Taipei v.s. Zagreb "What” or “Where”? I guess this is the reaction you get while seeing this title.Let me explain.This summer I went to Zagreb, a lesserknown Croatian city compare to tourist-packed Dubrovnik.I was enchanted by the city’s “effortlessly cool”atmosphere:laid-back people on the streets,magnificent historical sites and everything in between. But what really makes it unique is its somewhat deserted vibe, you don’t see packs of people everywhere,no flooding tourists, just locals.As a born and bred Taipeier, I found some interesting resemblances theses cities bear, emotionally and a bit historically. These two are or were both under the influence of communist.Both are not very well known city in compare to their counterparts. Not popular cities for tourists or doing business. Fail in the category of “ international
competitiveness”. Hmm, so now what? There’s a term derived from Japanese, しょうかっこう, which has been all the rage in Taiwan recently. It means all kinds of small happiness. For example, having your great hair day or having your name write correctly on Starbucks coffee. However, some people criticized this kind of easily satisfying attitude and I get it. How can us new generation thrive with this mindset? How can we compete with China afterwards? They have their points.But I’m not discussing this issue here, I’m sharing what I see in Taipei and Zagreb. Taipei and Zagreb, in my opinion, are cities of しょうかっこう. Both cities sees hipster coffee shops, clean streets and the most important of all, casual pace of people walking by. History enriches these cities and leave them so many legacies.Residences are friendly, they never aggressively bump you on a crowed bus or cut lines because they are always in a hurry.Instead, they offer you help, greet you and guide you as you were at home. We may be overshadowed by Tokyo, Shanghai or Dubrovnik, but we preserved the essence of a great city.