International House of Taipei 台北國際學舍

If you're thinking of studying Chinese in Taipei for less than one year, you will quickly discover that most universities don't offer accommodation to students who are only staying for a few months. You could rent an apartment, but most leases are one year or six months, so you will loose deposit money. You can always just live out of a hotel or hostel, but if you're on a budget why not give International House of Taipei a go.

Located in scenic, Xindian International House of Taipei (Or IHouse) is catered for students who are studying in Taipei for the short term. It may be a little far from Taipei, but they provide a shuffle bus in the morning for 15NT, which will take you directly to most mandarin training schools. It took about 15min to get to NTNU. Unfortunately you have to find your own way home on the bus and subway. The shuttle bus also doesn't run past 9am, so you will have to catch a bus down the hill, then transfer to the subway if you want to go to Taipei. This can sometimes be a bit inconvenient.

I thought it was good for short term study because I payed rent by the month, and it gave me the opportunity to meet many other students. There usually aren't a lot of western students staying here. Most of the occupants seem to be either Japanese or Korean, but it does give you a good opportunity to practice your Chinese. A lot of the staff also speak English, so if you have an problems in life you can always consult them.

My room was 8600NT , then it was an additional 400 a month for Internet, and another 400 a month to hire a fridge. You can also hire a TV for 400, but they have a few common one's scattered all over the place. The bathroom was at the end of the hall, and it was cleaned every day. It fine except for summer when strange insects started floating in an dying all over the sinks. They also have singles and shared rooms, with and without bathrooms. If you want more details about the rooms it's best to email them at this address.  ih102@ms16.hinet.net

I was lucky to have a room facing Taipei, and the view was really amazing, especially at night. 

Here are some pictures of my room. I miss having a balcony.

The also had a  website, but I think it's closed now.

The website also claimed that they have a restaurant, but it doesn't anymore. All that is left is a big room which they use to store furniture. But they do have a lunchbox ordering service, where they will order lunch and dinner for you, and there is an instant noodle vending machine. The closest store is a small Wellcome supermarket up the road, but if you want to go out and eat you have to catch a bus down to Xindian or Qizhang.

The greatest thing about Qizhang is Carrefour, and the bus from IHouse will take you pretty close. It's pretty much an all stop shop for anything. If you ever have to buy anything it can be found at Carrefour.

The one problem I had with the place were the thin walls. I could hear people talking in their rooms when I was attempting to go to sleep. I was also stuck in a hall full of noisy Koreans, and I even began to dream in Korean even though I don't understand one word. Many of my friends also complained about the distance from Taipei. It's also on a small mountain, so it can be a bit tough if you haven't grown up around hills. I grew up in rural Australia so to me it wasn't that bad. It was very inconvenient getting home late at night though.The The bus up the hill become more infrequent past 10pm, and then it stops at 11pm. So after that you either have to walk or get a taxi.

I used to walk home up the hill in heels, at night, with strange wild dogs watching me. It's not something that I would advise to anyone. Especially when your a young western woman all on your own. I would have at least three cars or scooters stop every time and try and offer me a lift. In the end I gave up and started taking a taxi. It only cost about 90NT-ish from Xindian City office station.