I’ve been doing some reading and viewing some apartments online (seems like inner city is very expensive but you get less for your money than in London?). Struggling to find the same standard of apartments (I’m probably looking in the wrong place) than in the UK. My budget is 85-90K a month (maximum).
Can anyone recommend an area for young professionals to live in (I’d be living alone, maybe throwing a party here and there), where it’s vibrant, happening but also a decent standard of living?
Taipei isn’t like most cities where 1 area is nice and one area is ghetto. You’ll have a million dollar up high rise building next to a concrete box apartment that is old and run down.
That being said, Xinyi and Daan are generally prime real estate.
Taipei is also pretty small and convenient with traffic that isn’t outrageous where it doesn’t really matter what area you live. Everywhere is accessible with a MRT or Uber away. And it’s all relatively cheap.
I would just recommend you focus on the apartment and not so much the area.
Thanks for the honest reply. Interesting! I hadn’t considered that as a possibility I guess I’ve never had the opportunity to visit until now.
That being said, with that budget, would an apartment in Xinyi or Daan be feasible? Is it even worth it based on your feedback? Probably not right?
Okay great thanks! it must be the websites I’m looking at, mangoroc etc. Maybe they’re in English because they’re reeling in unsuspecting expats.
I’ve heard landlords try to pass off illegal builds such as top floor apartments to expats. Do you recommend going through an agency to avoid these sorts of scams? Any additional well known ones?
This one is pretty good, stayed there for a few months: http://redin.red/
Very central in Xinyi and next to subway, maid service, gym, their 1 bedroom units start at around 90k a month plus tax. For 12 month lease you can get 1 or 2 months off.
I don’t know what kind of websites you’re looking at, because you can live like a king in any part of Taipei City you want with a budget like that. You get far more for your money in Taipei than you do in London, at least as far as rent goes.
Are you looking for a serviced apartment or just a regular apartment? Where is your office? I generally agree with Xinyi and Da’an districts, but if your office is in a good area, it would make sense to look there as well. You could try 591.com.tw to get an idea of apartments in your range, but it would be nice if you could walk the areas before deciding. Craigslist postings seem to be mostly agents focused on higher budget foreigners, but would not hurt to look there otoooo.
I worked with an agent once but ended up finding a place on my own by walking around and looking at for rent signs. Helps to have a Chinese speaking person to help with that.
Regular I think, probably call a cleaner twice a month to clean when I’m around more often. I doubt I’ll be in the city much the first 3-4 months. Zhongshan district is the location of the office, I hear metro is super convenient so 30 minute commute is very straightforward?
90k is a lot for Taipei. You can easily find an apartment that will suit your needs with that.
Don’t fall for serviced apartments, they are much more expensive than ordinary apartments.
Have a Taiwanese look for you if you can’t speak Mandarin.
I found a nice 2br place in Shipai, in a new highrise building about 3 minutes from the MRT.
3-month lease, 45k per month and no deposit.
60k is reasonable for a 2br in Daan, maybe as much as 70k for Xinyi if you want a 3br.
I’d advise against Xinyi, it’s not really worth it. Getting around is awkward since it’s at the end of the MRT.
Tianmu is another expat favourite, and is fantastic if you have a car - lots of restaurants and businesses catering to expats. Most people will speak English, and landlords in the area will be more familiar with the needs of expats. The only downside is the lack of MRT access (most would complain about higher rents, but it’s quite reasonable as a Londoner, and still cheaper than Daan and Xinyi).
Zhongshan is decent if you can find a nice apartment in the area. Great MRT access, great location, plenty of restaurants. I had trouble finding any attractive apartments there though.
Daan is good, lots of nice restaurants and nicer buildings in general. MRT access can vary, some parts of Daan can be ~10 minutes walk from an MRT.
Good luck finding a cleaner! It’s much harder than you’d expect here. I’ve been looking for months, asking everyone, but nobody seems to have one. Much easier to buy a roomba!
30 minute commute is on the longer side. That would put you outside of Taipei.
Convenience is the key word. People here are used to having amenities and entertainment close at hand. If you live in the mountains and must wait for a minibus that comes every 30 minutes, that is not convenient. If the closest 711 is 30 minutes walk away, that is not the norm.
Look, rooftops are favorites of foreigners, so it is not a scam but rather people look for those even though a good number as you said are illegal additions.
That said be careful, do not sign any contract from abroad. Come here, stay a week or two in a hotel while you check out places. Go during the day and night to get the feel of the place. Now, this is important: take a local with you or at least someone who has been here longer when you sign the contract. Take a witness.
Yes, English language real estate pages cater to expats whose companies pay for them.
Let’s be honest, if you look like a normal human being and you are below 30, with a 90K home, your only concern is to being too tired to wake up with someone different every night/weekend.
Get something in Daan, you will get something quite fancy, and problem solved.
Your question is like going to Manila and ask if you can find a good house for 6,000USD/month - You can, and will be fancy ofc - People here earn 90k in 2 months per household.
Just FYI, top floor “illegal” apartments are not scams. Yes they are technically illegal but they are declared as such when listed for rent. Some of them are actually really nice! The government knows about it (duh), you can think of them as being grandfathered in. They are rented out all the time to Taiwanese, foreigners… everyone. Generally cheaper than other apartments because they get hot (top floor) and because of the whole “illegal” thing, lol. But it’s not like the cops are gonna break down your door and deport you for living there, if that’s what you’re thinking.
Personally I don’t go through agents because I don’t like paying the 1 month rent fee. I go to 591, search by “landlord listed” and find a place where I can rent directly from the landlord. Has always worked out well.
Edit: and just to be clear, you should not be renting a rooftop apartment. That’s not because they’re scams. It’s because your budget is 90k
Xinyi or Daan near MRT Super Luxury Apartment. Try to find one with a pool.