Kuo Chun-lin, who is the nominal chairman of the Kuanhsi Hometown Association and is always respectfully referred to as "Mr. Kuo," says that those Hakka who came to Taipei to make a living in the old days were poor. In buying a house, about all they could ask for was a roof over their heads. Tunghua Street was cheap because it wasn't so developed, and so many Hakka settled there.
關西旅北同鄉會名譽董事長、人稱「郭老」的郭春林指出，早年來台北謀生的客家人普遍較窮，買房子只求可以「蓋頭」就好，通化街算是開發較遲的地區，房價便宜，所以在這裡落腳的客家人就多了。