stations, parks, sightseeing areas, and any café. Some places even have the Japanese toilets, which are incredibly awesome.

• The city is covered with cute displays. It is a culture of “ke’ai” (可爱) that is widely embraced in Taiwan. This includes cartoon character displays from kids' shows, cutesy advertising signs, and animals statues and art exhibits in parks and public spaces like pandas, bears, and ducks.

• Many people take their pets out in baby strollers. Taipei is pet-friendly and you see lots of cats and dogs in parks and cafes. Not everyone rides their pets in strollers, but it is common enough to notice that this is a normal part of pet culture here.

If you are in Taiwan or have been in here in the past, what are some uniquely interesting things you have noticed about the life here? I would love to hear your impressions of this amazing city and country!

Mark Birch

Taipei has no lack of friendly cafes that are convenient for doing working. The café culture is quite strong here. I have yet to find a country that has adopted the concept of “third places” between home and the office as well. So instead of the regular community update below is a list of recommendations for cafes in Taipei that are good for working out of. If you want to know what I have been up to lately, check out my LinkedIn posts about the next 42Geeks to Finland and Estonia in May (let me know if you want to join), my experience co-hosting the last GenieFriends dinner in Taipei, and my trip to California next week (LA April 14-16, SF April 17-18). If you want to meet up while I am in California, ping me!

The following are cafes that I have worked out of in Taipei and would recommend. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list however and there are plenty of cafes, especially independently owned cafes, not listed here that are probably amazing places to work out of as well. If you have other cafés you would like added to this list, please message me and I will include them.

Note this is not a list the best places for artisan coffee in Taipei. Some of the cafes listed below do have excellent coffee, but there are many specialty coffee shops that just focus on serving the highest quality coffee and are not cafes for working in.

This is also not a list for coworking locations that are specifically designed as workspaces for individuals as well as companies. At a later date, I will create a dedicated list just for coworking facilities in Taipei.

There is a full list of cafee in this document that contains the cafes below as well as other places that have been recommended.

CHAIN CAFES

Starbucks – There are over 100 Starbucks locations in Taipei City. Most stores do not have a time limit and have decent WiFi. They are also English friendly and the layout is similar to other Starbucks around the world. Prices are on the expensive side and some locations can get very crowded.

Louisa Coffee – A local Taiwanese chain with even more locations than Starbucks. They do not have a time limit and have reliable WiFi. They are English friendly, prices are reasonable, and menu selection is good. Some locations can be very cramped though whereas others are more spacious with multiple floors like the Kunming Store.

Petter Better Cafe – Another Taiwanese chain with 15 locations in Taipei. They do not have a time limit, have decent WiFi, and plenty of power outlets across small and shared tables. The prices are very reasonable and quality of drinks and food are  good. The cafes can get very busy though turnover of tables is quick. The Taipei Arena and Da’an stores are pretty safe bets to get seats.

Ueshima Coffee Lounge – This is a well-known high-quality coffee purveyor from Japan with 4 stores in Taipei. They do not have a time limit and have reliable WiFi.

Komeda's Coffee – This is another Japanese chain. Every seat has its own power outlet and USB power outlet, their coffee is decent and their locations are usually nice. Prices are higher than other cafes and come with an added service charge and a 2 hour time limit.

Dreamers Coffee Roasters – A Taiwanese café with 11 locations in Taipei. They have a bilingual menu, power sockets on each desk, and no time limit.  Locations are nicer than Starbucks and Louisa. The Dreamers on Xinyi St by Dongmen MRT #5 stop is the nicest of their locations.

Cama Café – Similar to Peter Better, the Taiwanese chain as  47 locations around Taipei. The prices are quite reasonable with a plenty of good food and drinks. The have ok Wi-Fi and no time limit, but many locations are quite small and may not have power outlets to use. The flagships stores near the Taipei Dome and in Shilin are the best ones for space and atmosphere.

7-11 / Family Mart / McDonald’s – While not the most convenient of locations, it is not unusual to see people sitting in one of these 24-hour venues working on their laptops in the middle of the night. They have seating, food and beverages of varying quality, and free (but spotty) Wi-Fi.

INDEPENDENT CAFES

Cozy Cowork Café – Café located in Songshan not far from Taipei Arena is a combination of café and coworking space. There is plenty of comfortable seating in different configurations, strong Wi-Fi, and plenty of power outlets in an airy and friendly environment. There is no time limit, and they have a decent menu of drinks and food, including healthy rice bowls. There is also a coworking element with a phone booth, communal working table, screens and a whiteboard you can use, and a community that people can join for events and to meet other professionals. This is my go-to café for working in Taipei.

Fika Fika Café – Located in Zhongshan off the Songjiang Nanjing MRT Station is a very friendly café that gives off bright and airy Scandinavian vibes. It is a pricier café, but the beverage and food quality are excellent. The seating is good, power outlets are available, and Wi-Fi is decent. There is no time-limit, but when it gets crowded, they may ask you to purchase something or depart (in a very friendly way).

TWATUTIAN Coffee & Co. – There are two locations, the original in Datong, and one in Zhongshan around the corner from Fika Fika. The Zhongshan location is bi-level where you order downstairs and seating is upstairs. The drink and food selection is limited and expensive, but high quality (they have an excellent cinnamon roll). The seating is plentiful,  Wi-Fi is decent, and there is no time limit. One issue  is that power outlets are limited along the walls.

Journey Kaffe – A smaller chain with 4 branches in Taipei. They have free Wi-Fi, plenty of power outlets and no time limitation. The food and drink selection are extensive with many good quality healthy options, but tends to be more expensive. The best of the locations is in Songshan, and the Neihu branches are also quite solid.

Homey’s café – Located in Da’an near the Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station is a very comfortable place with inexpensive coffee and food. There is no time limit, free Wi-Fi, and power outlets around. This is also one of the few cafes that stays open late till 11 PM, but also does not open till 12 PM. This place gets very busy though, so you may have to wait for seating to open up.