Moving to Danshui, lots of questions!

Taiwan Moving to Taiwan
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Sorry for the tardy replies, I’ve been so busy packing and preparing!

@boho - I’m going to get a heath check pretty soon. I don’t think it’ll take more than 7-10 days for me to get it done, and as I’m flying out on the 26th I think I have time for that. The consulate here is pretty efficient and the ladies there are nice. I don’t think it takes a long time to process the visa (although it took a week for my student visa for china to be ready, but that’s another consulate, another story)

I think if you have three weeks you might have time, but I don’t know how things are where you live. I personally don’t want to add a health check onto all the other deadlines/paper work I have to do once I get to Taiwan. :confused:

And I’m pretty sure I don’t have syphilis or tuberculosis either, lol. Some of those tests seem a little silly!

@StefanMuc - Thanks a lot for that info! I know about the promenade and Fisherman’s Wharf, hopefully I can get all the annoying stuff out of the way and I can do that. I also want to make my way to Elephant Mountain as well and purchase a bike once I get my apartment. Do you know of any reputable bike shops around Danshui? And I love that map, much appreciated!

@plumrains - Really? Hmm, well after a couple of days of thinking I’m leaning toward bringing some cash, some travler’s checks and opening an account over there in one of the suggested banks on this thread.

@louisfriend - capital one? I could look into that, although maybe they’d start charging once I get there :confused:

@Icon - So Tealit sucks, information wise? Haha, it does seem a little off to me, admittedly.

And lol! Sinopac is the closest bank to the hostel I booked. Oh well, shouldn’t be too much of a headache to change money there though.

A whole year straight up? Whew, that’s a bit annoying, but I suppose it’s better than paying every month?

And thank you for explaining about the elevator/trash pick up. I certainly don’t want to run after a garbage truck!

I think I’ll call/e-mail to inquire about about places I’m interested in and make appointments to see them with a Taiwanese friend of a friend.

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More questions! (Sorry if they come off as silly! haha)

-Typically, how do you pay your rent/utilities in Taiwan? At the bank or directly to the landlord?

-Do you pay separately for trash pickup?

-I want to get a Student EasyCard. Do you think if I show them my acceptance letter (before I get my student ID) that I can get the Student EasyCard?

Once again, I want to thank you all for your prompt and detailed responses. It helps a lot for a first-timer like me! :smiley:

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Do NOT bring Travelers Checks. They are almost useless on Taiwan. IN march of this year i brought with me 500 dollars worth of American Express travelers checks in 100 dollar denominations. The two banks at Taoyuan airport would cash them but at a cost of 200nt for each bill or 1000nt for the 500 us dollars worth. I said no thanks and discovered nobody else would touch them in Taipei. Except finally at ONE BANK in Taipei Sungshan airport that would do American Express only and only up to 500 dollars. I got them changed for a fee of 400nt dollars for all 500 dollars.

So dont bring them . Meantime, my american banks ATM card worked fine and many ATMs on taiwan to get cash. At good rates too.

You should be able to get cash with your american ATM cards. Just check with your bank to make sure.

A lot of bills are payable at 7/11 in Taiwan. They really do make bill paying easy over there ( i say over there because i live in the bay area, calif).

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[quote=“nicolette027”]
-Typically, how do you pay your rent/utilities in Taiwan? At the bank or directly to the landlord?[/quote]
You can pay your rent via wire transfer, either by ATM, the Internet, or telephone banking. That way, you’ll retain a record of all the money you’ve paid. You can also hand the money to him personally each month if he lives nearby. Just be sure to get a receipt each time.

Your water/electricity/phone bills are mailed to you monthly/bi-monthly. You can pay them at most banks and convenience stores.

Only if you live in a service building, which has a doorman, trash pickup, cleaners, etc. But you have to pay a monthly service fee. I do recommend it if you can afford it.

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[quote=“nicolette027”]More questions! (Sorry if they come off as silly! haha)

-Typically, how do you pay your rent/utilities in Taiwan? At the bank or directly to the landlord?
[color=#0040FF]Depends. If you live in a place with separate rooms rented, mostly to the landlord. If single apartment, directly to the bank/convenience store/post office, ATM, etc.

Now, in the name of all mercy, do not live with the landlord. Some had found good people, but better not. [/color]
-Do you pay separately for trash pickup?
[color=#0040FF]We pay by the bag. We have to buy special bags and only those are received by the trucks. The more garbage you produce, the more you spend.[/color]
-I want to get a Student EasyCard. Do you think if I show them my acceptance letter (before I get my student ID) that I can get the Student EasyCard?
[color=#0040FF]Should be[/color].

Once again, I want to thank you all for your prompt and detailed responses. It helps a lot for a first-timer like me! :smiley:[/quote]

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[quote=“nicolette027”]Sorry for the tardy replies, I’ve been so busy packing and preparing!

@boho - I’m going to get a heath check pretty soon. I don’t think it’ll take more than 7-10 days for me to get it done, and as I’m flying out on the 26th I think I have time for that. The consulate here is pretty efficient and the ladies there are nice. I don’t think it takes a long time to process the visa (although it took a week for my student visa for china to be ready, but that’s another consulate, another story)

I think if you have three weeks you might have time, but I don’t know how things are where you live. I personally don’t want to add a health check onto all the other deadlines/paper work I have to do once I get to Taiwan. :confused:

And I’m pretty sure I don’t have syphilis or tuberculosis either, lol. Some of those tests seem a little silly!

[/quote]

Yeah I’m not living in my home town right now (where my family doctor is) because of work. I’ll only have 10 days at home before I leave so I won’t have time to get into the doctor’s, get the test results back, and then apply for the visa. The health care is free in Canada but atrociously slow. I MIGHT have time but I’d rather not push it.

My Master’s program in Taiwan has a 2 week introductory course before school actually starts (plus I get there 5 days before that even starts) and the program director tells us it isn’t intensive, so I’ll have lots of spare time in the first couple weeks that I’m there to get all my forms/documents/tests/stamps/stamps/stamps/stamps/stamps done.

27

I thought apartment hunting in Taiwan is hard, then I tried the same thing in Germany.

Do you know renting an apartment in Germany is exactly like applying for a high paying job? You find a good deal, then the landlord takes in your application and he chooses from among several applicants and selects the one with the best condition (good credit record, high income, etc.) to rent the house to.

If you just get off the plane to look for an apartment, it can be a nightmare because nothing is assured.

In Taiwan it’s more about whether you like the apartment and if you’re able to pay the rents. If so pay the deposit and the house is yours.

28

Quick note on Easy Card: your student card will also be your MRT card: it’s on the back, as it were. So you’ll get a student one soon enough. That probably won’t happen right away, but for the money you save on the MRT for the two weeks or so before you get the student card, I doubt the headache of trying to get a student one by other ways would be worth your while.

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@tommy525 - Thanks for the heads up on the Traveler’s Checks. It’s looking more and more like I’m going to bring some of my money in cash, open a bank account, then wire money from home when I need it. And it’s nice to know that it’s rather easy to pay bills.

@Incubus - Yeah, I was thinking that I’d definitely want to keep a record of my bills. Seems pretty easier than I thought to pay for things.

@Icon - Haha, okay, I’ll be sure to find a place where I don’t have to live with the landlord. As for the special bags, do you just buy 'em at a convinence store or get them from the landlord?

@boho - oh, I see. Yeah, in your case it’s probably better that you do it in Taiwan.

Can I ask which school and program you’re doing? This move is exciting but nerve-wracking, isn’t it?

@Taiwan Luthiers - Wow, an application for an appatment. Well, I suppose it weeds out the possibility of any yahoos living in a place, haha. Yeah, I figure in Taiwan (as it is in China) most things depend of whether or not you have the money.

@lostinasia - Hmm, I think in that case, I will wait to get my student card before my EasyCard.

More (yes, more) questions! (I’m sorry, just trying to cover all bases.)

-I heard somewhere that you can use your EasyCard to buy stuff at certain places (like 7/11). Is that true?

-If an apartment has a communal kitchen, does the kitchen usually have a water filter? That was really useful in my dorm in China and allowed me to save on getting bottled water.

-(This probably sounds stupid, but) how much, on average, can you get a good bot and pan? A good bowl and plate? Stuff like bathroom cleaning supplies? (I’m working on my budget).

30

Germany is just bureaucratic on anything, even down to renting houses. The reason for that I am told is because German laws on renting heavily favors the tenant, so for example if a tenant doesn’t pay rent it’s a lot of trouble for the landlord to actually evict them, which is why they’re so picky about who they rent to…

31

Environmental Engineering at NCKU in Tainan. Yeah it’s nerve-wracking indeed. Especially when the embassy passes out different information everytime I call them.

Originally they told me I can’t do a resident visa outside of Canada so I didn’t bother about the heath check. Next time I called they said I could…

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[quote=“nicolette027”] Do you know of any reputable bike shops around Danshui? And I love that map, much appreciated!
[/quote]

No, unfortunately. (We are only visiting about once a year, and my wife has a place in Hongshulin, one MRT station away from Danshui. I’d like to buy a bike, but can’t figure out where to store it.)
You can rent bicycles in Guandu, though - if you walk from the MRT station towards the temple you automatically pass a few rental places.

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@Taiwan Luthiers - That makes a lot of sense then, if decent people move in they’ll be less likely to cause problems!

@boho - Sounds like a tough program, but then again I’ve never been good at math or science haha. Good luck with everything!

@StefanMuc - Oh, I see. I did some searching on Google Maps actually and found a shop (looks pretty good) around Beitou. I think I’m going to check it out as I’d like to own a bike.

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Nicolette, I’m moving to Danshui at the end of August too (I’m going to work at Tamkang University during the next school year) so I find any piece of information shared here extremely useful.Thanks for that thread, and thanks to all the people who replied!
If you see another Black girl on the streets of Danshui or on campus, that’ll probably be me =]

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[quote=“Sica”]Nicolette, I’m moving to Danshui at the end of August too (I’m going to work at Tamkang University during the next school year) so I find any piece of information shared here extremely useful.Thanks for that thread, and thanks to all the people who replied!
If you see another Black girl on the streets of Danshui or on campus, that’ll probably be me =][/quote]

How awesome is that? I’m glad it helped you out as well! Perhaps we should meet up there sometime. :slight_smile:

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Oh, definitely. Feel free to PM me anytime !

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Icon wrote:
“Houston is not as humid as Taipei, as fasr as I can recall. Better not bring any leather jackets, BTW.”

Um, I’m curious, why no leather coats? Evidently, I’m ignorant about something.

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[quote=“travelgypsy01”]Icon wrote:
“Houston is not as humid as Taipei, as fasr as I can recall. Better not bring any leather jackets, BTW.”

Um, I’m curious, why no leather coats? Evidently, I’m ignorant about something.[/quote]
Probably because they’ll rot. The climate here destroys things: books that I bought two years ago look as weathered as those from thirty years ago still stored in my parents’ house in Canada; printed photos will start to melt and stick together within a month or two; whatever the material is that coats the inside of modern backpacks starts to flake away in about five years, rendering unusable packs that would last a couple of decades in North America (unless you want black flakes over everything you own).

Note that the right equipment, and especially constant use of dehumidifiers, can help you avoid these problems.

Bike rental: several places around Danshui MRT station too. The cycling along the riverside paths, or in the mountains above town (outside of weekends), is brilliant, although admittedly I’m having trouble getting outside in the current temperatures.

39

Quick (yet urgent) question:

If I have a lot of baggage (two check-in luggages, a carry-on, and a backpack) is it a good idea to stay in a hostel? I’m concerned that maybe my luggage won’t fit in the room. I have time to cancel my hostel reservation and book a hotel, but most of the hotels I’m finding are quite pricey. Does anyone know of a hotel that has rooms at around $50 USD or less?

40

[quote=“nicolette027”]Quick (yet urgent) question:

If I have a lot of baggage (two check-in luggages, a carry-on, and a backpack) is it a good idea to stay in a hostel? I’m concerned that maybe my luggage won’t fit in the room. I have time to cancel my hostel reservation and book a hotel, but most of the hotels I’m finding are quite pricey. Does anyone know of a hotel that has rooms at around $50 USD or less?[/quote]

Depends on the hostel. I know of several hotels -nice ones, close to MRT, in downtown Taipei- that cost 1200 to 1500 nts. Or do you one in Danshui proper?