When Sick in Taiwan | 在台灣生病的時候

March 21, 2025

One of the best things about living in Taiwan is the fact that I can actually go to the doctor when I’m sick. If I have a cold in the United States, I take some benadryl and Tylenol, wear a mask, and suck it up. After all, why should I go to the doctor if it’ll cost an arm and a leg for them to tell me I have a common cold? Not worth. My coworkers were shocked when I explained that I almost never go to the doctor in the United States.

In Taiwan, if I have a cold, the only practical solution (as I’ve discovered) is to go to the doctor (I've actually had to rewire my brain to think “I’m sick, I should go to the doctor”). For $200 NTD (approx. $7.50 USD), I can get seen by a doctor and pick up three days’ worth of prescribed medication from the pharmacy, a much cheaper option than self-medication. This is the power of a well-run nationalized health insurance, which has led Taiwan to secure the top spot on the Numbeo health care index for quality and cost-effectiveness for the seventh consecutive year. America, please wake up.

Cocktail of cold medications

I came down with a little cold last weekend and decided to take a little trip to my local clinic on Tuesday. I got seen and picked up my medication, all within 30 minutes. It was at the clinic that I had one of the wildest interactions I’ve ever had in Taiwan.

After finishing the exam and prescriptions, the doctor said, “I think I live right below you, I see your address here in the chart!”

“Oh wow, nice to finally meet you!” (I had not met my downstairs neighbor yet)

Pause. The kicker of this whole interaction is that on Saturday, he texted my landlord asking her to “please remind the tenant to stop making banging and tapping sounds as they are disturbing my rest and I cannot bear it.” And now this is the doctor who I just happened to see to get medication for my cold. Thankfully, after I explained to my landlord that I am often not home at the times he described hearing the noises and generally do not “tap” or “bang” my floor on a regular basis (or ever, really), we mutually concluded that due to the horrible sound insulation in the building, the tapping and banging must be coming from upstairs (I’ve heard it too, but it’s pretty quiet and not bothersome to me).

At the end of the day, my neighbor is very nice, just quite sensitive to sound. We were able to joke about it a little bit, and hopefully he doesn’t think I’m tapping on the floor just to annoy him.

So, when you’re sick, maybe head to the local clinic. You might just meet your neighbors.

Now in good health,

-Miriam