I'm not the only one who has fallen for Taipei's newfound appeal: Last year, British consulting firm ECA International ranked it sixth among Asia's most livable cities, ahead of Seoul and Kuala Lumpur.

WSJ: In Taipei, Taiwan, Life in the Slow Lane

In the report, detailed further in the link here to the left, ECA notes that the U.S. lower tax burden and overall cheaper cost of living makes it the No. 1 country in the Western world to earn a living as a middle manager.

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"That's commercial data and we don't give it out only the rankings, " an ECA spokeswoman said.

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