Where to live and study Chinese with a Huayu Scholarship? Hualian, Yilan, Taipei, Tainan...?

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
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Hey folks!

I am totally new to this forum and never been to Taiwan. I am an Italian student who studied Chinese in Beijing for two terms back in 2013 and I am now applying for the Huayu Scholarship. I have lost a lot of fluency in the meantime and my level is somewhat in the lower intermediate range (decent speaking skills, awful at reading and writing)
If I get admitted I would start to study in Taiwan from September. I have narrowed down the choice of places to study to five centers and it would be great to hear your views about the institutions and their cities before taking my final decision.

I have tried to write some pros and cons for each institution based on the info I was able to gather online.

These are my choices:

  • CLC at Tzu Chi University in Hualian (Pro: big campus, relaxed atmosphere, nature all around, cheaper city) (Cons: higher tuition fees, a bit too far away from civilization?)

  • CLIC center at Fo Guang in Yilan (Pro: very central school, small city, cheaper living, pledge to speak Chinese all the time) (Cons… higher tuition, small city?)

  • CLD at NTU in Taipei (Pro: Big student community, central in Taipei, affordable tuition fees) (Cons: higher living expenses)

  • MTC at NTNU in Taipei (Pro and cons similar to NTU I would guess)

  • CLC at NCKU in Tainan (don’t know much about this school but I was told it’s a good place to study and that Tainan is a more laid-back, traditional city when compared to Taipei).

I have to say that I have very conflicted feelings about going back to live in a big metropolis like Taipei or whether moving to a smaller venue like any city in the eastern part of Taiwan. Both choices have their own pros and cons and I still can’t make up my mind. This is why I need your help :stuck_out_tongue:

Thanks for reading so far!

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Hello amigo. I live in Tainan, life is cheap here, and indeed it is a nice city, relaxing, but still very crowded. It is a good place to study, the campus looks very comfortable.

Hualien, I visited twice, it is also very beautiful and relaxing, much more quiet than Tainan, but like you said a bit remote, and when typhons come, the east of the country is usually more exposed. So all in all I would recommend Tainan.

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Thanks for your input semmanuel. By the way, I was admitted at CLIC in Yilan, Tzu Chi in Hualien and NTU’s CLD in Taipei. And I still have no idea where to go. Though I have to decide very soon :stuck_out_tongue:

NCKU has not answered me yet but I’ll try again tomorrow. Tainan seems a good solution, let’s see what they’ll say.