Hey all- THANK YOU for the updates.
And yes, I had read that Kaohsiung was pretty horrible in regards to pollution…but had also come across a post by someone here ( Best area of Kaohsiung to live in? made my alexk a ways down the page) and it sounded like some areas might be a little “cleaner” than others, if only because there are not a million scooters below your window each night. Admittedly, that is a really old thread now.
I think I did find a short-term “full-service” apartment place that will reserve a room for me for June. They are asking 12,000NTD / month + electricity. It’s right on Love River I guess.
I’d like to ideally find something for less than 12,000NTD for a more permanent place, but for the right place I could make allowances 
BlueWhale- about the Zuoying district, can you tell me if this is written as: 左營區 ?
I think that translates to the “left camp area” in the search box once I convert it to English on the 591 site. Just trying to figure out how to filter the area as I search.
Thank you again, everyone!