What do you mean? The typical house does not have enough electrical power?!
I don’t know what the typical service capacity is in Taiwan. My hunch is less than the USA. When I start putting things in like A/C, convection oven, steam oven, clothes dryer, it’s going to need a good sized supply coming in. I would hope 150A minimum.
the bigger apartments have bigger kitchens, it doesn’t depend on the neighborhood, depends on the size of the house.
but big kitchens aren’t popular here since people dont cook much, so even bigger apartments will have a “medium” kitchen.
I lived next to a cemetery a few years back, the rent was very cheap since few people were interested in that part of the neighborhood
not hard, but might be very expensive
in taipei they rent for around 3000-5000 usd a month .
to buy is 2.5 million usd and up
in the country side could be much cheaper
shouldn’t be a problem.
we had an oven and ac in each room and it wasn’t a problem.
I personally dont see a need for a dryer, but it’s a matter of choice. if you are worried abt electricity just dont run everything at the same time…
Personally, I think it’s better to buy an older apartment and renovate. Knock down a wall or two!
Buying a new apartment seems like such a rip off, not just because of the price but because of how many pings of the public area you are paying for.
However, don’t make the mistake in thinking rip off means bad investment. Prices are high in Taipei city, but they’ve only really dropped significantly once in the last 20 years, and that was due to SARS.
Not sure what the market would do in the event of something happening with China, but if more people could live here or had easier access, couldn’t that lead to more price rises!?
I’m not sure about this. Maybe it’s different if you own the home. I know when my father-in-law was in hospital and about to die, he was actually transported home (by ambulance) so that he could die at home instead of the hospital–this was viewed as a good thing to do and people were upset at the possibility of him dying in the hospital.
I dont know where you can find actual numbers, I read an article last year comparing Japanese Traffic death/accident rates to Taiwan and they mentioned that Taiwans fatality/accident and injury rate is worse than Japan in the 1970s when Japan was considered very deadly. Taiwan acknowledges the problem and makes promises that last a week each time a pedestrian gets run over by a bus driver or car while they are following the laws and the cars completely ignores traffic rules, never checks before turning etc.
Probably Neihu
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If you’re talking about Taipei, its very hard. Its extremely uncommon, there are some cases around Neihu where you might find a house with a large porch where you can have a few plants. Taipei isn’t a suburb its a Metropolitan style city closer to NYC than L.A. But if you were to live outside the city you could have a yard but you’d likely need a car to commute assuming you worked in Taipei. Theres more suburban style living in Hsinchu or Tainan and its cheaper too
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Just remember the pecking order there. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way even if you have the green light look both ways and proceed with caution.
Heiarchy goes
- Biggest car/truck/bus
- The Blue flatbed trucks
- Luxury Cars/SUV’s
- Taxis
- All other cheaper/smaller cars
- Motorcycles/Scooters
- Bicyclists
- Pedestrian walking
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This list—and the hierarchy informing it—signals some of the more unlikeable aspects of Taiwan.
Thankfully there have been (and continue to be) changes, at least in the more central districts of Taipei City, where things are far from perfect but also where pedestrians are not simply treated as moving targets.
Guy
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Gilgamesh- That’s “thoughtful/nice”, and yes, perhaps another reason why being able to decide such things, which comes with owning a place, is important at the end of one’s life.
About the yard thing- just be open minded. I used to live in an apartment on the ground floor in Taipei, which had a big wrap around yard. In fact, It was the main reason we rented that spot! Alas, the yard was unusable! Mosquitoes, endless leaves to sweep and most annoyingly, upstairs neighbors who constantly washed their balconies, with all the overflowing water, dripping/gushing down into our yard, making it like an ice rink. I now live in a apartment with a big balcony and spend so much more time sitting /chilling in this outside space.
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Last week an SUV tried to run me into the curb right outside Foxconn headquarters in Neihu and run me over at the crosswalk because he didn’t like sharing the road with me on my e scooter, or the U biker in front of me. Also there was no way in hell we wanted to wait for us to cross our green light so he decided to turn right into us then in his pea brained mind he thought he had the Right of Way because he was in an SUV which was more expensive than a U-Bike so he had more social value since he was in a car. After all thats the #1 or #2 thing people in Taiwan want to know about weighing social status,do you own a car, its the indirect way of judging social value here.
If you want to impress the hell out of a Taiwanese as a foreigner buy a Luxury car here. I know this cause I’m Taiwanese and speak Taiwanese fluently.
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That is one of the saddest posts I’ve read in a while.
Guy
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Renting means mobility plus no worries whatsoever on selling home in future. Retirement is peace of mind away from the jungle of life so enjoy without the commitment, duties and worries of ownership.
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Three years from right now I am good to retire. Only three years. This thread has been around for quite a while now, and Covid aside, not much has changed for me. The biggest debate for us is the conversation around Puerto Vallarta, México as our backup. We have been there three times now (and last time was for 3 weeks) and we really like it there. Living there full-time could be very different though, and it definitely isn’t Taiwan. Taiwan is still top of the list, we just need patience.
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Good luck! btw I think it behooves you to have a backup even if you’ve already moved to Taiwan. You know…just in case something happens to Taiwan in the future 
I will laugh but not be critical nor surprised if you retire somewhere else rather than Taiwan. 
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