A typical town or city in Taiwan is quite different from one in UK, Europe, or North America.

In the USA, most people in towns live in houses which consist of just one floor. In cities this may differ, but usually only in the downtown region. In the UK and Europe most people live in houses which consist of two floors. Usually the bedrooms and bathroom are on the upper floor.

Most European and North American towns or cities consist of a central downtown region with many shops offices and businesses, where some, but not many people live.

Away from the downtown zone, are areas where people live. As already mentioned, in the UK most people live in houses consisting of two floors. Apartment blocks are rare, but are found in some parts of big cities, in the capital city, London, for example. The areas where people live are referred to as suburbs. There are not many shops in the suburbs. Occasionally you may come across a group of up to ten shops. In this case there is nearly always a shop selling newspapers, snacks and drinks. In addition you will often find a women’s hair salon, maybe a betting shop, a small post office, a bakery, maybe a flower shop. It is unlikely you will find a coffee shop or a cheap restaurant. In some suburbs it may be a 10-minute walk to the nearest store. This store, in my opinion, is best described as an inconvenient convenience store. These stores sell newspapers, some food, drinks, snacks, alcohol, cigarettes, etc., but they do not have an ATM, and neither do they have facilities for photocopying or paying bills. In addition, they don’t remain open after 10 pm. Hence I refer to these shops as inconvenient convenience stores.

If you live in the UK in a typical house in a housing estate, and you look out of the window during the day or in the evening, what will you see? You will see other houses, and occasionally you will see a car pass by, and sometimes someone walking. There isn’t much else to see. During the morning you will see a greater number of cars and pedestrians on their way to work, and again around 7 pm, when they return from work. If you live in the downtown area, in a street with shops, you will see more people walking by, and you will see more cars, unless it is a pedestrian zone. But in the evening you won’t see many people because after 5:30 most businesses and shops are closed. Restaurants and pubs will be open, but nothing else.

If you live in a suburb on the very edge of the city then there is a chance that there will be a large supermarket nearby. Most large supermarkets are on the edge of a town or city, which isn’t very convenient for old people. Many of these supermarkets, however, are now open 24 hours a day.

Although most roads in the UK’s towns and cities don’t contain many, if any, shops, buses do travel along the larger of these roads, and hence you will see many bus-stops. But unlike Taiwan, you won’t see many people waiting at these bus-stops during the evening. There are two reasons for this. Firstly most adults in the UK own a car, and secondly, with most people finishing work around 5:30 / 6:00, and with the shops closing at a similar time, most people are at home during the evening. There are no shops to go to in the evening, and if someone wants to visit a friend or go to a restaurant, sports centre, etc., they will probably drive there. Waiting at a bus-stop at night, especially in winter is a lonely and depressing activity. It is considerably better in summer because, at the height of summer it is still daylight until 10 pm., so the combination of daylight and the relative warmth, makes it more enjoyable.

What about walking along a pavement? Pavement is the word used in the UK for sidewalk. Many roads have houses which have a small driveway in which the owner can park his/her car. This means that the car is not parked on the road, but instead on the owner’s property. How does this affect pedestrians? A pedestrian is a person who is walking from one place to another, as opposed to a person driving a car or riding a motorcycle or bicycle. So in other words, how does the owner of a house parking his car on his/her property affect someone walking along the pavement? In order for a car to drive across a pavement from the road to the driveway of a house, the pavement needs to be built at an angle. What this means is that when walking in one direction along a pavement, you need your left leg to be longer then your right leg, and when walking in the other direction, the reverse is necessary, i.e. your right leg longer than your left leg. No animals including humans, have one leg longer then the other, so it is very uncomfortable.

Typical House

Two Story House