Going to hsinchu in september ! whats up over there!

hi everybody
i’m going to study at chiao tung daxue in september and as first timer in any asian country i need some help for some little stuff.

at first :

  • I need to find an apartment near the school … i want to know what kind of offers i can find and what is the price range. and if there is a website so i can search myself (in english please)
  • i want to know what is fun things to do in that city and if there is any beach
  • i couldn’t find any info if there is a metro system so i guess there s none … so from that what is the best transportation way… do you suggest buying scooter (and how much the average price for basic scooter and if its possible to rent that)
  • as a montreal guy i wonder if there s any chance that i can find some french speaking person over there
  • i also want to learn mandarin at the same time … i already know basics but i want to be able to make real conversations… so do you have suggestion of some books or stuff so i can practice before going (i’m using pimsler technic but its simplified chinese and i know taiwan has lots of difference from putunghua)
  • also since i won’t be too busy i want to know my options about making money over there (i don’t have bachelor degree yet but almost and not good mandarin) i assume the possibilities will be really few but i’m still asking… I plan on bring enough money to survive for a year and I’m only there 4 months so its not about money its just about keeping busy.

by the same time i will be looking for some cool place to hang out and make friends so if u have any suggestion u can tell me.

thank you anybody that can clarify my many questions !! it will be really appreciated because I’m looking forward to be well prepared and have a very nice trip !! :loco: :loco:

[quote=“miracletony1”]hi everybody
I’m going to study at chiao tung daxue in september and as first timer in any Asian country I need some help for some little stuff.
[/quote]

welcome to Hsinchu and NCTU.

Price range is 3000~7000 for small room sized studios with no kitchen. If you are able to find roommates and rent an actual apartment, you can split the 10,000+ rent, and have a decent living condition. For most Taiwanese students, near means 5 minutes on a scooter. There are places fairly close to school right at the end of Daxue Rd., some of those have kitchens. School dorms can be a bitch when it comes to imposing a bunch of rules, but still worth considering.

Dorms
housing.adm.nctu.edu.tw/uvpage/m … itory.html

Off Campus
twhouses.com.tw/netc/chengSe … earch.html

[quote=“miracletony1”]

  • I want to know what is fun things to do in that city and if there is any beach [/quote]

There are beaches, but they are not as nice as the ones you would find in the Northeast, East or South.

Zhubei has a Xinyue beach, where people do some surfing. It’s not very close to the school though, about 30+ min. on a scooter with no traffic.

[quote=“miracletony1”]

  • i couldn’t find any info if there is a metro system so i guess there s none … so from that what is the best transportation way… do you suggest buying scooter (and how much the average price for basic scooter and if its possible to rent that)[/quote]

Public transportation is piss poor in Hsinchu. Traffic condition is terrible. NCTU has buses to and from the train station, the high speed rail station and down town, but they are few and far between, miss the bus and you’ll have to wait for at least an hour. Scooter is the main mode of travel, renting it is expensive if you plan to do it for an extended period of time, and rental offices are not near the campus.

[quote=“miracletony1”]

  • as a montreal guy I wonder if there s any chance that i can find some french speaking person over there[/quote]

There are quite a few exchange students from Africa, so probably…

[quote=“miracletony1”]

  • i also want to learn Mandarin at the same time … i already know basics but I want to be able to make real conversations… so do you have suggestion of some books or stuff so i can practice before going (I’m using pimsler technic but its simplified chinese and I know taiwan has lots of difference from putunghua)[/quote]

Go to the learning Chinese section, there are a lot of discussion on this.

[quote=“miracletony1”]

  • also since i won’t be too busy I want to know my options about making money over there (I don’t have bachelor degree yet but almost and not good Mandarin) i assume the possibilities will be really few but I’m still asking… I plan on bring enough money to survive for a year and I’m only there 4 months so its not about money its just about keeping busy. [/quote]

Not sure… I don’t even know if you could work at the school. By the way, to get any money from the school via scholarship or part time job, you will need to setup an account at the school post office. To do that you would need ARC card, a Chinese name, and a wooden stamp with your Chinese name… just a heads up.

[quote=“miracletony1”]
by the same time i will be looking for some cool place to hang out and make friends so if you have any suggestion u can tell me. [/quote]

It seems to me that foreign exchange office and students have many events. going to class and taking to people probably can help make friends. Dorms? Are you an undergraduate? If you are at graduate level, maybe it would help to find a lab where you can perhaps get paid and make some quick Chinese speaking friends.

where does the white folk drink in Hsinchu?

Yeah man where does the white folk drink in Hsinchu, yeah.

no idea, don’t know where the natives drink either… saw some white folks drinking on the porch at the local 7-Eleven… Overheard a group drinking and eating at a stir fry joint talking about the wolf of wall street the other day (the place just had the two table of guests, hard to not hear them)…

thank you for the answer
i’m checking off campus ! price for appartment is much much cheaper than in montreal … !! what is the county of chiatung daxue

ok price are in yuan !! how come the price are not shown in NTD

the website lists prices in NT$/Month when I look at it. People in Taiwan refer to the NT as Yuan, so as long as where ever you see Yuan is within the range of 3000~1,2000, you are looking at the right price.

NCTU is in Hsinchu City. If you select any county, you’ll have to commute pretty long distance.

When I lived in Hsinchu, N2 next to the Science Park was always full of big noses on the weekend. Also, does much better pub grub than anywhere in Taipei. By a ridiculous stretch actually.

Hsinchu is underrated if you ask me. The foreign restaurants near the science park eclipse those in Taipei and the cycling in Hsinchu county/ Miaoli is spectacular.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nunu-and-Nigels-N2/77726652380

thanks for the reply ! i did more research by myself and i found out appartment price is really low compared to what i’m paying in montreal.
i found out that website that compare cost of life
numbeo.com/cost-of-living/co … y2=HsinChu

so if i understand a county is not inside hsinchu city ?
i tought nctu was in dong county

[quote=“miracletony1”]thanks for the reply ! i did more research by myself and i found out appartment price is really low compared to what I’m paying in montreal.
i found out that website that compare cost of life
numbeo.com/cost-of-living/co … y2=Hsinchu

so if i understand a county is not inside Hsinchu city ?
i tought nctu was in dong county[/quote]

I see, what you are referring to is called Dong Qu (東區), which is the East District, or the Dong District. I think just using Dong District doesn’t narrow down to near-by areas. You should have google maps ready, and look up the address of each apartment that you like just to see how close it actually is to NCTU.

If you don’t want to buy a scooter, your best bet is find a place along DaXue Rd. Beyond that, you can get a place around Baoshan Rd. and GaoCui Rd. Anywhere beyond that would mean walking more than 1.5 KM to school along smog clogged Guangfu Rd everyday. If you live that far, then riding a scooter would be more practical.

You should also note NCTU has two campuses, the main one is called Guangfu campus, because it’s closest exit is the Guangfu Rd. The other one is at Bouai Rd. It’s much smaller, but depending on your major (say you are taking all bio-engineering related classes), most of your class could be over there. If that’s the case, you can also live near that area.

i’m really thinking about buying a scooter because i don’t want to rely on public transportation (i read it was not good in hsinchu) and if i want to visit some place i think it’s useful to do that with a scooter. my next question is how much if i want to buy a used scooters for a middle range scooter … what is the price range for that ?

thank you again for all the replies

[quote=“miracletony1”]I’m really thinking about buying a scooter because I don’t want to rely on public transportation (I read it was not good in Hsinchu) and if I want to visit some place I think it’s useful to do that with a scooter. my next question is how much if I want to buy a used scooters for a middle range scooter … what is the price range for that ?

thank you again for all the replies[/quote]

A new 125cc scooter is about NT$60,000, so you can probably get a good running used one for around $NT20,000 or less. Here are a couple of recent ads on Forumosa:

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi … r#p1586365

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi … r#p1580248

By the way, if you buy one out of your area, you can have it shipped by train (but I don’t know the cost).

thank yuo all for you help !! really appreciated !