So I’m moving to Taipei in 3 weeks (aaah!) and i’m really excited but im unsure about where to stay once i get there. I don’t know anyone i can stay with in taiwan and a friend suggested i should just book a hotel for a week or two and in that time i can find a more permanent place to stay. anyway do you guys know of cheap hotel/hostels i can stay at? or is there a better alternative to hostels that i should know about? Definitely would appreciate any help or advice you guys can give me. thanks 
Cheap hotels are relatively easy to find. You can get something for under 1,000NT/night easily, and something under 800NT/night if you look around.
I personally think hostels in Taiwan are not a great option. Off the top of my head, I think a dorm bed is in the vicinity of 650NT/night (maybe higher), which doesn’t make it much better than a private room at a hotel for only a little more, and certainly makes it expensive when you consider the cost of a dorm bed in a hostel relative to everything else in Taiwan when compared to the price of a dorm bed to everything else in other countries. Also, the other facilities normally found in hostels such as large common areas, cooking facilities, etc. are either poor in quality or simply absent. On the other hand, you are more likely to meet people in a hostel anywhere in the world than staying in your own hotel room. It depends upon what you’re after though.
Try Happy Family Hostel, at the NW corner of Zhongxiao and Civic Blvd., behind the OK Mart, next to Western Union.