Your New Land's Weather

I'm from a terrifically COLD climate. So, getting to Taiwan was quite the difference. Overall, I love to call home - and laugh. "Snow? Really?! " First, here are a few weather facts, then some interpretation.

Summers are long…from around mid-April to the end of October - usually 200 days or more. Hottest days start from June. Winters from November are sunny in the south, drizzly in the north.

Tropical Island?

Taipei sits at the exact same latitude as… Miami, Florida. Taichung matches up with Key West. Its not until a bit further south, to just down at Chiayi, that the Tropic of Cancer slips across the island, putting the lower half into the tropics. When you’re under the Tropic of Cancer, you are totally tropical.

Tropical, sub-Tropical, Cancer, Capricorn, azimuth – ok, I threw that last one in – what does it all mean?!~ Well, you know about your Tropic of Cancer, that's the one that crosses Taiwan. Then there’s your Tropic of Capricorn, down a ways. Between them – the Tropics, the TORRID zone. Another rule of thumb: other than the mountains, the Tropics are generally frost-free year-round and plants never stop growing.

What about when the place you are in is right beside to the Tropics, looking in - like half of Taiwan? Then you are said to be sub-tropical. "Sub" here meaning "just outside".

Where to Live?

Mountains

Live in the big city, and you’ll never be bored (ha), or at least there are more diversions. But, there’s also pollution, traffic and… heat. On any given day you can get up in to the mountains and shave serious points off the mean temperature. And, it’s quite possible to LIVE in these same higher elevations, enjoying a less mean climate year-round.

Coastline

Simple. You can teach, AND surf. The major surf spots are Jinshan, Ilan, Kentin & Chunan. (Don’t forget to check out the Surfing Report ). Not much of a heat difference in any of these areas but, you can teach… AND surf.