so I got an offer for a room in Da’An. In summer months, the cost would be 14,000 NTD/month including utilities (AC, internet, trash, electricity, gas…). In winter months, the cost would be 13,500 NTD/month. I will be studying at MTC and this room will be located 5 minutes walking distance from MTC.
My question is - what do you guys think about the price? Is it too much, or is it okay for the location?
I’m coming to Taipei on a scholarship of 25,000 NTD/month. I’ll use my savings to pay for the tuition. Therefore, I will have 11,000 NTD/month left to spend on food, transportation, insurance etc. Will I survive?
As a student, you could easily live off of 25k and rent is going to take most of what you have.
I haven’t rented a room but in Taipei, costs depend on location, quality and size. 14k, I would guess, is decent enough quality but you need to see the room itself to determine if you want it as I’ve seen apartments in the same building wildly different in terms of quality.
Actually, in my experience, that is what they are charging these days for a room around Shida. IMHO it is highway robbery. It does have its advantages being so close but it really has to be close and be newish, clean, high quality. Otherwise, it is better to live a bit further and save money.
I like that your place includes utilities. Is the bathroom shared or exclusively for you?
That said, do not rent from abroad, do not rent without looking at the room and comparing it to 3 to 5 places, remember you have to pay 2 month deposit, bring witnesses, take pictures of everything.
And remember 11k is food and books and stuff. Is your tuition included in the deal? If not, then forget about 15k room.
Sounds like a rip off to me. There are lots of landlords who have come to realize that they can rent (often) tiny spaces to foreigners and charge them ridiculous amounts. Definitely don’t commit until you see the place if you decide to take it. Also, a big thing here is renting out rooms without windows. You want a window. And, if the landlords tells you it has a window, you’ll want to see it first. It might just be a window with a view of a hallway. How many people are living in the apartment?
I’d look around for something better. For a single room 5 to 10 is the appropriate amount. FB has a number of pages dedicated to apartments shares and other rentals. It’s worthwhile checking out although I’ve noticed that some landlords have started posting their ridiculous adds there as well.
That sounds like a fair deal, you should definitely take it immediately. The landlord also charges less in the winter when there is no ac which is fair, not everyone is that fair.
Taiwanese landlords are also super honest and trustworthy so you should just get the place prior to coming to Taiwan, otherwise you need to waste money on hotels while looking for an apartment
this is what you should not do. The first rule to get a room is to look and check it by yourself.
If you are a single student, you don’t need to live in a pricy hotel until you find a room. If you come to work with a family, it is worth to pay for a hotel for a while.
13500-14000NT is a fair rate, my wife organises accommodation for the interns at the company she works for and that’s the rate she expects to be offered.
I beg to difer. we have plenty of cases of why it should not be. Yes, most are honest, but that does not mean the room may have issues that may not suit this particular individual. Sight unseen is a bad deal for all.
Oh and that said do not live with the landlord.
Vist the ploace at day and night. Do expect it to be noisier than the West. But know what you can take.
Another no no is do not rent anything underground. We already had a TB outbreak and underground rooms, with their himidity, were the main sites.
If it is an option, I would also second the motion to move elsewhere, study anywhere byt Shida MTC.
The area has been gentrified to the max. There are no longer the options for cheap food available to students. The ambiance of the little UN is gone too.
I third the motion to not study in Shihda. Too traditional in upper level courses. Not understanding of western learning. Terrible experience. Would not recommend 1/10
Food around Tamkang university is plentiful and cheap. I wouldn’t mind being a student there. Rent is cheap too. I mean you can buy a 1 bedroom for 1.6-1.8mil. 25-35m square.
Having a horde of students from one dominant countries usually detrimental to the class.
This is the case with Taiwan nowadays.
Simply too many South East Asians enrolled in either grad schools or language schools.
(FYI, I am a SE Asian, so… not racist here, :D)
Best scenario is a lot of people from different background trying to learn Chinese.
Not 50% coming from Ho Chi Minh City or Surabaya speaking in their local dialect whenever they feel like to.
It sounds fair for daan district but seriously find a room for less than 5000nt a month. Near tam kan university there are places for around 10,000 per semester. Same with other universities around New Taipei City. They may not have ac but at that price you can install one yourself.
