Sometime during your stay in Taiwan you will inevitably have to find somewhere to live. Staying in a hotel or hostel when you first arrive isn't a bad idea, but eventually you'll become tired of the lack of space, privacy, and drunk people wondering in at two in the morning.
It's highly advisable that you get someone who speaks Chinese to help you out, since most landlords will not speak English. If you've come here seeking work, your job will most likely help you out to some extent.
Most foreigners tend to use tealit, (http://www.tealit.com) but there aren't that many houses there, and most of the good ones get snatched up pretty quickly, so if you find a good one don't hesitate to take it.
These are also many Chinese websites, but I must warn you that the picture often lie. I went to to see a house once, which looked lovely in the picture, because the picture was most likely taken when it was first built, 10 or so years ago. I found my current room on 591.com, but the pictures that I looked at, and the room itself, were completely different.
Here are a few Taiwanese sites. I think they're good for gauging the average price of a room in certain areas.
The room that I currently live in is 9ping (I'm not sure if this is true or not) and is 9000 a month with internet, water, and cable included (The power is paid separately). It was also furnished. It doesn't have a kitchen, and the washing machine is located outside the room. The bathroom is also a bit tragic looking. The advantage to where I live is that it's located close to the MRT, work, and a few shopping centres. Once you've decided on a house it usually doesn't take long to move in. You just sign, give them the money, and it's suddenly all yours.
Generally in the West you will have to clean your house before you leave, but in Taiwan it's the opposite. You can pretty much leave the house a mess and the next people will clean it, which means you have the clean upon moving in. I think if you move into a giant expensive building they will mostly likely clean for you, but in my case I had to clean my current room. It wasn't so bad looking at first glance. But once I got into it everything was covered in dust, dirt, and I didn’t know the meaning of dust bunnies before I moved the bed. The air-conditioner was also quite disgusting, and I think the occupant before me was a smoker.
To be honest I'm not very thrilled with my current room, but I didn't really have much choice because I had nowhere else to live. I'm broke, and my Chinese skills are very minimal. Looking back on it now, I really wished that I had just booked into a hostel and spent a bit longer house hunting, instead of being stuck in a one year contract with a $18000 deposit.
I also discovered that if my building catches fire I will most likely die because there is no fire escape, and that windows are bared. So if I suddenly stop blogging you'll know the reason why. Luckily there's a fire station located a block away so hopefully they can save me in time. (But knowing how efficient the Taiwanese are I wouldn't bet on it.)
Here are a few pictures of my bachelorette pad.
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