Pretty sure he meant to wait out until the next morning when the HSR is back up and running, instead of trying to make that last train the night before.
I was wondering about how much it’d cost to just book a hotel in Taipei for every Saturday night. But it depends what the OP wants for a social life - nights out on the town (and for that, a weekly hotel sounds good), or getting to know people and hanging around a few times a week for an hour or two (much more difficult).
I heard some expats did just that after a long night out in Taipei.
I think this is a very important question which will factor into his cost/benefit formulation and to determine whether the commute is worth it or not.
It’s been known to happen! 
Indeed. It would be a commute from hell. And the trains on that line are horrible.
Hi, wow this got big haha
To add a few other notes from my side:
40k is my rough budget that I get from the company. A little bit above is also fine and I already found places for that price range in Da‘an. As someone also mentioned, I‘m not really looking for a huge 2 bedroom appartment since I want to spend most of my time outside anyway. 12-15 ping would be more then enough for that
I also understand the difference of the traffic here compared to Europe. It is also the main reason while I‘m also considering Taoyuan as an Alternative.
It‘s just very difficult to live in a place like Zhongli for me. There is very little positive to say about this city. It’s like a shitty little Taipei Copy.
Edit: I’m also open for other suggestions around Taoyuan.
I’ve heard Taoyuan described as being everything that’s bad about Taiwan in one location. Perhaps overly harsh, but not far off the mark.
If you are thinking about living in the Taoyuan area then it would help if you provided some further information about what you want outside of work. Cultural stuff (very little)? Sex (lots)? Scenic areas (a lot more than people think) etc.
Taoyuan is fine for families but just be boring for singles .
Think about Nankan also very easy to get in and out to Taipei on bus or by car. I knew some engineers and pilots who lived there before. All single.
Nankan had some areas for hiking nearby and taimall too. Now Linkou is down the road and Taipei city the other way.
I live in Nankan. It’s OK, but I think a singleton might be bored here - it’s a young family place. There are now no bars. As you say, though, very easy to get into Taipei for a night out (30 minutes by bus).
Yeah it’s not going to be exciting, there used to be a couple of fun bars I’d go to in Taoyuan, Zhongli and Nankan. There was an interesting crowd for sure. Its own vibe.
Maybe OP can think of Luzhou or Panchiao or if want to save money or just go ahead and get a studio in Daan area or nearby close to the action and do the commute everyday . The commute won’t be so bad going out on the 1 I think.
Maybe about me
I’m 25, single, male. Going to work long hours during the week, but at least “only” 5 days, so I have the weekends off. In Germany we would go out with my friends on weekends in the City (one of the smaller big Cities there, but still some life and big Universities).
I played semi-professionel football in Germany, but here got lazy so far, since you can’t really just go out for a run and there is not football at all out here (like in Taipei with their expat teams).
The taiwanese people here are super friendly and helpful. But outside of work you don’t really meet people. There are like 2 bars and one shitty club around here. And it’s not even the countryside or a small town here. It’s a big clusterfuck of buildings and weird street layouts (similar to Banqiao for example) with like 150k Scooters per minute passing by.
I understand that this is Taiwan Life in general, but in Da’an you would at least have the appeal of a really big city and his ammenities around.
Honestly, I would even move to the countryside/mountain, if the buildings there wouldn’t be so old and at least 2-3 people could speak basic english 
Man, that sounded like a lot of complaining haha. But just my two cents on living around here.
25 years old? Footballer? Sir, find a girlfriend in Taipei -with your qualifications and attitude, won’t take a week-long and live in Taoyuan/Linkou in a new development with gym and swimming pool.
We understand about middle of nowhere industrial hell. In a dictionary, there is a picture of Zhongli for that definition. No arguments from us in that regard.
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So to sum it up for this thread I currently have 4 Options:
- Da’an Area in Taipei (Or any other part of Inner City Taipei) and live with a 2-3 Hour Commute
- Taoyuan HSR Area with the new Developments with fast access to work and Taipei
- Linkou
- Stay in Zhongli and save Money
Last question from my side:
What about Xindian or Banqiao as Alternatives to Da’an? I would still be pretty close to the City and have a shorter commute.
Wonder if living in Tamsui or Bali (Taiwan, not Indonesia) would work. Though you’d probably have to drive to Taoyuan. Tamsui mrt is close enough to.go into town but if you’re partying in Taipei late night, probably have to take a taxi home.
From a Xindian dweller, nope. It may be cheaper, but we are struck in the same connundrum, though I do confess that the ramp to Taioyuan is quite close and right over. Could be worth a try but still, Xindian doe snot offer that many amenities…yet. Expat population is small, youngsters yes, couple of cool izakayas. Lots of trails, biking, hot springs. We will have a real mall soon, too. Hopefully cinemas.
You can get a pretty nifty deal in teh new delvelopments in Taoyuan/Linkou. We all agree Zhongli is bad. You do not like it, do not live there. You will find nicer dwellings anywhere else.
Getting to the west side of Taoyuan would be fine on the no 3 from xindian but if east side then definitely not worth it.
Linkou is a fine area I think lots of new apartments. You’ll get a car parking space too for pretty cheap.
If working in Taoyuan I would seriously think about buying a car and driving to work, then basing in Linkou, can easily drive anywhere which is a lot of fun actually . Can drive to any malls, to shimen reservoir and longtan, down to xinzhu county and Taichung, up to Tamshui and the coastal beaches and Taipei city and Yilan.
On weekends if want to party can leave the car at home and bus it in or drive in and stay at a cheap hotel every now and then. You can also turn Linkou new apartment into the chick pad lol (oh to be 25 again).
If driving from Taoyuan back to Taipei city everyday you will be too bushed to go out much on weekdays.
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I pay 36k for a big 3 bedroom/2bath with a rooftop in Daan that is old old old. Everything needs fixing. It’s a walkup to a 4th floor with an illegal 5th floor, so no elevator or security. There is an outside door with a key so usually only the folks that live here are inside. If I worked in Taoyuan, I wouldn’t want to live in Daan. Ease in getting to work would be a big factor plus you can get so much more for your money outside of Taipei.
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I’ve lived in Zhongli for almost two years and in this period had jobs in Hsinchu (Xinzhu), and later Sanchong, New Taipei city. Always traveled by train, the fastest train 自強號 (ziqianghao). Mostly packed, no seat. Maybe HSR is an option for you. Or the airline mrt? Or the new Zhongli mrt line, but not sure when it opens. I liked Zhongli. Waaaaaaay better than a city like Hsinchu or Taoyuan city. Still, I happily moved to Taipei, but sometimes, I do miss Zhongli. I lived right next to the (new) Sogo where the movie theatre is. That’s not a bad location, I wonder if you lived in Zhongli, but at a not-so-nice location? Maybe reconsider Zhongli? But yeah… Da An in Taipei city beats it.
A lot of Taiwanese do this. Sometimes I return to Hsinchu from Taipei on a local train instead of a bus in the evening, and half of the train leaves at Zhongli. I even know some local folks who live in Taipei and work in Hsinchu. That’s a 2-2.5 hrs commute one way every day (less with a car). Still not advisable, better find something closer to work.