Coming to Taiwan (Nantou) Soon!

Taiwan Moving to Taiwan
1

I’m moving to Taiwan next month with my wife. Hired through T.E.C.O. and their F.E.T program, I’m assigned to a school I’m Nantou county.
Due to multiple setbacks and costs, my wife and I are not arriving with much money at all, but we’re trying to figure out our housing situation.
I’ll be looking at apartments with my wife and my school assistant in 4 weeks around Nantou City or Caotun, and I had a few questions I wanted to ask:

  1. How likely is being able to put our name down for an apartment if we cannot pay upfront? (I get a check in at the end of August and we’ll be searching at the beginning of the month)
  2. What sites are good to use to look for housing? I’ve been looking thru 591 only so far.
  3. Any general advice on what to look for/test for, for a new apartment.
  4. If you know anywhere that’s looking to lease, point us that way. We’re hoping for a furnished apartment, preferably in a secured building/area.
  5. Our price range is preferably below NT$20,000/Month: How likely are we to find a good apartment in this region at that price range?
    Thanks in advance!
2

Welcome to Taiwan - hope you can turn things around here. As to finding an apartment, 591 is a good place. You can also look here: http://www.twhouses.com.tw/#/app/home/condition?lang=en-us I don’t think it will be easy to sign a contract without a deposit - but maybe your school can step up here - try to ask them to negotiate and sign the contract, and you can pay them back - maybe they are willing to do that. I think for 20k you can find a very descent place. I have never lived in Nantou, but 20k will get you very far, so I think you can lower your budget and still get something nice. My only suggestion is get a place as near to your place of work as possible, since Nantou is not famous for their public transport… unless you plan to get your own wheels.