Want to study in Taiwan, but where?

Hi all,

I’ve been lurking here for a while, but this is my first post. I’ve been thinking of spending a year or so in Taiwan studying Mandarin at one of the many University Language Schools. But I’m having a hard time deciding on a city/school - Taipei (NTNU), Taichung (NCHU), Tianan (NCKU) or Kaohsiung (???). So I was hoping I might get some advice. :slight_smile:

I imagine (but I may be wrong) that all the schools are going to be more-or-less the same as far as teaching Mandarin. The cities seem like the big differentiating factor.

A few things about me and what I’m looking for (or not):

  1. I’d like it if there were a variety of restaurants nearby, not just all Taiwanese food. Like Japanese, Thai, Korean, pizza (of course), maybe Indian, or various European as well. Is that only found in Taipei?
  2. I’m not one to go to bars or clubs all that often, but I do like to get out to busy places like markets, cafes, etc. But I also like peace and quiet sometimes, like parks and/or temples, or just quiet neighborhoods.
  3. I’d like to buy a bicycle and take day-long rides out into the country-side and hills and visit smaller towns. (Which also means weather as “moderate” as possible - I know about the general humidity). I’ve seen (and read a lot of) taiwanincycles.blogspot.com, so maybe someone would able to compare other areas to Taichung in regards to cycling?
  4. I’d like to be in an area that’s “walkable” - where one can walk to local shops, restaurants, markets, parks, etc. Again, is that only found in Taipei?
  5. It’d be nice if there were a few other English speakers/expats around, but I don’t want to be surrounded by them or businesses catering to them.
  6. Less expensive cost-of-living (rent, food, etc.) - which may rule-out Taipei - depends on how much more expensive it really is.
  7. And finally, it would be nice if there was easy access to other interesting places and/or things in the region and/or country.

Having never been to Taiwan, I have no idea if any of that is even possible, or if it’s common-place, or what to expect.

I’ve also looked a bit into Hualien, but it seems a bit too “out-there” for what I’m looking for.

Thanks for any help! :smiley:
Greg

Shida University at the intersection of Heping E. Road section 1 and Shida Rd. In Taipei.

Has:
Restaurants
Pubs
Access to the riverside park which gets you out of the city.
Young people.

[quote=“GregX999”][color=#FF0000]Tianan (NCKU)[/color]

I imagine (but I may be wrong) that all the schools are going to be more-or-less the same as far as teaching Mandarin. The cities seem like the big differentiating factor.

A few things about me and what I’m looking for (or not):

  1. I’d like it if there were a variety of restaurants nearby, not just all Taiwanese food. Like Japanese, Thai, Korean, pizza (of course), maybe Indian, or various European as well. Is that only found in Taipei?[/quote]
    Loads of restaurants and eateries, but they’re all Taiwanese in the NCKU area.

No real foreign catering bars and pubs near NCKU, you’d need a scooter or take a taxi to get to the bars in Jiankang road, Gong Yuan and Gong Yuan Nan road, and the various other dance clubs around town. Much more limited than any of the other large cities in this respect. The area around NCKU tends to be very busy almost all the time, and the closest night market is in Linsen road, which will also necessitate a taxi or a scooter. Quite a few parks, not really any temples in the area.

Not moderate at all down south or in Tainan. Very long hot and humid summers with rain and typhoons coming through. Not that easy to get out into the “countryside” to cycle either. And although you do see people riding bicycles in the city, I think they’re all quite mad, what with the traffic being what it is. No where near as orderly as Kaohsiung or Taipei.

The area around NCKU is very walkable, but you’d get bored with it pretty soon IMO.

There are a few about, you won’t be surrounded by them, and unless you actually go to the foreigner hang outs mentioned above you won’t actually see them (and if you do they don’t tend to be very friendly - the old “I didn’t see the other Laowai” look away is common). You’ll meet a lot if you’re studying Chinese at NCKU, but the Chinese learners don’t tend to hang out at the foreign bars etc much. Two different crowds for the most part. Not sure why.

Hard to beat Tainan on that count, but it’s off set a bit by the limited amount of things you can actually do in the city. Most people here are hermits (hang out with family or friends that never go out), or borderline alcoholics (depending on your definition of the word). I used to be the latter, I’m now mostly the former.

Easy access to Kenting and Kaohsiung, but going up north is a mission (unless you fork out the cash to use the HSR). There are also some nice hot springs etc in the county, but again, they’re not much fun if you’re alone.

I hope this helps a bit. Personally, if you don’t drink, like to hang out by yourself, get a local girlfriend and want to study most of the time, Tainan is great. If you want to find work, good luck with that. Also, if you like getting shitfaced and enjoy hanging out with people who like that sort of thing, it’s also not bad. Everything in between? Bit tough, but it can be done. Everything in between would just be much easier and more accessible up north, or in Kaohsiung.

I live in Tainan, and continue to do so, because my family is here. If not for that, I would have buggered off to Taipei long ago. I may still go that route, though.

SunYatSen University in Ktown ! Right on the beach, metro to the downtown of ktown. Ktown is a great place !!

The univ also has monkeys in the dorms to add to the fun…no no students…REAL monkeys.
youtube.com/watch?v=TXZLLQN- … re=related

[quote=“bismarck”][quote=“GregX999”][color=#FF0000]Tianan (NCKU)[/color]

I imagine (but I may be wrong) that all the schools are going to be more-or-less the same as far as teaching Mandarin. The cities seem like the big differentiating factor.

A few things about me and what I’m looking for (or not):

  1. I’d like it if there were a variety of restaurants nearby, not just all Taiwanese food. Like Japanese, Thai, Korean, pizza (of course), maybe Indian, or various European as well. Is that only found in Taipei?[/quote]
    Loads of restaurants and eateries, but they’re all Taiwanese in the NCKU area. [/quote]

?? BISMARCK.

Burger Dancing (called Burger, Pasta and Beer in English, I think) is a ten to fifteen minute bicycle ride from NCKU (Linsen Rd & Dongning Rd, on Linsen, just past 5 Alley on the left (heading towards Jiankang)). They have HUGE burgers, the best fries I’ve tasted anywhere in the world (serious) and bottomless drinks, and the price is between 100 and 200 NTD. Haven’t tried the pasta, I get too distracted by the burgers. Then there’s the Indian restaurant on Dongfeng Rd (two behind NCKU Guangfu, a 5min ride by bike again) which is rather tasty. There’s a Greek place in the city center (around 20~30min by bike) and a German place near the Chongshan Burger King, which is around 30 minutes again. There are PLENTY of places around.

Then of course there’s the food court under FE21, which is only a 2min walk from the station and a 5 minute walk from NCKU’s main gate…

Japanese and Korean … they have Korean in the little food street (Yule Jie) in front of the uni, it’s OK. What passes for Japanese in Taiwan is not too hot in general, I’m yet to find one I really like. There is a decent place near the macdonald’s in Alley 18, 5 min ride, (10 from the language center), which is around 200NT. The restaurants in Alleys 18 and 12 are full of western (mostly italian) and Japanese restaurants, but are quite pricey. There’s a pizza hut near the dorms (with a buffet).

[quote=“bismarck”]

No real foreign catering bars and pubs near NCKU, you’d need a scooter or take a taxi to get to the bars in Jiankang road, Gong Yuan and Gong Yuan Nan road, and the various other dance clubs around town. Much more limited than any of the other large cities in this respect. The area around NCKU tends to be very busy almost all the time, and the closest night market is in Linsen road, which will also necessitate a taxi or a scooter. Quite a few parks, not really any temples in the area.[/quote]

Again, BISMARCK.

Tin Pan Alley is foreign catering and they’re right across the tracks. 10minutes ride TOPS from the language center. They open a little earlier because the boss is playing at being a restaurant owner rather than a bar owner (their wings are awesome, the pizzas are very thick and very much a pizza pie, but are a bit of a lucky draw - order the same thing twice in a row and you get slight variations in the toppings. A little too pricey for me, though I know the owner hates people mentioning that). Then there’s Malibu, on Qianfeng Rd, which I haven’t actually been too. 5 minutes by one road uphill, I advise you to take the 15 minute route that goes around and cuts from Qingnian Rd, but then I don’t like hills and bicycles. The bars on Gongyuan and Gongyuan Nan are Armory and Red Wolf, respectively (and Hangout, I think). Both are only a 15 min walk from Tin Pan, so fiveish on a bicycle.

That’s it for the foreign bars, apart from Willy’s which is a bazillion gazillion miles away (but beats the others hands down, IMHO). A friend of mine used to do it regularly on a bicycle, and it’d be around a 40-50 min ride - if you took the right roads. You’d need to know the roads so you don’t just go STRAAIIIIGHHHT for forever and go up and down a bazillion hills.

As for the TW bars, you CAN make it to Suck (cocktail lounge) in about half hour, and there are a couple of other places around. Kinks you can get there in about 20 min, it’s worth a look - I like that one a lot. Apache’s shut now, but there’s a talking bar out on Kaiyuan Rd (forgot the name of it, but it’s not far from the Indian place) that’s not too bad, if you want to practice your Chinese while workers drink your beer (talking bar = rent a friend. You buy beer, they drink it with you and you all chat.)

There are some pretty good cafes, but they’re pretty quiet. Masa is good for both food (delicious western sandwiches, scones, salads, waffles) but quiet - you can watch the people from teh window, though (it’s across the road from the school gate, second floor). A Room is in a teeny back alley and again, quiet. Cafes are for bringing friends and studying; usually they have a movie on once or twice a week, too.

The Linsen Rd night market is a 20 minute bicycle ride, the BIG one (Flower Garden - Huayuan) is 30~40 min if you know the way. If you don’t, add another 30~40, cause you’ll be going the LOOONG way.

[quote=“bismarck”]

Not moderate at all down south or in Tainan. Very long hot and humid summers with rain and typhoons coming through. Not that easy to get out into the “countryside” to cycle either. And although you do see people riding bicycles in the city, I think they’re all quite mad, what with the traffic being what it is. No where near as orderly as Kaohsiung or Taipei. [/quote]

When I’m on a scooter, I think people on bicycles are mental. When I’m on a bicycle, it’s OK. But I agree with Bismarck on this one.

[quote=“bismarck”]

The area around NCKU is very walkable, but you’d get bored with it pretty soon IMO.[/quote]

Walking would make you bored of it, yes. I quite like it, though, I think it’s quite an eclective little area. Bismarck, I should show you around it one day XD

[quote=“bismarck”]

There are a few about, you won’t be surrounded by them, and unless you actually go to the foreigner hang outs mentioned above you won’t actually see them (and if you do they don’t tend to be very friendly - the old “I didn’t see the other Laowai” look away is common). You’ll meet a lot if you’re studying Chinese at NCKU, but the Chinese learners don’t tend to hang out at the foreign bars etc much. Two different crowds for the most part. Not sure why. [/quote]

Correct up until the ‘Chinese learners don’t go to bars’ bit… I don’t really hang out with any of the Chinese learners BECAUSE they’re always going to bars, and I don’t have the time to join them. At least the Western ones. Tin Pan and the Armory, mostly; though Kinks and Red Wolf are pretty popular (Red Wolf and the Armory are not even 5 minutes apart by foot, so usually if you go to one you go to the other). But yeah, the foreign bar crowd is 85% English teachers.

If your Chinese is very good, you’ll find it hard to make friends at the center anyway because all the foreigners there want to practice Chinese with you. You’re better off joining the University’s international club and making friends with all the hyper Taiwanese students in it (my friend’s the chairman now, and I’ve seen the schedule - looks like fun). However classes tend to be pretty close and you usually stay in contact with a few of your classmates, if you don’t become great friends.

[quote=“bismarck”]

Hard to beat Tainan on that count, but it’s off set a bit by the limited amount of things you can actually do in the city. Most people here are hermits (hang out with family or friends that never go out), or borderline alcoholics (depending on your definition of the word). I used to be the latter, I’m now mostly the former.[/quote]

Depends what you like. A lot of westerners I know are the latter, but there’s karaoke, shrimp fishing, movies, and uh… more shrimp fishing, eating, shopping… yeah OK. Point taken. It’s only an hour from Kaohsiung though, where you can do all that in a bigger city! Or if you buy a scooter/car it’s very easy to get to Alishan, Guanziling etc.

You can always hang out on Haian Rd with tea and satay all night, like some of the locals. Really, Tainan is only fun if you have good friends.

[quote=“bismarck”]

Easy access to Kending and Kaohsiung, but going up north is a mission (unless you fork out the cash to use the HSR). There are also some nice hot springs etc in the county, but again, they’re not much fun if you’re alone.

I hope this helps a bit. Personally, if you don’t drink, like to hang out by yourself, get a local girlfriend and want to study most of the time, Tainan is great. If you want to find work, good luck with that. Also, if you like getting shitfaced and enjoy hanging out with people who like that sort of thing, it’s also not bad. Everything in between? Bit tough, but it can be done. Everything in between would just be much easier and more accessible up north, or in Kaohsiung.

I live in Tainan, and continue to do so, because my family is here. If not for that, I would have buggered off to Taipei long ago. I may still go that route, though.[/quote]

Really? I love Tainan. You can’t force me to go to Taipei for anything. Taidong or Kending or Penghu I would happily give it up for, though.

[quote=“tommy525”]SunYatSen University in Ktown ! Right on the beach, metro to the downtown of ktown. Ktown is a great place !!

The univ also has monkeys in the dorms to add to the fun…no no students…REAL monkeys.
youtube.com/watch?v=TXZLLQN- … re=related[/quote]

I was actually looking at studying there before, but I didn’t for some reason!!! It does look like AWESOME fun… I’ve been down to their language center for a singing comp twice, too, and their teachers are wonderful and the students are so hyped up. If I was going to come back and just study Chinese, with no pre-made friends, I’d most likely go there.

www2.thu.edu.tw/~clc/eng/about.htm

Tunghai University is the best place in central Taiwan to study Chinese. And it’s a good base for more explorations around the central mountains, the coastal areas, some historical sites, and Taichung City has a good variety of food and entertainment.

Plus Tunghai is famous for hot chicks !!

lol… I’m a bit out of touch with the East area it seems. In my defense, the last time I lived there was in 2007, and the last time I regularly went to NCKU was in 2008 when I was at the CLC. Piesay.

Don’t know it at all. Sounds good, though.

Yeah, but they’re mega crap and super slow.

Do you mean Andi’s Corner? Great food, but a tad pricey if you’re on a budget.

I didn’t mention them, because I think their food is generally crap. I’d rather buy from the other Taiwanese stores you find all over the area. But that’s just me.

I agree with your take on Japanese food in Taiwan, and I’m not a Korean food fan at all. Also, I wouldn’t really call those “Italian” restaurants Italian. More like a Taiwanese idea of what Italian food is supposed to be. I forgot about the Pizza Hut on the corner, but that’s a general chain store like Mickey D’s and Burger King. IOW…meh.

:smiley: Yes, dear?

Yeah, I sorta grouped them with Armory and Red Wolf, as they’re on the other side of the tracks. I’ve only been there about three times. Not really my scene.

You’re not missing much. Unless, that is, they’ve considerably improved lately.

Ah, the Meat Markets! :laughing: In my defense, I did mention them!

Agreed. Brilliant spot, and the owners Andy and Al (Forumosa’s very own BigAl) are super blokes.

When I first came to Tainan I almost exclusively hung out in these talking bars. Mostly because I didn’t know anything else existed yet, and also because the birds were super friendly. Took me a while to realise that was only because you’re paying for them to be friendly with you! Still, not bad.

True. The NCKU and general East area is filled to the brim with cool laid back cafes and coffee shops. Don’t forget Catiya on Linsen road.

I mentioned that, I think. But I’ve never been much of a night market fan. Crowds freak me out.

Thanks. :thumbsup: :smiley:

Yep. Seems I’ve been missing out on some new spots out that way. I’ll swop you an East Tour for a Rugby intro!

I never picked up on that. When I was doing the NCKU CLC thing the blokes I saw at NCKU never seemed to go out. :idunno: New crowd, new habits?

I’d have to agree and say that’s some excellent advice. Nothing weirder than speaking Mandarin with a 22 year old American bloke who’s been studying for 8 weeks.

That’s my main point. My problem is most of mine have left, or gone north. The ones who are still here are borderline (that’s being kind) alcoholic teachers, and even a Wii game night is an excuse to get rat arsed. Frankly, I couldn’t be bothered. I was thinking of ponying up the cash to go back to the CLC, but if they’ve all morphed into bar flies, not much point for me really. Perhaps I should apply for an MA or something.

Don’t get me wrong. So do I. But as you mentioned above, it really is only fun if you have good friends here. I just seem to have more friends up north now. What I don’t get about the guys here is that they’ll bleat going to the movies is a waste of money, but they’ll piss out NT2000 at the bars reeling drunkedly out of the Armory at 7am towards their scooters and home. Was fun at 27, not so much now that I’m knocking on the door of 36.

Tainan has become a very lonely place for me (unless I’d be willing to piss out my hard earned cash at the bars every weekend). Everyone I work with is Taiwanese and married (not much in the way of socializing potential), I don’t shag/romance students, weeks go by without me seeing foreigners (unless I go to a bar), so it’s pretty dismal atm.
I guess things would be better for someone who is involved in a post grad program or something.

Still, I think a newb would be better off in Taipei or KHH. :2cents:

[quote=“Hamletintaiwan”]Shi-Da University at the intersection of Heping E. Road section 1 and Shi-Da Rd. In Taipei.

Has:
Restaurants
Pubs
Access to the riverside park which gets you out of the city.
Young people.[/quote]

Seconded strongly.

imo Kaohsiung has all of the western restaurants, groceries and other necessary items that someone needs to avoid culture shock. Taipei might have more but there is more than enough in KTown.

It doesn’t matter where you are in the summer it’s going to be hot (sticky hot) and if that’s a problem then Taiwan isn’t going to work for you. but KTown has perfect winters (20-25C with very little rain) while Taipei has cooler winters with constant clouds/rain.

It’s also a lot cheaper in Kaohsiung. And SunYatSun is in a beautiful location and Monkey Mountain is nice for hiking/relaxing.

I’m not sure why someone would say it’s difficult to ride your bike outside of the city. I find it quite easy although I don’t do it enough.

I can’t comment much with regards to Taichung or Tainan since I’ve barely been to either but I have no interest in living in taipei. But I’m not a big city person.

:smiley:

LOL. I want to register now!

LOL. I want to register now![/quote]

Be careful , you will get yourself married. They are not playin over there :slight_smile:

Shida area is really great - but the weather in Taipei is kind of crappy (i.e., today) lol. :smiley:

I love this city though, think its great.

Taipei is the most “foreigner friendly” (if you aren’t into exploring Taiwan and Taiwaneseness. It also has the best Mandarin programs.The city is daunting for biking. It is close enough to the mountains to eventually get out there for a respite.

Taichung has the best weather and biking for a major city (rather biking in the city is not great, but the pretty mountains are close by. Hualien is nice for biking, but gets small pretty quick.Cosmopolitan enough… but also local.

Tainan has the best atmosphere. It is historical. Friendly. A bigger city with a small town charm. Hot women. It is also hot and flat. Some universities offer Chinese. Less cosmopolitain.

Kaohsiung is like mix of Taipei’s size with Tainan’s folksiness. It is a nice biking city, but it is also in a flatland hell if you like the mountains. Charming and clean. It is also really hot.

[quote=“maowang”]Taipei is the most “foreigner friendly” (if you aren’t into exploring Taiwan and Taiwaneseness. It also has [strike]the best[/strike] Mandarin programs.The city is daunting for biking. It is close enough to the mountains to eventually get out there for a respite.
[/quote]

There. All fixed.

Keep on pimping :wink:

Just saying – all Mandarin programs that I have ever heard of or seen in Taiwan are functionally equivalent for all practical purposes. So the thing is to pick where you want to be, not where you think the “best” program is.

you dig the color “gray” & can cope with endless rain & wet clothes don’t bother you much - Taipei Taipei Taipei

you enjoy endless sunshine and blue sky - voilà Taichung!