Looking for a apartment in taipei (after landing)

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
21

Really Feiren, Taipei is a small city, I mean, you can get across most of it in an hour on the MRT unless you’re trying hard to go the longest most complicated route.
Try living in a big city once and then you can start complaining about the travelling distance.
The guy was just asking for some simple advice and you seem to have tried to go out of your way to piss people off with your answers that are to questions no-one asked.
Finding places to eat isn’t exactly a chore in most of Taipei, it’s just a matter of what they offer, but even the most remote areas seems to have a corner shop of some kind and generally a few local eateries, so I’m not quite sure what your point about that is.
Maybe you’re just really picky and expect a starbucks on every street corner and a McD on the other one…

To the OP I’d say that you should go looking for a couple of days, don’t take the first best place, as there are affordable, quality places to get here, but you might have to look around a little bit. You might also find that if you don’t mind taking the bus a few stops, you could find something nice in an area where the MRT doesn’t go, yet only be a short hop and a skip on a bus to the MRT which might not be much worse than the 15-20min walk that some places are to the MRT.

The buses might not be great in Taipei, but at least they seem to run frequently enough and as long as you live semi-central, it’s not going to cost you more than NT$200-250 to get home after a night out. I live in Xindian and getting back from most of the popular places up town doesn’t cost me any more than that.

You might also want to consider getting a bike here like many other students, or even a scooter if you have the cash and dare to try your luck on the roads. There are plenty of nice bicycle routes around the city and its getting better all the time. Besides, no-one really use them during the weekdays…

At the end of the day, it doesn’t cost anything to look, so as I said, try to see as many places as you can in the area where you think you want to live. It’s also worth scouting out the area to see if it’s easy to get to what you need like supermarkets, etc.

22

Tak! :smiley:

Speaking for us, we’re not ‘nights out’ types, so we don’t mind that either. And I think TP buses are just fine, it’s just that the MRT is quicker!

I’m really looking forward to just getting there and getting stuck in! I did hear a while back that one of the best ways to find somewhere decent can be just to walk around the area you’re interested in living in and call the numbers on the ‘To let’ ads. We can manage in Chinese, so we might try that line too.

See you there sooooon!

:bow:

23
  • i have found a good apartment situated at xin sheng bei lu, section 2 intersects minsheng dong lu, section 2, in the datong and songshan district
  • if anyone knows any information about the surrounding area please share
  • thanks- please help–
24

Whatever. It’s just incredible that anyone who is studying down at Shida would want to live out in Neihu or up on Minsheng when they could be living in probably Taipei’s greenest, most vibrant neighborhoods 5 minutes away from campus with access to the riverside parks, Daan park, National Taiwan University, the botanical gardens, and all the culinary and cultural attractions of the university district.

25

Not everbody is the same, Feiren. You have to make allowances for big differences in taste, interests and what folk feel comfy with. Expecting everyone to be like you and want what you want is not only unrealistic, but it’s also a bit nuts really! If we all wanted the same, what a dull world it would be! You also forget that some people just don’t mind not living next door to their place of study/work and are used to making a 30-40 minute journey. With public transport, that time can be put to good language learning use as well. :sunglasses:

Something else worth considering is simply that Da’an etc is PRICEY! You pay handsomely for all the benefits you mentioned (not that I can’t enjoy them on the way to and from class etc anyway!) and get less for your money. I’m quite happy in a quiet, green area with two+ great big parks with lakes nearby and a national park in the background. That’s just fine for me. I can enjoy the downtown stuff when I’m downtown. I don’t need to live there too and, as I’m a scholarship student for whom work is totally illegal, I simply can’t afford to! Anyway, we’ll make no decisions until we’ve had a really good look around and I’m just NOT INTERESTED in ‘vibrant neighbourhoods’. I like somewhere quiet, I can cook and don’t need 400 restaurants within 3 blocks either!

So you can’t understand it, but, believe me, Kent and I aren’t going to lose any sleep over that! We’re just going to find places that suit us and live there, without seeking anyone else’s approval!

Kent, I used to be around that area a bit when I was living in TP 12 years ago and it seemed OK. Have a walk around the area and maybe call into a few shops etc and ask people what it’s like. Can you speak any Chinese yet? Or do you need some help? When are you starting at ShiDa? Are you doing the one month summer programme? We don’t even register until 25-27 August!!

26

[quote=“Bao_Lisha”]Not everbody is the same, Feiren. You have to make allowances for big differences in taste, interests and what folk feel comfy with. Expecting everyone to be like you and want what you want is not only unrealistic, but it’s also a bit nuts really! If we all wanted the same, what a dull world it would be! [/quote].

Indeed. You also need to make allowances for informed opinions.

Even with the new MRT line, there is no way that your door-to-door journey from Neihu Station to Shida is going to take less than 1 hour. The Neihu and Muzha MRT lines are bumpy and crowded. You are not going to be studying on them.

In addition to your 2 hours a day wasted on commuting, our scholarship student will be spending NT$56 per day on this commmute not counting days when it rains (or is too hot) and a bus or taxi has to be taken down Heping. At 20 days a month, that’s NT$1,120 in extra expenses.

[quote]

In 2008, rents in the Shida area ranged froom NT$850/ping to NT$1200 per month while rents in Neihu were between NT$900 and NT$1400 per ping. Now that the MRT has opened, renting in Neihu may be at even more of a premium. The housing stock in Neihu may be newer than in Daan, but the newer housing will be at the higher end of the scale. Large swathes of Neihu are still bog standard 5 story walkups, just like in Daan. Your idea that Daan is pricier and has less value doesn’t really hold up, especially if one factors in the extra transportation costs.

[quote]
I’m quite happy in a quiet, green area with two+ great big parks with lakes nearby and a national park in the background. That’s just fine for me. I can enjoy the downtown stuff when I’m downtown. I don’t need to live there too and, as I’m a scholarship student for whom work is totally illegal, I simply can’t afford to! Anyway, we’ll make no decisions until we’ve had a really good look around and I’m just NOT INTERESTED in ‘vibrant neighbourhoods’. I like somewhere quiet, I can cook and don’t need 400 restaurants within 3 blocks either![/quote]

The lanes and alleys in the Shida area are just as quiet and green as Neihu. This is Taipei. It’s noisy everywhere. Yoiu need to pick quiet places. Since Neihu developed later, there are less trees on the streets and a lot more construction going on than in Daan near Shida. Besides, more people drive in and out of Neihu since it’s across the river and has lots of shopping, meaning that there is more street traffic and hence more nosie. There’s also the Neihu Incinerator spewing out toxins to be considered.

[quote]
So you can’t understand it, but, believe me, Kent and I aren’t going to lose any sleep over that! We’re just going to find places that suit us and live there, without seeking anyone else’s approval!
[/quote][/quote]

No need to get all defensive. There are many good reasons to live in Neihu such as proximity to international schools, work, access to Yangmingshan, better shopping etc. I just don’t think it makes sense for a student, especially a scholarship student. And there are many things that are counterintuitive about choosing a place to live in Taipei. Perhaps someone else who comes across this debate will find the views on both sides useful.

27

i’d rather live in neihu even with a longer commute. i’ve been there and the new apartments there are much nicer with more modern amenities and are better designed both interior and exterior than MOST apartment buildings in taipei which tend to be old and crappy and covered with bathroom tiles and have bars on the windows and illegal roof structures/pigeon coops on the roof.

honestly, i dont understand why most of taiwan’s housing is so crappy. i looked at apartments listed in craiglist taiwan and i find 95% of them inhabitable by my standards. i’m judging exterior as well - i dont care how nice an apartment is on the inside, if the outside still looks slummy i’m not moving in! and i want my shower separated from the rest of the bathroom - like it’s in a bathtub with a shower curtain/glass divider or a separate shower stall, thank you!

on a side note, why is it that other asian cities like hong kong, singapore, seoul, hell even shanghai can build tons of sleek, modern, attractive high rises but taiwanese cities still overflow with old crappy third world type buildings? it’s not like everyone is poor there. most people there probably have more savings than the average american. i know many taiwanese have second homes in the u.s. if they can have beautiful homes here and maintain them why cant they replicate them back in taiwan??? maybe taiwan should go red commie and just bulldoze the entire landscape over the landowner’s protests and build anew - like what they do in china!! (jk, :stuck_out_tongue: but it does seem tempting.) and for god’s sake, build more sidewalks and stop those merchants/building owners who build out to the street and fine people who ride scooters on the sidewalks. they should all be imprisoned as far as i’m concerned.

i’m so sick of all the neo-classical euro trash architecture in taiwan. it’s so out of place for a tropical island. they need to do the singapore or hawaii route and copy their style of architecture. it seems to match their lush environment better.

ok, done ranting. thanks for reading. and i dont even live in taiwan!! haha…but i do want to see things improved there.

28

[quote=“kent11”]- I have found a good apartment situated at Xinsheng bei lu, section 2 intersects Minsheng dong lu, section 2, in the datong and songshan district

  • if anyone knows any information about the surrounding area please share
  • thanks- please help–[/quote]

[quote=“kent11”]- I have found a good apartment situated at Xinsheng bei lu, section 2 intersects Minsheng dong lu, section 2, in the datong and songshan district

  • if anyone knows any information about the surrounding area please share
  • thanks- please help–[/quote]

Looking for housing along Xinsheng is a good idea, but up to Minsheng is a bit too far for daily class.

You are looking at a crowded bus commute of 40 minutes up to one hour on a regular basis. I used to work a bit closer to Shida but along that same route and still it took a while for bus 254 -if you can, check the map for bus routes- to get to Shida -and that was after work, not morning rush hour.

It is also the older part of the city, not student area but rather office buildings, old hotels, motels, massage parlors, etc. There is the occassional gem, though.

Because it is a commercial area, I do not know if you will be saving a lot of money in housing compared to closer to Shida. How big is the place? How much are they asking? Can you put the link?

It is a bit far from big parks, like Rongxin Gardens, but still in a straight line. Plus Daan down the line.

One more thing: it is better to look for places in alley, not on main roads. Noise will affect your sleep patterns, and hence, your sense of humour. :wink:

29

[quote=“thyrdrail”]I’d rather live in Neihu even with a longer commute. I’ve been there and the new apartments there are much nicer with more modern amenities and are better designed both interior and exterior than MOST apartment buildings in taipei which tend to be old and crappy and covered with bathroom tiles and have bars on the windows and illegal roof structures/pigeon coops on the roof.

honestly, I don’t understand why most of Taiwan’s housing is so crappy. i looked at apartments listed in craiglist taiwan and I find 95% of them inhabitable by my standards. I’m judging exterior as well - I don’t care how nice an apartment is on the inside, if the outside still looks slummy I’m not moving in! and I want my shower separated from the rest of the bathroom - like it’s in a bathtub with a shower curtain/glass divider or a separate shower stall, thank you!

on a side note, why is it that other Asian cities like hong kong, Singapore, seoul, hell even shanghai can build tons of sleek, modern, attractive high rises but taiwanese cities still overflow with old crappy third world type buildings? it’s not like everyone is poor there. most people there probably have more savings than the average American. I know many taiwanese have second homes in the u.s. if they can have beautiful homes here and maintain them why cant they replicate them back in Taiwan??? maybe taiwan should go red commie and just bulldoze the entire landscape over the landowner’s protests and build anew - like what they do in china!! (jk, :stuck_out_tongue: but it does seem tempting.) and for god’s sake, build more sidewalks and stop those merchants/building owners who build out to the street and fine people who ride scooters on the sidewalks. they should all be imprisoned as far as I’m concerned.

I’m so sick of all the neo-classical euro trash architecture in Taiwan. it’s so out of place for a tropical island. they need to do the Singapore or hawaii route and copy their style of architecture. it seems to match their lush environment better.

ok, done ranting. thanks for reading. and I don’t even live in taiwan!! haha…but I do want to see things improved there.[/quote]

+1 can’t argue with that. Some of the newer places are actually not half bad, but yeah, the architecture leaves a lot to the imagination, both inside and out. But don’t go calling it Euro trash, it’s not European style, to me it looks like a poor rip-off of big city US style…

30

[quote=“thyrdrail”]I’d rather live in Neihu even with a longer commute. I’ve been there and the new apartments there are much nicer with more modern amenities and are better designed both interior and exterior than MOST apartment buildings in taipei which tend to be old and crappy and covered with bathroom tiles and have bars on the windows and illegal roof structures/pigeon coops on the roof.

honestly, I don’t understand why most of Taiwan’s housing is so crappy. i looked at apartments listed in craiglist taiwan and I find 95% of them inhabitable by my standards. I’m judging exterior as well - I don’t care how nice an apartment is on the inside, if the outside still looks slummy I’m not moving in! and I want my shower separated from the rest of the bathroom - like it’s in a bathtub with a shower curtain/glass divider or a separate shower stall, thank you!

on a side note, why is it that other Asian cities like hong kong, Singapore, seoul, hell even shanghai can build tons of sleek, modern, attractive high rises but taiwanese cities still overflow with old crappy third world type buildings? it’s not like everyone is poor there. most people there probably have more savings than the average American. I know many taiwanese have second homes in the u.s. if they can have beautiful homes here and maintain them why cant they replicate them back in Taiwan??? maybe taiwan should go red commie and just bulldoze the entire landscape over the landowner’s protests and build anew - like what they do in china!! (jk, :stuck_out_tongue: but it does seem tempting.) and for god’s sake, build more sidewalks and stop those merchants/building owners who build out to the street and fine people who ride scooters on the sidewalks. they should all be imprisoned as far as I’m concerned.

I’m so sick of all the neo-classical euro trash architecture in Taiwan. it’s so out of place for a tropical island. they need to do the Singapore or hawaii route and copy their style of architecture. it seems to match their lush environment better.

ok, done ranting. thanks for reading. and I don’t even live in taiwan!! haha…but I do want to see things improved there.[/quote]

Why is housing so crappy?

Because land is terribly expensive and there are no incentives to remodel teh buildings rather than let them fall on their own since horrible taxes have to be paid when you fix/sell the properties so fuggettit…

…plus all the speculation with the land in afew hands of people who mostly are not in Taiwan which is why Neihu is so expensive since it took so long for many properties to be released once their owners kicked the bucket in the US of A and anyway… we have now a new MRT line, and propoerty prioces have increased 3 times and no one cares what teh buildings look since they won’t live there anyway just but them as investments so higher prices and higher rents are good for them and it goes on and on and on…

31
32

I’m talking about the area that is roughly in thismap. Basically that’s Daan district.

Wenshan is a bit further south–slightly cheaper and not as nice of an area But it’s fine too.

The place you linked is nearly NT$2000/ping. That’s pretty expensive.

33

-ah i see, which neighborhood are you refering to? is it da-an and wun shan? im still looking for apartments but i just look through the online listings and if a listing matches my price i then look at quality, and if quality is good , i then look at location, and if the location is decent i take it into consideration, so far ive only found a couple which match my criteria, but i havent found any in the shi-da area yet, but im still looking…

  • yea enrollment is later, but i figured i could start researching earlier, my chinese is ok…i guess :-0

(was my dads account b4 sorry)

34

Don’t get me wrong Feiren, I’m not being defensive, I’m just not accepting the ONE person’s preferences are going to be suitable for all and that their opinion, however informed they feel it is, is not the be all and end all. You don’t know everything and you’re not in touch with what different people need - you see only what would suit YOU and then roll your eyes in frustration at others for wanting something else. A bit narrow for my taste, I’m afraid and not half as useful as you think it is.

And no, Da’an is expensive. It was years ago and still is now. It’s been known for it all along. I’m not talking averages that include fancy executive places, but the fact that, on listings, I see myself able to get a 3 bedroom apartment in Neihu for little more than a room or a studio near ShiDa.

Can’t study on an MRT? Again, you have to make allowances for people travelling out of rush hour and that folk actually have initiative and don’t need 3 open books going at once. Any travel time can be used for listening materials and flashcards. I used to live in TP and visited there again last year. I have a pretty fair idea of what I’m coming back to, just wanted a few opinions (not just one) on certain outer areas as I lived in a busy area last time and hated it!

35

Kent, that apartment is not the usual student fare, not even usual office worker fare. Gee, in my time, :grandpa:, my whole scholarship was 15 thousand nts -for room, food, transportation and assorted expenses. Recently, I was about to move in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 32 ping place in Xindian for 17 thousand.

What I mean to say is that this is pretty “luxurious”. If you can afford it, OK, but remember: budget also the bus to Minshen MRT station -at least there are many buses-, trip by MRT to Kuting, plus walking to school. 30 to 45 minutes I’d say, about 1200 nts at least per month.

I’d also like to check the area. Definetively, this place should have double panel windows, for noise control.

That said, it looks really new and pretty. :smiley:

EDIT:
you can get something similar near Technology Building for 18 thousand, closer to school.

36
  • hmm yea im still looking and also, when i land ill have maybe a couple of days dedicated to searching, i dunno i might go see an agent or look around university and hopefully find a billboard,
  • the websites im using now is kijiji, craigslist, suimama, and not so much tealit due to no pictures, but if anyone knows any other websites pls post
    -thanks for the help–
37

I can understand that. The area around Shida has some of the quietest places in the city. It’s nothing like Yanping N. Road, which is horrible. Outer areas are just not that much different from Daan district unless you get up into the hills above Beitou or Yangmingshan.

And Neihu is a big place. Prices have gone up dramatically in recent years. I suspect that you are comparing a 3 bedroom out in Donghu with an expensive studio in an elevator building near Shida. You’ll find parts of Donghu very much like Yanping N. Rd.

I’ve live all over Taipei for the past 20 years. I studied at Shida and knew many other people who did too. Almost everyone agrees that if you are student at Shida, you are best off in that neighborhood.

Personally, I’d prefer to live in an older building with a rooftop in eastern Wanhua, not in the Shida area. But I realize that not for everyone and I’m not recommending it to newbies who don’t know the city well.

I think you should also take a look at Xindian and also at Lotus Hill in Xizhi if you don’t mind commuting and will be traveling during off-peak hours.

I’m going to sign off on this thread and wish you good luck in finding a place that suits you.

38

Maybe he lived like me, on top of the nightmarket! :laughing:

39

this site has some apartments listed for rent:

http://opohills.blogspot.com/search/label/b%29%20Zhong%20Xiao%20A%20%3A%201%20bedroom

40

[quote=“Icon”][quote=“thyrdrail”]I’d rather live in Neihu even with a longer commute. I’ve been there and the new apartments there are much nicer with more modern amenities and are better designed both interior and exterior than MOST apartment buildings in taipei which tend to be old and crappy and covered with bathroom tiles and have bars on the windows and illegal roof structures/pigeon coops on the roof.

honestly, I don’t understand why most of Taiwan’s housing is so crappy. i looked at apartments listed in craiglist taiwan and I find 95% of them inhabitable by my standards. I’m judging exterior as well - I don’t care how nice an apartment is on the inside, if the outside still looks slummy I’m not moving in! and I want my shower separated from the rest of the bathroom - like it’s in a bathtub with a shower curtain/glass divider or a separate shower stall, thank you!

on a side note, why is it that other Asian cities like hong kong, Singapore, seoul, hell even shanghai can build tons of sleek, modern, attractive high rises but taiwanese cities still overflow with old crappy third world type buildings? it’s not like everyone is poor there. most people there probably have more savings than the average American. I know many taiwanese have second homes in the u.s. if they can have beautiful homes here and maintain them why cant they replicate them back in Taiwan??? maybe taiwan should go red commie and just bulldoze the entire landscape over the landowner’s protests and build anew - like what they do in china!! (jk, :stuck_out_tongue: but it does seem tempting.) and for god’s sake, build more sidewalks and stop those merchants/building owners who build out to the street and fine people who ride scooters on the sidewalks. they should all be imprisoned as far as I’m concerned.

I’m so sick of all the neo-classical euro trash architecture in Taiwan. it’s so out of place for a tropical island. they need to do the Singapore or hawaii route and copy their style of architecture. it seems to match their lush environment better.

ok, done ranting. thanks for reading. and I don’t even live in taiwan!! haha…but I do want to see things improved there.[/quote]

Why is housing so crappy?

Because land is terribly expensive and there are no incentives to remodel teh buildings rather than let them fall on their own since horrible taxes have to be paid when you fix/sell the properties so fuggettit…

…plus all the speculation with the land in afew hands of people who mostly are not in Taiwan which is why Neihu is so expensive since it took so long for many properties to be released once their owners kicked the bucket in the US of A and anyway… we have now a new MRT line, and propoerty prioces have increased 3 times and no one cares what teh buildings look since they won’t live there anyway just but them as investments so higher prices and higher rents are good for them and it goes on and on and on…[/quote]

i guess that’s part of it, but i think it’s more than that. i just don’t think most taiwanese give a shit about architecture and design in general and how they play a role in beautifying the landscape. hence they dont bother with how the exterior of their house/building looks (and if they do care they usually have horrible taste). i just dont understand why they wouldnt care. why would they want to live in a place that looks like a third world hovel?? i’d be embarrassed.

i went to a very expensive design school here in LA and were friends with some taiwanese classmates who were studying there. i know their families were fairly affluent as they were able to send their kids to the u.s. to study and paid their tuition IN CASH (as most foreign students do). but when i went to taiwan and visited their homes in kaohsiung, i was like wow, their so-called multilevel townhouses in the city was just really gross: typical raw unpainted concrete type building with electrical wiring strewn all over the place. one of the homes had a jaguar parked halfway on the sidewalk. i just dont get it!!! get some paint and at least paint that raw concrete over, man!! dont tell me they cant afford paint.

anyway, there’s some exceptions i guess - hopefully it’s spreading (i’m assuming these people must have homes in the u.s. and brought their american architects over to taiwan to design their houses there):