Best Value Neighborhoods

Hey everyone! I just moved to Taipei and hope to start working as an English teacher soon. I figured though I’d get a semi head start on the house hunting. Any neighborhoods or parts of the city that are recommended, for their price value, chicness/liveliness, but also maybe laid back? Good for outdoor/ health activities? Thanks!

I would look in the Gongguan/Guting area.

It’s down the road from two major universities in Taipei, so a very lively area with plenty of things to do and a very large variety of housing. Unless you’re living in or near the mountains, I wouldn’t consider too many places in Taipei very laid back.

jajaja. That’s not always a bad thing. Thanks!

Yeah, but it’s insanely expensive, man.

Well that part is not great, jaja. any recommendations in terms of price value? reasonable accommodation/area for a good price? In my country, we use the 3 B’s (bueno, bonito y barato) meaning (good, pretty and cheap!) Thanks!

In Taipei I think that between good, pretty and cheap you can only pick two.

I think Auntie Peng aka @Icon , can help you with this.

Alright, I’ve been on a new housing search for the last month and I’ve been to neighborhoods I didn’t even know existed. Of course, this is only experiental, but here’s a breakdown of the districts:

Da’an - Pricey, convenient, somewhat “chic” (includes the Zhongxiao E. Rd. sector), everything you need is here. NT$12,000 will get you a room, a bed, a bathroom, maybe a flat screen on the wall, and not much else. NT$15,000 will get you a refrigerator and maybe an IKEA love seat. I’ve lived here for eight years and I get the shakes when I think about leaving; but that’s life.

Xinyi - Mostly cool, still pricey, some “hipness” on the north end of 101. Same pricing as Da’an, but less convenience, particularly around Taipei Medical University Hospital; however, a lot of people down that way won’t rent to foreigners. Dunno why. (Note: when calling landlords on 591.com, always ask first if they accept foreigners.)

Shilin/Tianmu - Rich people and foreigners. Rents can be exorbitant, but deals can be found. The question is, do you want to live north of the Grand Hotel? Studios in the NT$20,000 range shouldn’t be a 15-minute walk to the MRT station. Lots of great places to eat up there though. Different vibe than Taipei City proper.

Gongguan/Guting - Vaguely more affordable than Da’an. NT$12,000 still doesn’t get you a kitchen, but there might be a balcony. Noisy as fuck down there, though. High turnover in housing because of the students. I lived down there eight years ago and had a roof top for NT$18,000.

Ximen - Cheap, shitty, crowded, old, noisy. NT$8,000 will get you a broom closet above a gay sauna house. You could live here, I guess.

Zhongzheng - I still can’t believe people live here. It’s centrally-located but there isn’t shit except wedding dresses and a clunky monument. I wouldn’t even look at places classified as being in this district, but NT$12,000 will get you the same joint in Da’an, only shittier.

Wanhua - Some decent joints down there, but again, you’re out in the middle of nothing. The riverside is nice. NT$15,000 goes a long way.

Wenshan - NT$12,000 will get you a decent tao fang, but you’re about 20 minutes away from civilization.

Xindian - For my money, the best living values. Lots of NT$13,000 studios and one-bedrooms in newer buildings. The only problem? You’re in Xindian. It’s nice if you’re just chilling and have no aspirations of late nights and loose women.

Beitou - Nice, but almost an hour away. NT$13,000 gets you a decent pad.

Anything north of Beitou - Here’s where you find some really sweet shit.

Yonghe - I checked out one place in Yonghe, and it was pretty nice (NT$11,000). But it took an hour each way.

Datong - Shitloads of windowless human-trafficking cubicles in buildings with dubious purposes. Ain’t nothing happened up here since the Japanese left. Public transportation is weak. Dull, hopeless place. Avoid.

Songshan - The new train station has really upped this place as a value destination. Until you spend a night there and have a 747 flying over every six minutes (see Neihu).

Neihu - This place is actually kind of nice. Can find one bedrooms for NT$15,000. New shit. Some stuff to do. I stayed one night in an Airbnb that the guy wanted to rent long term, and I swear to God I thought I was on the runway at Songshan.

Zhongshan - This is one of those areas I see on the map but never really believed existed. If you find a joint near the Dazhi MRT, you’ll be OK, as long as you don’t mind the noise from the airport.

Sanchong - I guess you could live here. People do it all the time.

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jajaja. Thank you for the very comprehensive post. I’m sure it’ll do me quite well! Thanks!

This is only true if you live anywhere within a 1km radius from the airport =P

I defer my knowledge to Super_Lucky. That post made me laugh a lot when I just needed it the most -big headache.

We need a similar review of Luzhow, Sanxia, Linkou, Banciao and other up and coming areas.

Indeed, Neihu is very big. The area around the lake is really nice and fairly convenient. And far enough from the planes.

To Alan, Bienvenido! Bueno bonito y barato no es facil de hallar, pero que hay, los hay. Eso si, no se desespere ni apresure. Y definitivamente, vaya a ver casas de dia y de noche. Entre semana y en fin de semana.

I don’t understand this one bit, but I agree. I figured you guys spoke the same language and could have some insight on OP’s requests! And that is why I linked you :smiley:

Yeah, I gathered as much. Just telling him that it may not be apparent, but a place with the 3Bs is out there for him to find. And I reminded him that one should see any prospective place by day and night, on weekends and weekdays.

Should also tell him the usual: do not sign anything by yourself, bring a witness and take pictures before you move in, never give more than 2 months deposit.

And always carry a clean handkerchief and say “Excuse me” when you break wind.

Thanks, everyone! Muchas gracias, Icon! Se agradece mucho tu bienvenida y tus consejos! Saludos!

how did banqiao not make the list? its close, convenient and pretty developed in the station area.

i second the comment about north of beitou being where some good apartments are. also xinzhuang. both are not ideal locations though.

basically anywhere in central taipei is expensive and bad value. if you want anything more than a shit box you are going to have to look a little further.

Most of the high rent for horrible apartments in the city center is you paying for convenience. I’ve been slowly looking for new places to live and anything below 15k (not including utilities) is a hole in the wall with a tiny window in the upper right corner of the room.

I wouldn’t mind living a little further from the city center, but living far from the city city does not help those late nights out and/or early cycling times for me.

I looked at three more places this weekend; two near Linguang MRT, and one in - gasp! - Zhongshan (Linsen N. Rd. area). All in the sub-12k price range, and all matching your description. But add shitty single bed and rickety desk. Earlier in the week, I visited a couple of joints off Anhe Road (near Tonghua Night Market) and came away pretty disappointed. I’m looking at 18k minimum for a suitable joint. Even the 15k joints in Da’an are very suck. At this point, I’m wondering what the fuck I was thinking I could find a decent crash pad for dirtbag money.

@BHL4life Banqiao is weird. There have been a couple of places popping up on the forum and TEALIT, and they look OK, but… I dunno. A couple of my colleagues live down there, and they’re weird, too. I think if you are close to Jiangzicui MRT it might be alright (I checked out on 13k studio in that area). Actually, geographically, it’s not that far out of town. I think it took 15 minutes from Main Station…something like that?

A big part of my perceived “weirdness” of the place stems from that fucked up Global Mall joint, which kind of reminds me of Chungking Mansions in the sense that clearly no one put any forethought into the layout before piling a bunch of shit in there. Also, aside from the green areas around the park and riverside, it seems really cramped down there. Perhaps that’s just me.

You have to get ridiculously lucky when it comes to finding a good deal for apartments. However, this isn’t exclusively Taipei! Make sure your friends and their friends know that you’re looking, someone knows someone who knows someone that has a good deal.

My colleague moved into the Zhongshan MRT area and said she lived in a building with a front desk. I know how much the company pays her since each level of employee salary is public info and it confuses me as to how she affords rent and spends 500NT on lunch. Where I’m making probably twice her salary and spend no more than 100NT on lunch…everyday. That’s a little off topic, but you get the idea.

Have you considered Wenshan or Neihu? Your main means of transportation will be the bus and brown line MRT in and out of the center of the city, but you could find a decent place in those areas if you’re willing spend a lot of time in public transportation.

Banqiao works ok for me, partly because my commute on the blue line takes me in the opposite direction to most people. And partly because I’m weird. The station area is flashy but expensive and not much to actually do there. The long early AM cab ride back from town might outweigh the small rent saving if done regularly… I think global mall is just over in Zhonghe, which IMO is an overcrowded slum with poor transport.