Hi guys, I’m going to study at NCTU (Hsinchu) this fall. Do you know how much would I need monthly to live comfortably? Is it NCTU a good university?. Thanks
Hsinchu! Wow, why?
Suggest you use this: rent.591.com.tw/ as a starting point.
No offense intended, but you don’t know if NCTU is a good university, but you want to study there?
Hsinchu! Wow, why?
Suggest you use this: rent.591.com.tw/ as a starting point.
No offense intended, but you don’t know if NCTU is a good university, but you want to study there?[/quote]
I already checked what google says about it, but I wanted to confirm it, if possible from somebody living/working in taiwan 
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Hsinchu! Wow, why?
Suggest you use this: rent.591.com.tw/ as a starting point.
No offense intended, but you don’t know if NCTU is a good university, but you want to study there?[/quote]
I already checked what google says about it, but I wanted to confirm it, if possible from somebody living/working in taiwan .[/quote]
For sure. Good luck!
Hsinchu is much cheaper than Taipei for living, partly because there’s bugger all to spend money on. I worked in the Science park for about a year and earned a paltry 52,000 a month and I was saving cash and had a 3 bedroom apartment to myself for 10,000 a month. If you live a student lifestyle 25 to 30,000 (incl. rent) would be comfortable.
As an NCTU graduate, I think if your goal isn’t solely to study Chinese, then NCTU is a good place to pursue academic achievements. It is a top ranking engineering school here in Taiwan, so it really depend on your major.
Are you here for the undergraduate or graduate program?
As far as I know, people are helpful and most TAs speak decent enough English. The problem is that only a few courses are offered in English. That’s not an NCTU specific issue, but it’s worth mentioning. If you are the type of person who don’t pay attention in class and just studies on your own, you’ll do very well. All the homework and tests are going to be in English anyway, so that wouldn’t be a problem. Most professors studied/worked in the US for years, so communicating with them wouldn’t be a issue either.
If you plan to eat and live on campus, I’d say 3~40,000 NTD would probably be sufficient per month.
[quote=“hansioux”]
Are you here for the undergraduate or graduate program?
If you plan to eat and live on campus, I’d say 3~40,000 NTD would probably be sufficient per month.[/quote]
Graduate program, “Solid-State Electronic Devices and Materials Program”. Wow, i thought it would be arround 20K NTD if i lived on campus (without tuition) 
anyway, thanks for the information 
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[quote=“sereneiko”]
Graduate program, “Solid-State Electronic Devices and Materials Program”. Wow, i thought it would be arround 20K NTD if i lived on campus (without tuition) anyway, thanks for the information .[/quote]
See you around Engineering Bulding D (a.k.a. Gong Si) then.
Depending on what kind of room you get, it costs around 2,200 per month to stay on campus. If you only eat at the buffet on 3rd floor of dinning hall 2 with a lot of moderation (charge by lb), you can pull off 30 NTD per meal. That’d be 2,700 per month. So you can probably do a month under 10,000. But honestly, why torture yourself like that?
Say you only eat at the McDonalds on Campus, or Duoduo on 2nd floor of dinning hall 2, then you will probably average around 100 per meal, and that’s be almost 9,000 per month. I guess it is possible to get by with spending under 20K, but you still need to pay for cell phone charges, transportation, and other unplanned stuff.
Do not forget to factor in the packets of highway bus tickets to get to Taipei. It’s a Hsinchu tradition!
More seriously, if you have time to explore the old city downtown (on the other side of the railway tracks from the universities), you can find some superb snacks and food. In my experience though very few university students are patient or curious enough to do this. The food around the universities could politely be described as unimpressive.
If you’re into walking, there are some lovely trails cutting from NCTU to NTHU up into the wonderful Eighteen Peaks area. You’ll need some creativity to find this but I am sure you can figure it out.
Good luck with this!
Guy
this won’t take away the fun of exploring from you, but it will help you find that mythical path. clue: go where your nose tells you not to.
From NCTU Boai campus to NCTU Main campus, through NTHU.
You know how google makes it look like there is a straighter path around NTHU’s alumni gym?
The only alternative (aside from filling your lungs with smog along Guangfu rd.) is to get to Shueiyuan rd. by the path next to Delta building.
Also, afterspivak is absolutely right about food is better across the rail tracks. Remember, most of the lands on NCTU side’s railroad was outside city walls. All the hills outside city walls were graveyards. Yes, NTHU, NCTU, the science park, Jinshan area were all graveyards. Understandably, no actual Hsinchu person would choose to live there. Most people living around that area are engineers from out of town who are too poor to live anywhere else, or too tired to find a better place to eat. So you are either getting the over 300 NTD sets that are ok, or crap for less than 100 dollars.
Real authentic Hsinchu food is on the other side of the rail tracks.
Also cross Baoshan road to find the botanical gardens and search out the breadfruit tree in the bush there. Its truly huge. Watch out for the Chinese vipers too, they’re cool but deadly.
saw a cat slapping a viper silly on 18 peaks once. the honey at the botanical garden is nice also.
[quote=“afterspivak”]Do not forget to factor in the packets of highway bus tickets to get to Taipei. It’s a Hsinchu tradition!
More seriously, if you have time to explore the old city downtown (on the other side of the railway tracks from the universities), you can find some superb snacks and food. In my experience though very few university students are patient or curious enough to do this. The food around the universities could politely be described as unimpressive.
If you’re into walking, there are some lovely trails cutting from NCTU to NTHU up into the wonderful Eighteen Peaks area. You’ll need some creativity to find this but I am sure you can figure it out.
Good luck with this!
Guy[/quote]
Superb snacks and food? Are you talking Hsinchu city?
If so, I wanna know!
Yes I am!
Superb snacks include the two runbin vendors (Kuo’s Runbin is one of them) just outside the City God Temple. IMHO, forget about the crappy fried mifun and meatballs inside the temple. That stuff is totally overrated.
I am also very fond of the ganbantiao and rougan sold near the Hsinchu Train Station in a venerable Hakka eatery in the alley perpendicular to Zhongzheng Road heading to the Eslite Bookstore. Look for the joint with some tables and chairs out in the sidewalk zone.
If you like “dry noodles” I find the ganbanmien at Jia Jia to be terrific. This old time Hakka noodle shop is on Renai (I think!) just off Zhongyang Road. Don’t forget to try their awesome chili oil. It’s one of the only ones I’ve found in Hsinchu that is loaded with ground- up Sichuan numbing pepper (huajiao).
Everything I’ve described is NT$50 or less. I can’t find anything as good as these ones in Taipei City.
If you want tips on finer dining, let me know!
Guy