I have lived in the area near Dreammall for half a year back in 2010.
I recently (well, since dec 2011… omg times flies!) moved back to Kaohsiung and looking for an apartment I specifically was worried about the air quality. Checked out some sites and looked for areas around parks or near seaside.
I couldn’t have found a better place. Big bedroom, big living room, big kitchen, 2 balconies (one for laundry etc.), modest bathroom and an extra guestroom for when we have guests coming over. Best thing is, we’re living in between Yan Cheng Pu and Xi Zi Wan MRT station (little closer to the latter), for… 7500 nt excl. Some ‘friends’ of my girlfriend even said it’s rather expensive for a place in KHH but granted they haven’t been to our apartment yet. I reckon it’s a sweet deal.
The MRT is 5 minutes walk, the shops are all in reach (Jian Guo road will take you to the trainstation in about 10 minutes by scooter), and best of all, I step out the door, walk through the park, onto the bikelanes in either love river direction or take a looong stroll around the ferry-pier or ZhongShan university campus.
If I were you I’d worry about quality of living first; that deluxe condo might seem appealing, but consider that you might breath the air of the scooters on that intersection below all night long when you’re sleeping.
Maybe come to Kaohsiung for a few days and sample the vibe of the different districts and see which best suit your needs.
Good luck