CITY & ITS PEOPLE
Taipei vs. LA
Taipei vs. LA in 112 questions over 13 chapters: food, clothes, home and getting around, work and life, fashion, mind and body, fitness, plus a Pilates bonus round. The tiny details that make people in both cities smirk.
Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.
Key points
- From the 26-question full version up to Vols. 1–6
- Bonus: the Pilates special
- Same scene, two worlds
Full text
Same scene, two worlds
Taipei on one side, LA on the other, the same little thing side by side. It grew from a 26-question version into Vol.1–6: 112 questions in 13 chapters.
Food
Breakfast in Taipei is at the breakfast shop; in LA it's at the farmers market. Taipei drinks boba, LA drinks iced oat lattes, and both sides want "light ice."
Clothes
Taipei dresses against sun, rain and the AC; LA just needs one athleisure set that goes morning to night, plus a light jacket.
Home
Taipei homes dehumidify; LA homes humidify. Taipei has a balcony for laundry; LA has a garage for everything else.
Getting around
Taipei takes the MRT and rides YouBikes; LA drives, even to the gym.
Work and life
Quitting time in Taipei is more of a concept; in LA it's 5 p.m., and then Pilates.
Mind and body
In Taipei it's called Grandma's advice; in LA it's called wellness. Red dates and goji, foot soaks, early nights: LA is rediscovering all of it.
Bonus: the Pilates special
Both cities are obsessed with Pilates, but Taipei is fighting for a booking and LA is fighting over the outfit.
The to-go
It's not about which one is better. It's that once you've lived in both, you know exactly what you miss.
In this series
- LA × Seoul: the same Korean flavors, K-town vs. Seoul
- Same little thing, two lives | Taipei vs. LA, up close
- A day in Taipei × a day in LA
- Taipei Girl vs. LA Girl
- Moving from Taiwan
- LA vs. OC
- NorCal vs. SoCal
- LA vs. NYC
An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).