This is my first post on this forum so please excuse me if these are commonly asked questions.
I have recently accepted a job working in Kaohsiung. I must admit that I don’t know much at all about Taiwan and even less about Kaohsiung (but I am eager to learn and I am excited about the move). I have a few questions about the city and about living in Taiwan. I’ll be moving to Taiwan in August.
I don’t speak Mandarin. I’m going to take some classes and I’m hoping to be at survival level by the time I arrive. How difficult is it to do day to day activities with very minimal to no Mandarin?
My salary will be 85,000NT per month. Will this allow me a good standard of living? I’m hoping to be able to have enough to travel to other parts of Asia during my holidays, go out for some drinks on the weekend, do the odd weekend trip to other parts of the country and possibly save some money. I’m happy eating street food/cheap food, I’m not a big shopper and I don’t normally go in for the latest and greatest in consumer items.
My employer is going to hook me up with an agent but I’ll get the choice of where I would like to live. I’d like to live somewhere close to the MRT and that is somewhat lively (ie. has options for shopping, eating out, maybe a few bars). I’ll be working close to I-Shou University in the Dashu District, however that seems like it is a bit far out to live. Can you recommend any suburbs that aren’t too far from where I will be working but that will also be good places to live?
Keeping in mind the suburbs, I have a housing allowance of 8,000NT a month. I’d be looking for a furnished one bedroom apartment. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Do you think my housing allowance will cover such a place? I don’t mind kicking a bit more in for a decent place but I’m really not sure of what the prices are.
What is the expat scene like in Kaohsiung? Is it easy to meet people? I’m 30 year old Australian male and single. I’m definitely wanting to make some friends, what is the best way to go about this in a foreign country?
I’ve lived in Kaohsiung for a few years (studied Mandarin most of the time) and hopefully have a useful thing or two to say:
People in Kaohsiung are happy to point out that South Taiwan is a lot more friendly than North Taiwan (=Taipei), but as far as English goes it’s not all that compared to the capital. Learning some survival Mandarin is quite essential, and if you’re looking to impress the Southerners then learning some Taiwanese along the way will certainly put you in good stead. But even if you don’t speak any of it, the friendly Taiwanese will go through lenghts to help you if you need any. Best advice that I can give is make some friends that can speak English and let them help you if you’re in need of a translator for complicated things like apartment renting, banking etc.
Kaohsiung is a big city with probably the cheapest quality house-rentals available. You will be either living a luxorious life or saving a lot of money with that salary. The HSR will take you to Taipei in 2 hours and Kenting is a 2 hours drive in the other direction so easy escapes during the weekend/time-off. I think there are quite a few international flights leaving from KHH airport as well.
3/4. I used to live in Yancheng district, which is in between the heart of the city (Love River/SanDuo shopping district) and the relaxing harbor area of Shiziwan (Xiziwan). I had a 30+ ping apartment for 7000 NT and the area is filled with cheap eateries and decent shopping, and also near the Pier 2 Art area for a nice bikeride or exhibition. I used to hang out on the campus of NSYSU a lot grab a tea and watch the sunset from the former British consulate. To me that’s the best central place to live, as you’re a bit away from the worst of the pollution downtown. You shouldn’t underestimate the scale of Kaohsiung though: working near E-da world/I-shou university will take you about an hour’s drive (by scooter) if you live in Yancheng. There are buses leaving in that direction from the HSR station (nice upscale apartments there too) so that’s gonna be your commute in combination with the MRT, in case you don’t have your own transportation. If you want to live reasonably close to work and still want to stay in touch with the city, I recommend finding a place in NiaoSong. I’ve lived there a year and I would live there again for the sole reason that the air pollution is not nearly as bad as downtown. It has a huge park nearby the lake (free entry for Kaohsiung residents, so bring your ARC once you get it) and you can get a 25+ ping apartment in a very upscale building (think big swimming pool, gym, pingpong-/pooltables, cinema) for around 10 to 12k. Even less if you settle for a smaller studio. There’s not really much public transport (the nearest MRT is FengShan or WeiWuYing), but a scooter can get you to the harbor in 30 minutes and in E-da world in less than 20.
I think you can search some Facebook groups for foreign get-togethers. There are a few bars that are popular with a foreign croud (is brickyard still open?) but I found the best way to make friends is by learning the language together and having a laugh putting it into practice. Lot’s of foreigners there, so just make it your own.
I really do miss Kaohsiung, but moved away from there due to the air pollution. Keep that in mind when you select a place to live for perhaps a few years.
I would caution you on this.
Many, many employers do not stack the “housing allowance” on top of your quoted salary of $85,000/month. Instead, the “housing allowance” is notated in your contract as being provided to you within the $85,000.
Check with your future employer to see if your actual total take home pay is $85,000 or $85,000+$8,000. Don’t forget you will be paying 18% in taxes. That is -$15,300 from the $85,000. So your actual take home pay could actually be $69,700 and minus your housing allowance (if you use all of it on rent).
You can still live comfortably on that salary. It is quite high compared to the average.
Living in Nanzih is a good compromise between KHH and I-shou/EDA. Maybe 20 minutes to I-Shou and it is on the MRT line for easier access to the city. Niaosong (Chengching Lake) is a popular place for foreigners to live.
Learning Chinese will help but I need to use very little Chinese in my daily life unless I am traveling into the mountains. Some people use Taiwanese but it isn’t nearly as necessary or even common as people say. Most of my students tell me that they only speak Taiwanese when they visit their grandparents (not fluent in Mandarin). Other than that everyone is fluent in Mandarin but will use Taiwanese at times.
There are a lot western style restaurants and bars. The scene seems to be exploding with English teachers that are opening businesses as they choose to stay in Taiwan. I have blogged about a few places and plan on blogging about more in the future. Here is one of the new places theworldisnotthatbig.com/2015/10 … n-and-bar/
Overall Kaohsiung is a very comfortable place for a foreigner to live. There are a lot of western comforts available (restaurants, supermarkets, IKEA, COSTCO, etc…) and a decent amount of English spoken (not like Taipei though).
…except the air is nasty a lot of the time and the water barely drinkable. It’s all relative on this little island eh? Sunny and Polluted and Spacious and Cheap vs Damp and Less Polluted and Crowded and Expensive (if comparing to the North).
I’m sure it is quite easy to live there though if you can deal with those issues or do what most people do which is ignore them. My advice would be to purchase an air purifier and water purifier. No need for the dehumidifiers like up North I’m guessing.
I"m guessing that the foreign scene in Kaohsiung is quite a bit different than Taipei, I’d say there’s a lot of ‘personalities’ down there.
[quote=“headhonchoII”]…except the air is nasty a lot of the time and the water barely drinkable. It’s all relative on this little island eh? Sunny and Polluted and Spacious and Cheap vs Damp and Less Polluted and Crowded and Expensive (if comparing to the North).
I’m sure it is quite easy to live there though if you can deal with those issues or do what most people do which is ignore them. My advice would be to purchase an air purifier and water purifier. No need for the dehumidifiers like up North I’m guessing.
I"m guessing that the foreign scene in Kaohsiung is quite a bit different than Taipei, I’d say there’s a lot of ‘personalities’ down there.[/quote]
Apart from this week where the constant rain In K-town has made it feel more like northern Taipei than the sunny south. I’ve been cold and miserable all week!
You are spot on with the pollution analysis: it’s the price to pay for all of the other positives you mentioned. I haven’t been able to buy an air purifier yet, but I do try to keep my house clean and free of dust by dusting and mopping regularly. I think I need to get some new windows as the black filth inside my house must be seeping in through the gaps in the frames - even though they’re closed all of the time.
To the OP: I also live around the Nanzi area, and I would strongly advise you to stay away from the industrial areas of this district. If clean air and open spaces are important to you then you could even consider going a little further north and living around the Qingpu MRT station. It’s a little further away, but should still be reasonable for getting to I-Shou every day.
Thank you so much for all of the great replies guys. I really appreciate it.
I’m pleased to hear that the salary they are paying me shall give the opportunity to live comfortably. That takes a lot of pressure off.
From the sounds of it finding an appropriate suburb to live in will be the greatest challenge. So what parts of the city have the worse pollution, that I should steer clear of? Are there any other suburbs that are particularly desirable/undesirable?
Just because I’m trying to figure out just how bad the pollution situation is there, how would you compare it to say Bangkok (a polluted asian city that I am most familiar with)?
Do you have any other tips for finding an apartment? I am presuming that the agents hike the prices up considerably. What would the other option be, walk around and ask at specific buildings I would like to live in?
Also, how is the traffic in K-town? It seems many ex-pats own scooters, is it definitely necessary? I have a bit of a phobia of them since falling off a motorcycle whilst learning. However, I’m willing to give it another shot. What is the general cost of a cheap 2nd hand scooter? Also, how expensive are taxi’s?
You can get an idea what kind of rentals are out there, and the prices, from 591.com.tw, a site which is quite managable through Google Translate. There are many search filters, including particular areas of Kaohsiung.
The standard fee from real estate agents is half a month’s rent. You could also look for For Rent (出租) signs on buildings. You’d most likely need a Chinese-speaker to help you, but the agents can usually scrounge up someone with some English skills. The concern is when it’s time to sign the rental contract, which will assuredly be in Chinese. Get a Chinese-speaker/reader that can help you if at all possible.
Traffic is getting better in Taiwan but you still need to expect the unexpected. There are still a lot of people that don’t drive safely. Taxi’s are really cheap. 85NT minimum and it is hard to spend over 300NT. Scooters are really easy to ride and most of the used market is in the 10-20K (NT) range.
Both times I have rented through agents the landlords paid the agent fee. But both times I found the agent for that particular apartment that the landlord had hired. If you want an agent that will show you any apartment in the city and work with another agent (the landlord’s agent) then you will pay more.
[quote=“Abacus”]Traffic is getting better in Taiwan but you still need to expect the unexpected. There are still a lot of people that don’t drive safely. Taxi’s are really cheap. 85NT minimum and it is hard to spend over 300NT. Scooters are really easy to ride and most of the used market is in the 10-20K (NT) range.
Both times I have rented through agents the landlords paid the agent fee. But both times I found the agent for that particular apartment that the landlord had hired. If you want an agent that will show you any apartment in the city and work with another agent (the landlord’s agent) then you will pay more.[/quote]
I would say a Taxi from I-Shou to central area of the city is on range of NT$500+ (based on trips we used from my home to school events we work). I-Shou if do not know, is not really in the city urban area. It is in the foothills east of the town, outside of the urban part of the city, There is scheduled buses to many areas of Kaohsiung, but most used route is to the High Speed rail station in the north of Kaohsiung (Students, tourst shopper use it the most). As for scooter, in the city is ok (traffic and crazy drivers are the problem), and to I-Shou would not very nice if going between the city and there because the distance and going up and down the mountain. There are some nice places to live in the I-shou town/village, I might prefer that vs. the longer travel time into the city, but you may not mind the travel time for city life.
hey mate, welcome to Kaohsiung from another mid 30’s Aussie.
I’m an expat here for 1.5years now, and agree with the above that this city is great, apart from a few minor things… air pollution has been bad of late, but I hardly notice it, and my wife (asthmatic) and 2 small kids don’t seem to notice it either.
I live in LIngya (near the dream mall) and it seems to be fine. Definitely less westerners in the south than the central/northern parts of town, but that also has its advantages as people seem to want to help you more!. We have a car, but scooter is definitely needed, and I’d get one ASAP to open up the city. I’d aim to at least be near an MRT station so you can get around easily enough if you want. There is an English site for appartments for rent (forget it at moment) but will find it if interested… easy enough to sort out, and all the agents we spoke to spoke English
I speak about 3 words total of Chinese, and seem to do fine… moreso a testimate on the great nature of people here rather than myself. Most young people speak better English than they say, just are embarrassed to speak, or lack actual speaking practice. Speak slowly and simple words and your all good.
That salary is good for here, but can quickly go if you’re a big drinker or like to eat out a lot at Western resto’s / hotels. We normally spend anywhere between $800-$1800 at most western resto’s and I’m embarrassed to say how much I drop on booze a month.
[quote=“DKaoshuing”][quote=“Abacus”]Traffic is getting better in Taiwan but you still need to expect the unexpected. There are still a lot of people that don’t drive safely. Taxi’s are really cheap. 85NT minimum and it is hard to spend over 300NT. Scooters are really easy to ride and most of the used market is in the 10-20K (NT) range.
Both times I have rented through agents the landlords paid the agent fee. But both times I found the agent for that particular apartment that the landlord had hired. If you want an agent that will show you any apartment in the city and work with another agent (the landlord’s agent) then you will pay more.[/quote]
I would say a Taxi from I-Shou to central area of the city is on range of NT$500+ (based on trips we used from my home to school events we work). I-Shou if do not know, is not really in the city urban area. It is in the foothills east of the town, outside of the urban part of the city, There is scheduled buses to many areas of Kaohsiung, but most used route is to the High Speed rail station in the north of Kaohsiung (Students, tourst shopper use it the most). As for scooter, in the city is ok (traffic and crazy drivers are the problem), and to I-Shou would not very nice if going between the city and there because the distance and going up and down the mountain. There are some nice places to live in the I-shou town/village, I might prefer that vs. the longer travel time into the city, but you may not mind the travel time for city life.[/quote]
I wasn’t really talking about taking the taxi to I-Shou daily but yes you could spend more than 300 on a taxi if you are going out to the mountains.
That is a very comfortable salary for Kaohsiung, just keep in mind the tax. You will be able to do lots of travel around the island, and the airport seems to be getting more and more flights to places like Japan and Korea every year. If you frequent bars and Western restaurants though, you’ll see your money go fairly quickly. Not hard to blow a couple of thousand in a big night.
I’d like to know where the spacious places for 10-12k are in big, modern buildings with gyms and pools though, as I couldn’t find anything near that price in a modern building last year, and I did have local help. As mentioned there seems to be a bigger expat crowd in the Zuoying/Kaohsiung Arena areas than in southern areas like Lingya.
There are Western restaurants/pubs here, but if you stay a while you’ll probably be looking for more variety after a while. Nightlife and nightclubs/bars are fairly average, based on my previous experience compared with similar sized cities in Japan and China. You might find that, again, you’ll be looking for more variety after a while. On the plus side, most clubs here are all you can drink for about 600-700 NTD I think. There are some Indian, Thai, Indonesian etc. places that are okay.
As others have said, I-Shou isn’t really near the city proper, so expect a long commute no matter which option you choose (and where you live, I guess).
Try and get a place close to an MRT station (there are two lines). A new LRT will be opening its lines gradually over the next couple of years. Buses aren’t great if you don’t live near an MRT station and have to rely on them.
Kaohsiung people are lovely though, you’ll have no problems at all finding some friendly local help.
Air pollution is still quite bad in Kaohsiung, can always pop to the mountains on the weekend for some air though.
I’ll just point out the obvious fact that just because one doesn’t notice the effects of air pollution doesn’t mean it’s not doing harm.l ( in the same manner that I prefer not to notice the saturated fat running through my veins after a steak).
