[quote=“engerim”][quote=“cdnmagic”]engerim is right…it gets pretty cold in Hsinchu (Xinzhu) (Xinzhu). I lived there for a couple of years and there’s a few nights I almost froze to death in my apartment.
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Actually, don’t worry, with a 2500 USD monthly budget for driving, 6000 USD monthly for “renting” I’m sure he can buy a flat which has a heating system installed in the floor :-)[/quote]
Nor do I think he’ll be lumping it with a 2nd hand scooter
Is that really what kind of world you guys are living in up there in Taipei Land? I came looking for a big mountain house in Taichung with a high maximum budget in mind and ended up with a very nice place for NT$15k/month… suckers!
He’s dead on about the cold, so be prepared…On your budget you can easily assure the house/apartment you rent has reverse cycle AC in EVERY ROOM. Bare concrete and tile floors can trap cold+humidity like nothing you can imagine. You will be miserable without some form of heat.
You can also bring gas heaters from home that run off of Propane. Some of them are huge and can heat an entire house. If you go this route make sure the units you bring all come with Oxygen depletion sensors, otherwise they could be dangerous. Carpeting will also help, but it’s a bitch to keep clean here. Space heaters/Radiating heaters/ceramic heaters are useless.
Thanks for everyone’s input. Zhubei was the winner. I found a nice corner unit on the 10 floor of a two year old complex walking distance to Outback steak house. I got them to include new furniture and a 1 year membership to a nice spa/gym near buy. I saw a lot of brand new units but, was concerned about being one of only a few people living there.
When I arrive most recommended I stay at the Homestead Village, as it has many expats, and is close to the city. I looked at one unit there it was nice, and almost selected it, but I ended up picking the Zhubei unit. Some local expats said I may have made a mistake. Any comments here? The price was the same for both. 60,000 NT
I spent some quality time at the Pig & Whistle and short tour of the Flying Pig, and some small place, that I do not remember the name
Zhubei is a hop, skip and a jump north of Xinzhu, over the Touqian River. In the satellite pic below the station on the right of the picture is the High-Speed Rail, while the blue station on the left is on the regular rail network (and located in downtown Xinzhu).
The small place you were referring to was probably 4Q2. It’s in the same area as the Flying Pig and it’s a nice little cozy place to hang out for an evening.
I hope you have made sure that you have those reverse cycle AC units in every room. January is cold and miserable here.
The propane heaters are a good idea, if you don’t. I use kerosene heaters, however the problem is to get the fuel for them, it’s only available at a few outlets here.
