Hey all, just about to move to Taiwan, so as usual looking for recommendations on how to handle the usual, any english-speaker friendly recommendations for…
Obviously a selfish post for me here, but will update after I go through the process myself.
One note is I’ve heard that you have to put an address down for your ARC in the first two weeks, is that a normal amount of time to get an apartment sorted in?
Are there any strange limitations to sim cards, I’ve lived places where you can’t get a non-tourism sim unless you have a residence card for example?
Finding a place to stay doesn’t seem too scary too me, just worried some of these processes are going to be friendly until I don’t have an address, for example the bank account?
Finding a place:
https://rent.591.com.tw/home 591 lets you contact agents, but seems to require a Taiwanese number be put in before you can try to contact any agents so not sure how to navigate this other than waiting until I get a Taiwanese sim?
You can get a Taiwanese sim at the aiport when you arrive, provided you arrive during their business hours, so you should be fine there. Here’s an article I found; I’m sure there are plenty of others:
If you’re getting an ARC then that likely means you’ll have a job or be a student; in those cases your employer or school should be able to assist you with a lot of the items you list. I’ve always found Taiwanese to be incredibly helpful in these cases.
I’ve heard that a post office bank account is the easiest to get. Before you have an ARC, you can a Taiwan Uniform ID number at the immigration office in order to open a bank account.
Sometimes power/internet/water is included in the rent. I suggest making sure there is a separate utility meter for your apartment so that you’re only paying for your own usage.
I’m sure others will chime in. My advice is to expect some bumps in the road, especially if you don’t speak Chinese, let locals help you, and enjoy the adventure.
Just curious: Have you visited Taiwan before? I myself arrived blind in 2008 but managed to find a job and apartment within 2 weeks with zero Chinese ability. You can do it.
Wow that’s awesome! Sorry a little off topic, but I’m curious, you’ve been there since 2008?
Yep
Might be useful.
Where are you headed in Taiwan?
But you can see now!
My experience:
Got it at the airport on arrival. Because of covid this was required. Lots of places around to sort this if you don’t need immediately
Employer helped with this, had to use the bank they wanted for salary anyways.
Employer sorted this. Was close by and cheap, but just a room with bathroom (like a long term hotel). If you don’t have a job, good place to stay depends on your situation. Do you have a job lined up?
My short term stay had only electricity bill. Where I am now there was Internet when I moved in but I have to pay the landlord periodically. Water and electricity the landlord helped arrange the bills which are in my name. Gas bill (for cooking and hot water), is mailed to the apartment. Gas, water, and electricity can be paid easily at 711.
All thanks to eating goji berries and not drinking cold water!
Arriving on a WHV so no job and no help, we know some Taiwanese people who don’t live in Taiwan 
And have only been to the airport one time, but liked the airport so decided to chance it.
Looking for somewhere beachy in Yilan
I’d say getting a phone number would be your first priority since lots of apps and such use your phone number like it’s an identifying document with 2-factor authentication, but is the easiest to get out of all of them since you don’t need any local documents.
Since I’m staying with my mom, can’t speak on experience for finding a place to stay and getting utilities; I’m still on a prepaid account since I don’t plan on staying long enough to sign a contract. Just keep in mind that Airbnb is regulated up the wazoo in Taiwan and 90% of listings are illegal (which means you’re risking getting kicked out), so your only realistic options are knowing somebody that’s willing to let you stay with them or a hotel, but thankfully hotels are pretty cheap.
Getting your ARC before every other legal doc would make some things subtly easier; unlike another reply where they said the post office is the easiest account, I managed to get an E.SUN account just applying for a Unified Identification number, but the post office wasn’t sure which name to use (they wound up printing both my Chinese name and English name on my passbook) and instructed me to wait until I got my ARC.
Tips from personal experience: Get as much needed documents authenticated and translated in the US as you can; waiting until you’re in Taiwan makes it more difficult both in how long some documents can take to send by standard post, and that the translation/notarization process is more more complicated and expensive.
If you’re from the US plan on driving or riding a motorcycle/scooter, it’s best to get your international driver’s permit, then also getting your driver’s license and driving records authenticated if you’re in a reciprocal state/country. Also, Motorcycle Safety Foundation courses are a lot more easier to understand in English, not to mention they teach and test you on more advanced maneuvers that trust me, you’re gonna need (e.g. swerving and high-speed emergency maneuvers in the US vs. a silly low-speed obstacle course that seems to focus more on your ability to stop at lights/signals that does next to nothing to prepare you for how reckless people tend to ride here). Just remember that most signs are European inspired, not many worded ones have English, no right turns on red, and civilians have the authority to report violations as long as it’s demonstrably verifiable by a cop.
Search Facebook for apartment and room rental groups in Taiwan and Taipei. I just searched for “rooms in Taiwan” and several relevant groups with hundreds/thousands of members appeared in the search results. I’ve had good experience with some of these groups in the past. It’s especially good if you want to secure something temporary before you arrive so you can look for something more long term after you get more settled.
Tip: Facebook is actually still surprisingly popular in Taiwan and is a great resource for foreigners in Taiwan. For example, there are several language exchange groups, job postings (I found a job in Taiwan from such a Facebook group), a group where people give stuff away for free, etc.
I’ve joined a few of these, they look great for Taiwan, but for Yilan I’ve found <3 listings in the last 5 years
What’s a Unified Identification Number
My favorite beach in Yilan is Wai’ao (外澳沙灘), which has its own little train station so it’s easily accessible.
That’s what I am hoping for, looking for somewhere in Toucheng and then it’s close to get there anyway, If I can make it!
Re the SIM card, that looks great on arrival, is there a foreigner-friendly chain to get a real contract for a year? do I need ARC or anything to get that
I just got the sim at the airport 6 weeks ago. There is only one location that will give you a sim card for more than 4 weeks, and that is only if your landing visa/visa free waiver is more than that (they will give up to 6 months, but we only got 3 months because that is how long our visa waiver is good for).
The location that sells the longer sim cards is to the left when you exit customs in Terminal 2. It is kind of in the middle and is a large circular kiosk.