Finding a place... How does it work for a student?

Hey y’all~ First timer here in Forumosa.

I’m Wesley, 19, and from Brazil… and I intend to study Mandarin in Taiwan by the end of this year.
I’ve recently found this forum and read a couple of threads hoping it would give me a better insight of what I’m going to find when I land in the Island. It was helpful indeed, but I got the impression the topics were generally aimed at people who’s moving for a long-term experience in Taiwan, which is not my case (at least not by now). So I hope you can help me with my question…

Please, before it all just bear in mind that life in Brazil is different from life in North America or Europe (there might be things that you are really used to and I’ve never heard of, and vice-versa)… and also that I’ve never left my country before.

In Brazil, nearly 0 landlords accept to rent the place for less than a year… Also, international students are not supposed to rent a place to live (neither for short or long-term stay -Landlords doesn’t accept a student visa), so they have to look for hostels or a friend’s house. In Taiwan, would it be possible to a student rent a (fully furnished) place for just 3 months (the duration of the Mandarin courses for one term) or do I have to find hostels? Is there any hostel for students only? I’ve heard that hostels in Taiwan are expensive and they’re not in very good condition and full of foreigners that hate living in Taiwan (seriously?)… is it true?

You should find it really, really easy to get a taofang (a furnished room and with a private bathroom). That’s what most students live in. You could also get a room in a sharehouse fairly easily I think.

If you’re going to Taipei there are a few places that do short-term apartment rentals, I’ve never heard of these anywhere else though.

Hello, Greeener, bienvenido!

In Taiwan, renting is a lot easier. Most landlords will ask for an ID, preferably ARC, but since you will be here a short time, showing your passport should be enough.

True, there are fewer short-time rentals, but there are nice deals around. There have been quite some published here, both as studios, shared rooms in apartments with other students, hotels and hostels. One would think the latter two would be expensive but actually not that much, there are a lot of choices available. The ones near my place charge like 20K per month, full hotel service. How much is your budget for housing? Oh, and where?

If you can read Chinese, try www.kijiji.com.tw to have an idea of what to expect.

International students here are freerer. It is not like Japan where you need a local “sponsor”. You can rent yourself, no problem, maybe leave a local’s number for emergencies. The school might ask for this too.

There are several hostels for students. If you are coming to MTC, they have their own accomodation, though not pretty nor cheap, right behind the school -but they have an early curfew. Most other hostles are located conveniently close to metro stations. Depends on what you want/like.

And there are some hostels with a reputation -the ones you heard of- that cater mostly to transcient semitourist/beach bum crowd. Maybe those are the ones you heard of… However, there are so many options now you are not limited to that kind of place anymore. Don’t stay there. Those are mostly around Taipei Main Station, and are way too cheap.

everyone here LOVES taiwan and so will you! If you are coming to Taichung, send me a message and I will give you some ideas about places.