Stories about renting accommodation

In the better neighborhoods of Taipei with the MRT and other amenities within 10 min. walk, expect to pay at least NT$10K monthly for a studio apartment in an older building, or easily NT$15K or more in a building less than 10 years old.

Or NT$20K or more for a one bedroom in a building less than 5 years old.

You may find cheaper, larger rooms in New Taipei City or farther out in suburban areas but without the convenience of the Taipei MRT, easily accessible buses and amenities as shopping malls.

Commuting from said suburban areas to the Taipei Main Station, the main transport hub, by bus or train can take easily an hour or more depending on traffic volume.

Hello,

Please note that a new, separate topic has been created with your posts on the Taiwan forum to allow interaction around this subject to carry on freely.

@summernarrative: Since you're new around here, welcome to Expat.com I'm sure more members will respond positively to your question to help you make up your mind in the future when it comes to rentals.

All the best,

Diksha
Team Expat.com

Not sure what you mean by "stories" but when I lived in Taipei I initially lived in an old house that was previously the office for a coal mining company and that family was introduced to me by a good friend of mine who studied Mandarin with me in London. I lived there for about a year and the great thing was that it was located directly inside Rao He Street night market street. I was accepted as part of the family and did not need to pay for rent, laundry or food and I ate with the family three times a day. That was back in the late 1980's and I am still close to that family and visit them from time to time. I was actually studying at the MTC in the university on Heping East Rd.

The second place I lived in was a very old wooden Japanese house on stilts with tatami mats and shoji screen doors throughout. It was pretty amazing and a lot of fun. I was getting a scholarship from the university at the time and that easily paid the rent. I remember that the toilet was overhanging the outside of the house and while seated you could look down through the cracks and see the ground one storey below. The location was walking distance to the Mandarin Training Center and we didn't cook there at all because there were so many inexpensive food places in that area. I do not know if such houses still exist in Taipei City, probably not as that was back in the late 1980's and Taipei has changed so much since then.

Hi, are u in Taipei alrdy? Did u get a job there after covid cb?

I’ll be arriving 1 June

When I lost my job (and company-provided flat) in Taoyuan, a friendly soul who barely knew me offered me a temporary room for free. Taiwan is full of nice people like this!
Later, when I had a new job and rented a four-storey house in Hsinchu (for NT$40k), I did the same to a USA English teacher, who had an argument with his boss and lost job and room there, too. We had a great time together!

How is it so far over there?