I wrapped up my three weeks in Taiwan with a week (17-24 April 2018) in Kaohsiung (高雄), Taiwan. I won’t lie: This one is far and away my favorite so far. That may not be entirely reflected in its ratings, which are generally similar to the other two cities in Taiwan I visited. But the ratings are more of a general guideline anyway, or a way to break ties between two or more cities that I have an equally positive impression of.

• Rent: 8.1. A one-bedroom apartment in Kaohsiung’s city center rents on average for a mere $283.36, if Numbeo is to be believed.
• Walkability: 5. The harbor area makes for very nice pedestrian-only strolling. And Kaohsiung, while still a large city, has a smaller city center than Taipei. Not quite small enough to walk everywhere, but more manageable anyway. The rest of the city has the usual Taiwan-wide issues — walkways under building awnings obstructed by parked cars, parked motor scooters, or restaurant tables, and cars and motor scooters begrudging pedestrians a chance to cross the street.
  

  Yes, I’m sure this is a very nice restaurant. But I’m trying to walk here (18 April 2018).

• Dating: 4. Maybe it’s just because Kaohsiung’s a more attractive city, but the girls seem a little prettier here than elsewhere in Taiwan.
• Food: 9.2. You can’t go wrong, eating-wise, anywhere in Taiwan. If I had to choose among the three, I’d say Tainan (9.3) wins by a nose.
  

  Beef noodle soup (牛肉麵) is a classic Taiwanese dish, and the best bowl I had was at Lao Song’s (老宋牛肉麵) in Kaohsiung (21 April 2018).

• Ambience: 4. I was tempted to go higher on account of the picturesque harbor area, but I have to balance that against the rest of the city, which is similar in appearance to Taipei.
  

  Many buildings in Taiwan (and in China) have tiles like this on their exterior. Perhaps they repel the tropical heat. But they all remind me of gym locker rooms. That’s not an image I associate with architectural brilliance (23 April 2018).

• Transit: 8. I docked Kaohsiung a point for the one subway train I had to wait six minutes for on my way out. Otherwise, it’s just as easy and cheap to get around here as in Taipei.
  

  An efficient, cheap, clean, safe metro system is something I prize in a city. Kaohsiung fits the bill (18 April 2018).

• Health care: 8.5. I don’t have data on this for Kaohsiung, so I’m plugging in Taipei’s score.
• Nature: 4.
• Internet: 9.
• Crime: 8.8. Again, I’m using Taipei’s score as a proxy here. Taiwan is a very safe place.
• Language: 8. As with Tainan, Taiwanese, not Mandarin Chinese, is the most-spoken dialect here. Commentators on the TV news often switch between the two in the middle of a sentence. Still, speaking only Mandarin, I have little difficulty communicating with people.
• Bikeability: 6. Kaohsiung has lengthy bike paths, but they mainly run north-south through the center of the city. If you’re trying to cycle east or west of the center, they’re not as useful as the ring of bicycle paths in Taipei.
• Friendliness: 5.
• Pollution: 2.4. This is the only number that’s a real problem for Kaohsiung. I personally didn’t find the bad air quality particularly noticeable, other than during my bus ride to the beach in Kenting when it was definitely smoggy. But I saw electronic message boards outside Kaohsiung Metro exits warning of poor air quality, and I did see a lot of people wearing facemasks (see photo above).