We may be moving to Taipei next spring and have looked around the area a couple times on visits. Narrowed down to living in one of the following places, and wanted to get opinions on which is the nicest and best value (none are cheap from what I see). We want a newer highrise, modern building (<10yrs old), minimum size unit is 2/1 around 25ping or 3/1 35-40ping approx, close to MRT or a mall etc that leads to MRT as we won’t have a car at least not at first. We were just there in the 38C heat and don’t want a long walk to the MRT unless its underground through a mall I have a wife and 4yr old daughter that speak Mandarin, I don’t but will be learning. Work from home so commute is no problem, but good (public) school district and close to schools would be good. Ideally w/short walk to a night market and wet markets. We don’t need to be in an expat bubble, but I do like at least some western services and food nearby. Budget is around 40-50kNT a month rent w/fees.
Xinyi near 101 (my favorite but maybe too quiet at night w/closed offices?)
Da’an (Park area)
Zhongxiao Dunhua (part of Da’an?)
Neihu (lots of expats I heard, maybe not a good thing?)
**wildcard would be possibly Shilin or farther out on the red line
Why do you consider expats not a good thing? And Neihu is mostly an office area with office buildings, you feel bothered much by expats who work in offices?
Daan has the mixed introduction programs in schools, lots of parks, very convenient transportation and amenities.
Neihu close to the Lake Bihu or in Miramar area -my boss lives in a mountain nearby behind the elementary achool- are very good choices in terms of community and amenities.
Daan. I live in daan and I probably wouldn’t want to move anywhere else. It’s just right in the middle of everything and a lot of places in daan. Im also walking distance To daan park and can easily ubike everywhere. It’s one of the least congested areas of taipei and not bombarded with scooters.
Thanks all for the input. No offense meant for any fellow expats by my comment on Neihu! Where this came from in my mind is that I have heard from people who live abroad that when there’s too many expats in one little area it becomes an “expat bubble” and you don’t experience the real culture of the area etc. I’m happy to have expat neighbors for sure, that’s why I thought we should consider Neihu due to its popularity with expats there. We didnt get a chace to visit Neihu, but spent alot of time around Daan, Xinyi and Shilin.
Tianmu is better than neihu imo. I personally would never live in neihu. Because of how much offices are there. The traffic can be the worst of any area during rush hour. Especially if you’re going into the city or out.
Don’t let convenience trump health!!
I’ve lived all around Taipei for a loooong time and also work from home. I’ve found the best place for healthy living is farther north on the red line (Beitou / Zhuwei area). I very rarely ever make it past Shilin, especially with the new Beitou Costco. Downtown is just too hot, crowded, noisy, polluted & overpriced! Tamsui is an easy MRT/bus ride away and the ocean air is way better than sucking on all the tailpipes downtown. I STRONGLY suggest you check it out…especially when considering your child’s health!!
Zhuwei complex consists of 1500 units (3) 23 story towers (only 30% occupied - remaining were bought as investment properties) Huge enclosed outdoor common area for kids to play, indoor pool, whirlpool, dry & wet saunas, library, laundry, underground parking, movie theater, dance studio, gym, pool table & ping pong areas, KTV rooms, zoning allows for business registration, very nice meeting/conference room, every common area has WIFI, 24 hr. security/delivery desk service, and it is 1 MRT stop to Costco and 2 MRT stops to Tamsui - 1.75 story/2brm. units, FRESH AIR, overlooking the Tamsui river, rent NT20,000!
Thanks for the tip on that building and the advice. We actually visited Tamsui for the first time a few weeks ago and it was very nice even on a hot 36C day. That’s sort of part of our wildcard location above. I wasn’t sure if there were any newer buildings there or not, that question answered! Will consider that for sure more in depth once we move and are looking for a place. Not sure if we want to be so far out there, but sounds like a great value and better air. I also have found both times we visited that the smog is considerably less in Xinyi than downtown. One of the reasons I’m looking at Xinyi. Is Tamsui the least smoggy part of Taipei? Is there a lack of English on signs/menus etc when you get out that far from the center, or is it similar?
I barely see foreigners when I walk around Neihu or Taipei in general, don’t know how you would consider living there, living in an expat bubble. I see myself surrounded by Asians all the time. Would be happy to live in an area full of expats so I could live in a bubble like that. Sounds awesome to me.
There are barely any if at all expat bubbles in Taiwan or Taipei. That means expat life, with maids in uniform and drivers are rare, just for the really upper crust.
Xinyi is the most expensive area, but for Heaven’s sake, do not take any homes in the mountain area nearby Medical University for example. One thing is bubble, the other complete isolation.
You want the community life and convenience of Taipei life. If you don’t have it, you are in a really wrong place.
There’s no real expat neighbourhoods in Taiwan.
So one less thing to worry about lol.
You’ll be wishing for expat neighbourhoods rather than avoiding them!
In addition to Brian’s comment, I would add that an approximately two block stretch of Tienmu located near the American School and Japanese School on Zhongshan North Road would probably be the closes to an “expat” neighbourhood in Taipei City. Even here, though, this is still a largely Taiwanese neighbourhood!
Living around the end of the red line is great, as long as you are not working in Taipei, then the transport is a hassle, and I would not advice it.
Outside rush hour, the MRT or a car brings you relaxed to downtown TP in 30-45 minutes.
And everywhere from the Guandu bridge further to Tamsui has sea wind most of the time.
We use the A/C only on the hottest of days, just the evening and nights when the wind dies down, for the rest it is just all windows open.
Very pleasant.
One remark, the road from Tamsui to Guandu is rather busy and noisy, too noisy for me, even high up.
But plenty of places a bit away, and still within a 1km walk from the MRT.
I don’t know about the rent. The OP didn’t really mention a rent budget. But i stand by my words. I hate going to neihu from the city. I never know if I can make it back in time for anything because of the traffic. I personally just don’t like neihu. Tianmu isn’t my favorite either but I still would take living there over neihu.
Oh my bad. I missed that. But yeah, the OP should know he probably isn’t going to get much what he’s asking for in xinyi or daan for that budget. But I’m pretty out of touch with renting pricing these days. So maybe I’m wrong.
I have a wife and 4yr old daughter that speak Mandarin, I don’t but will be learning. Work from home so commute is no problem, but good (public) school district and close to schools would be good. Ideally w/short walk to a night market and wet markets. We don’t need to be in an expat bubble, but I do like at least some western services and food nearby. Budget is around 40-50kNT a month rent w/fees.