Hi I’m moving to Taipei later this year and have a housing allowance of 30,000 -45,000 ntd. What sort of level of accomodation could I expect to get for this? Thanks
Decent, but not too flashy.
It depends on a lot of factors. Try the housing section and look thru the threads, they might offer a clue.
I looked through the housing threads but they seem to be mainly about older housing for under 20,000. Do you think that I may be able to find somewhere modern for this price? How many rooms might I have?
I know housing is difficult to describe. Is there perhaps anywhere I can find a website that offers photographs of the sort of accomodation I could find for 30,000 - 45,000 ntd.
Thank you!
The thread about Lotus Hill might interest you. I’m still there after a year and a half, with no complaints. I feel like I have a home, now, not just a place to sleep. 
Shit…
I wish I had that kinda of money for rent. You can get a decent place. Two bedrooms in an older building for under 20000. Three bedrooms 24000 or about there. Get a cheap palce nad bank the money you save.
If you have a car you might think about living out of downtown. Neihu, Tiemu. Rent is cheaper out there than downtown.
I would say be careful of how much you pay for your place. The agents seem to me, to be dodgy. Over charge you because you work for a big company that pays the bills anyways.
Most of the people I know pay less than 25000 for their places and some have very nice places. New buildings and all the extras (spa, gym, pool etc).
Good Luck
Ski
Thanks everyone for the feedback
Lotus Hill sounds fantastic, exactly what I’ve been dreaming of!
I’m happy to live a quiet life out of town and chill out in a pool at weekends or go hiking.
However the links to Lotus Hill’s own website do not seem to work - is there a new address?
As I don’t yet live in Taiwan yet I have no sense of geography at the moment. Is Xizhi out to the north, south, east, or west of town? I will be working in the north near Shilin? Does anyone know how long it might take to drive to Shilin from Lotus hill?
Xizhi is east of Neihu, and the Lotus Hill complex is as close to Donghu as it is to Xizhi. To get to Shilin will take about 45 minutes in rush hour - half an hour in ordinary traffic. If you have a fast motorcycle, and are an experienced Taiwan motorcyclist, you should be able to shave off another 10 minutes from those times.
OK Lotus Hill people, don’t hate me, but someone has to say it!
Don’t live in Lotus Hill, it is way over rated. If you drive a car like I do, you won’t like the traffic and narrow streets in that area. They are also very far from any expressway. That part of XiZhi is also not nice at all.
There are loads of nice buildings all around the suburbs that have pools, etc like Lotus and views that are even better. I really don’t know what people like about the place. OK, I kind of like their car park entrance and they have good security but people, you got to get out more, there are loads of these places in better locations. Live in MinChuan East Rd. Sect. 6, in Neihu, better area and better buildings and closer. Neihu is a driving paradise unlike the Lotus Hill area.
Or just live in ShiLin. There are a lot of new buildings there as well. I even lived in a place in TienMu that was a famous TV star’s weekend studio apartment. It was swank and I only paid about NT$2X,XXX. The building was about 5 years old. However in ShiLin proper there are a lot of great new buildings right on top of the subway as well which should be even cheaper. Size matters.
Anyway, don’t worry, you can get a nice small place for that money, but think about furnishing it yourself. If you get a furnished one sometimes it costs more and the furnishings are crap.
How much space do you need? One bedroom, two?
Hey, I’m glad to hear that you know of better places. 
Here are my criteria: I would like 50 pings, three bedrooms, two bathrooms for 20k in a 12F building with two elevators, overlooking a lake and a park. I don’t want to see or hear ANY traffic at all - just frogs and crickets at night, and birds in the morning. I’d like my landlord to give me a two year lease and never visit me once. I want there to be nothing but grass and walkways when I step out the front door, with enough room to throw a frisbee or run with my dog. (I saw one of Citizen Cain’s owners riding his bike around the complex with his mutt chasing along behind happily). I’d like two swimming pools (indoor and outdoor), an indoor and an outdoor jacuzzi, and of course a sauna and a steam room. Tennis courts would be nice, as well as paths leading to small lakes in the mountains. A fully equipped and staffed gym and health club and raquetball court would be good, as would the billiard room with three tables with new felt, non-warped pool cues, the restaurants (two proper restaurants) with a couple of snack bars. I want indoor parking for my motorcycle and my car. I want a western kitchen with room for my western stove. I want a laundry room with space for my western-size washer and dryer. I want a Wellcome supermarket within 1 km of my place. I want great security and friendly management. I want to be within 15 rush hour minutes of either Highway 3 or Highway 1. I have to be within range of a Domino’s pizza. I want a convenience store on the premises.
This is what I’ve got right now. If you can get me something better, or the same deal but cheaper, I’m all ears. And I’ll buy you a great dinner after I’ve moved in. 
I thought the rent was more than 20K over there. Darn, I got to move!
I saw some nice places like that in Mucha and some in Xindian. And we all know about how wonderful my community on the mountain the other side of the XiZhi valley is… 
Something decent and medium size (80-120sqm perhaps), fully furnished, even in the city center. But you need to take your time, often you are shown apartments in nice and newish buildings but they are rather small and eat up your entire budget.
Instead of brandnew you may consider a renovated apartment in an older building as often apartments are entirely renovated including new doors, windows, bathrooms, appliances etc.
If you rent unfurnished and/or out of the city it will be much cheaper. Wouldn’t it be for the commuting issue I would probably stay at Lotus Hill (or something comparable), too.
Tip: tell the agents your budget is 35k max including tax. Most likely they will show you places around that mark, including slightly more expensive ones.
Note that company contracts carry a 10% tax, so if you rent via your company the landlord will want to add that on top of the rent (since he has to pay it to the government).
As well keep in mind that you need to pay a maintenance fee in addition to rent, AFAIK runs at NT40-100 (or more) per ping. You may want to keep the rent below the budget as to include that, too.
… and dont let your company call agents, they will just inflate the price greatly. Hook up with a Chinese speaking friend and do the leg work yourself. At your budget you will be fine.