That’s a seriously long name. I doubt that I could even remember that.[/quote]
oh haha yeah I didn’t remember it either, but that’s what it says on my brochure from 2005. Most people just call it Loveboat. 
hey wepeel,
i just wanted to chime in with my 2 cents worth on happy family hostel. i stayed there for the entire month of march this year. it is the cheapest, but, hey not the cleanest, but who cares. its not like you are buying it. its just for a month. and it is cleaned on a regular basis. its just that the owner-who is very nice-has 2 hostels with 5 floors each. its a big job keeping it clean. but, i found it very comfortable for the month i stayed there. it has internet access, a bathroom on every floor, a tv room with a balcony, and it is a very convenient location. you can throw a stone at taipei main station. despite others negative comments, i liked the happy family hostel. i stayed at #2.
i stayed there for a full month so i asked for a discount. the owner, john, was very generous and gave me the room for nt7500. this was my own private room. great deal. also, he recommends you book directly through him, not through hostels.com, because hostels.com will take a deposit, but john does not see any of this money. since i did not know this i paid an additional deposit to the hostel.com people of nt1400 several months before my trip. so if you havent booked your room yet, do it directly through the happy family email. you will save a little money.
and i was there in march and there were people there getting jobs teaching english. i think you could get a job doing that any month of the year, whether it be in the schools, cram schools, tutoring, or whatever. i on the other hand, enjoy taipei as my escape from america, my home away from home now. its a great place to unwind for a month.
other than that, enjoy taipei; i fell in love with it too. i return there everyday in my mind. hope to move there someday, down the road.
take care,
jm
Damn it took forever but I finally got my documents prepared and am ready to go! Should be arriving next week! I’m excited…I just hope I bring everything I need. Will be staying at either Taiwanmex hostel or Happy Family, gonna find a job and start working on…January, right? So that I may fall under the 6% tax category…gonna get health check ASAP, and gonna try to find decent housing once the jetlag wears off…gonna browse the English paper ads for teaching gigs…missing anything? It’s been a pleasure browsing the posts here; hopefully I will get to meet some of you forumosans! =)
i’ll be arriving at the happy family 2 on february 23.
let me know if you are still there. this will be my third trip to taipei. can hardly wait to return,
best,
jm