Really up to you as a person. I came from a very fast paced environment, comfortable with the competition and intensity to the extent I thought it was normal. Moved to Taipei and I’m now finding myself unreasonably annoyed at every small inconvenience. People get stressed in a very fast paced and orderly environment, I get stressed without the speed and order.

The escalators are moving so slowly, the cashier at the store chatting with the customer in front of me, people strolling on the sidewalk, the traffic lights seeming to take forever. Leeway for deadlines, people turning up 5-10 minutes late for appointments, people chatting for half an hour before the meeting begins, no moderator and agendas for meetings, we wait for people. It’s not slow, it’s being reasonable and flexible, they say.

Tokyo and Seoul are on another level. I’ve never felt so anxious while trying to figure out which side of the train I should be taking, or guilty about taking up a spot on the train during peak hours.

Though I do enjoy being able to wake up late and not have to listen to passive aggressive comments about my poor discipline. I can even make small talk now without being remarked as lazy. Still can’t decide what I actually like.