Living in Taiwan
Thread Starter
Living in Taiwan
OK Guys,
Did a search on "Taiwan"...got 15+ pages...too lazy to ferret through it all to answer my question, so I appeal to those of you in the know.
What's it like living in Taiwan ? Cost of living, quality of housing, how non-Asians are treated, taxes, the usual stuff ?
You guys weren't busy anyway, were you ? Thanks.
Did a search on "Taiwan"...got 15+ pages...too lazy to ferret through it all to answer my question, so I appeal to those of you in the know.
What's it like living in Taiwan ? Cost of living, quality of housing, how non-Asians are treated, taxes, the usual stuff ?
You guys weren't busy anyway, were you ? Thanks.
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Not sure now
Posts: 540
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Baf:
Short answers to your specific questions.
An apartment in Taipei will run you around NT 25,000 to NT 80,000. It just depends on where you want and how many rooms you want. A simple one bedroom place in a decent area would be 25,000 while a three to four bedroom place in Tien Mu would be on the higher end of he scale. My figures are a little dated but in 1998 I was paying 34,000 for a two bedroom one bath furnished apartment within walking distance of the Sungshan Airport. Before that I payed 37,000 per month for a slightly bigger place in the same block. That was right behind the Sherwood Hotel and a very good area if you are working out of Sungshan. The quality of these place is lower than a comparable place in the States but they are decent.
Taxes for expats tend to range in the 10 to 15 percent bracket.
Food is expensive or cheap depending on where you go. Taiwanese street food is safe, good, and cheap while eating in a western style restaurant tends to be about 20 to 50 percent more than in the States. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables can be found and prices are reasonable if it is in season.
Taxis, Buses, and the Mass Transit system are very convenient for getting around Taipei. You wouldn't need a car living downtown. If you lived outside of downtown then a car would be necessary and that would be somewhat expensive. Someone else will have to expand further because I don't have any experience owning a car there.
Taiwanese are very friendly and treat westerners very well. It is one of the few countries left where the people still like Americans.
Living in Taipei is great if you like city life, if you don't then you'll feel the need to escape every so often and that is easily done by going hiking in the foothills surrounding the city or further into the central mountains and east coast. There are lots of good weekend getaways, however a car is required for those. Renting for the weekend is a good option but navigating can be difficult if you don't read Chinese.
Hope that helps,
Typhoonpilot
Short answers to your specific questions.
An apartment in Taipei will run you around NT 25,000 to NT 80,000. It just depends on where you want and how many rooms you want. A simple one bedroom place in a decent area would be 25,000 while a three to four bedroom place in Tien Mu would be on the higher end of he scale. My figures are a little dated but in 1998 I was paying 34,000 for a two bedroom one bath furnished apartment within walking distance of the Sungshan Airport. Before that I payed 37,000 per month for a slightly bigger place in the same block. That was right behind the Sherwood Hotel and a very good area if you are working out of Sungshan. The quality of these place is lower than a comparable place in the States but they are decent.
Taxes for expats tend to range in the 10 to 15 percent bracket.
Food is expensive or cheap depending on where you go. Taiwanese street food is safe, good, and cheap while eating in a western style restaurant tends to be about 20 to 50 percent more than in the States. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables can be found and prices are reasonable if it is in season.
Taxis, Buses, and the Mass Transit system are very convenient for getting around Taipei. You wouldn't need a car living downtown. If you lived outside of downtown then a car would be necessary and that would be somewhat expensive. Someone else will have to expand further because I don't have any experience owning a car there.
Taiwanese are very friendly and treat westerners very well. It is one of the few countries left where the people still like Americans.
Living in Taipei is great if you like city life, if you don't then you'll feel the need to escape every so often and that is easily done by going hiking in the foothills surrounding the city or further into the central mountains and east coast. There are lots of good weekend getaways, however a car is required for those. Renting for the weekend is a good option but navigating can be difficult if you don't read Chinese.
Hope that helps,
Typhoonpilot
