We are moving on up! To the east side…
Things are going to get a little more upscale and relaxed around here in the GCC household. We just signed a 1-year lease on a 1-bedroom apartment in Taipei, 1 block from Times Square and 2 blocks from Central Park.
We are now residents of one of the finer neighborhoods in the very heart of the city. (One of our neighbors has a Bentley, which I enjoy riding past on my bike as he is stuck in traffic.)
My new commute to Chinese class is a joyful 10 minute bike ride down tree lined streets, and the hospital where we plan to welcome GCCjr into the world is just across the main street. There is even a 7-11 10 steps from our front door.
Posh living does come at a price, however. Our rent is now $1,400 a month (40,000 TWD + 2,000 TWD management fee)
But enough talk, let’s get to the tour
As we pass through the front entrance, the open floor plan warmly welcomes us with the kitchen on one side and a floor to ceiling glass wall on the other.
A Dream Kitchen
This kitchen has everything one could ask for… all high-end stainless steel appliances, plenty of counter space and an open range, a wine cooler, a dishwasher(!) and even an oven (rare for Taipei.) It looks like we’ll be able to make bread again
The bar top doubles as a dining table, great for entertaining and sharing with guests in the living space
Sit Back and Relax
The full room floor to ceiling glass wall opens completely, providing an indoor outdoor living space with great natural lighting and air flow.
Outdoor Living
The outdoor plants are taken care of by an automatic sprinkler system, and provide plenty of oxygen and noise reduction. Even in the heart of the city our home is quiet and relaxed.
Bedroom
The bedroom is also wide and open and has closet space that would even satisfy Paris Hilton. I even have a dedicated space for storing ties… now if only I owned one
The master bath is a nice oasis, with a large shower with a rainfall shower head, a large bath, and the world’s smartest toilet. Even here the storage is massive, with storage space hidden in the mirrors
Day Spa
Throne Fit for a King
There is also a half bath for guest use, as well as a large storage space where the washer/dryer is located
Overall the apartment is slightly smaller than our previous Taipei apartment, but it feels larger. The space is much more open with incredible natural lighting
While our monthly rent has increased significantly, we will save some money in other areas. Because of the natural air flow we are already using the air conditioner less. I’m now biking to and from school even on the hottest days, as opposed to taking the bus one way to avoid sweating like a pig in class. The more central location will reduce our taxi and Uber expenses, and a kitchen like this one just begs you to eat at home
While all of that is great, overall our expenses will still increase. Such is life in a deluxe apartment in the sky
In addition to the rent, we had other costs and fees. Because this apartment was listed through an agent, we had to pay a fee equivalent to 1/2 months rent. The apartment was also not completely furnished, and we purchased a sofa,coffee table, two bar stools, and some small kitchen appliances. Our intent is to sell these when we move on, much like how we had free high-end furniture when we lived in Seattle
Impermeable flooring material – good choice for babycurrycracker. :)
and maybe a pet
My daughter rents a place nearby in Anaheim, Ca at $1350 and it isn’t even close to as nice as your place. Sounds like you have location, location, location pretty much wrapped up!
How does your family like you living so far away? 3 of my 4 kids live pretty close and I wish it could be 4 of 4. But kids have to live their own lives.
In the past 20 years I haven’t spent more than a week or two at a time near family. We’ve all become accustomed to it. The internet helps as we can keep in touch fairly easily through facebook and skype. The worst thing is probably that our nieces and nephews grow up fast and we only see them a couple weeks a year if that
With an international multi-cultural family like ours, it would be impossible to be close to everyone though. We’ve often rented places with extra rooms to entice visitors, but it is hard for many to break away from the treadmill. Come April when GCCjr comes into the world, most likely a few family members will make the long trip over here though
Backwards for us, Mrs Spaceman spends about 1-2 hours a week Skyping the sister and grandma back in Chiayi, (Taiwan) but i see how it could work the other way. I am less conversive with my family, and they all live several hours away, so there would not be a big differrence.
How do you feel about Koashiang, or Taichung to live? Both seem nice to me, and a bit cheaper too.
cheers
spaceman
Both are cheaper. I think if we lived elsewhere in Taiwan it would be Tainan or Yilan.
Wow if I didn’t know I’d think you’re living in an apartment in North America or Europe. Very impressive apartment.
Probably because everything in North America and Europe is made in China, haha
Your place is $100 cheaper than ours and our toilet doesn’t even flush itself. Oh, the pain.
Life is tough here in the USA.
Life is tough everywhere. It’s the economy, man
this looks really good but are you living in taichung or taipei. if you go for something lesser grade how much would it cost?
Hi Kyith. I’m guessing you already know the answer to the first question from the title of the post. :)
As for how low can you go, a friend in my Chinese class rented a room in a shared apartment for 6800 TWD (~$225 USD) plus electricity. Her room was about as big as a single bed, and the bathroom and kitchen were shared with 6 other people. She described it as “awful”
That’s the range. You could get a feel for other options in between by looking on the most popular rental website in Taiwan: http://www.591.com.tw/
Hello.just discovered your blog,very informative. Thank you!
Any advice on how to go about translating suggested rental webpage “591”
I am not having any luck in doing so. I am in the beginning phase of my move to Taiwan and was over the moon when I stumbled upon your apartment and seeing there are indeed apartments with outdoor patios.
All the best
Hi Ashlee
Take a look at this guest post I wrote:
http://livinginasia.co/taipei-accommodation-guide/
The Chrome browser will translate for you, as will Microsoft Translator. There are also some English language forums where people list properties for rent
Good luck!
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy thanks for the great material. i will add to my Pocket and read it.
Btw, for FI folks like you, dr Wade Pfau came up with a recent article that compares a bunch of fundamentally sound spending strategies for your Wealth Fund (portfolio). i can link you to it but am afraid this comment will not get through.
Hello! Just found this blog and wanted to say thanks for sharing your TW experiences. I just graduated and am slowly starting to build up to FI. Last year I stayed in Taipei to study at NTNU’s MTC as well and have loved the country ever since! Hoping to move back someday after I meet FI (quite a while from now) :)
Looking forward to reading more posts!! Also your place is lovely!
Thank you very much! Just graduated and already planning for FI, you will do well
Wow… Nice digs man!
That is one smart toilet, the singularity is surely not too far away!
Indeed, the singularity could occur any day now. Hopefully not with our toilet. Hopefully not while I’m sitting on it
Hi Jeremy and Winnie,
I just wanted to say, first off, THANK YOU for your blog and all of the information that you share. I have been reading for about a year or so, and my wife has been catching up on all your blog posts over the last few months. Hey, some people binge on TV shows, we binge on GCC archives. To each their own!
Written with insight, advice, and humor (along with a healthy sprinkle of jabs to “conventional” advice-givers and unhelpful complainers), your articles have helped my wife and I see the world in new ways and educated us in how to plan for an early retirement and what such an early retirement could look like.
While we are flying under the radar and saving a large percentage of our income while living the “suburban dream”, we are exploring options to slow travel or live abroad as you have done. Taipei is tops on our list for a variety of reasons, including excellent education system, high level of healthcare, easy means of transportation, and delicious food. Since we have older kids, and really appreciate your experience and ability to estimate costs, I was wondering:
– Do you know if Taipei apartment prices significantly higher for a 2- or 3-bedroom apartment, given the constraints on space in Taipei? Or even available for rent?
– Whenever we are in Taipei, we use the MRT subway system a lot, plus a taxi ride or two in a pinch. Biking with kids doesn’t seem very safe – although I have certainly seen babies being held on scooters going at unsafe speeds – and some places are much farther than wearing your baby or using a stroller would reasonably allow. If you do stay in Taipei when GCCjr is older, what do you estimate your transportation costs to be?
– Are utilities always lumped together at the end of your rental contract or was that a special situation with your last apartment? Do you pay for water at all?
– It seems that the rent-vs-own formulas heavily favor the renter in Taipei, with estimates of price-to-rent ratio that I have seen in the order of 90:1 – do you see any signs while living there that rents will skyrocket to be more comparable to the price to own in Taipei?
Thanks again and hope that you know you are inspiring many back in the States.
All the best,
Forest
Hi Forest
Wow, thank you. I very much appreciate your very kind comment, and am delighted that GCC has been helpful!
Onto your questions:
– Apartment costs – we live in the equivalent of being on Central Park in Manhattan. It is the high rent district. Friend’s of ours recently started renting a 4 bedroom (2 master suites) in a new building with community pool and pay the same as we do for our 1 bedroom. It is about 45 minutes away down the subway line.
– Transportation – we would still bike. Everyday I see a ton of parents riding bikes with their kids in a bike seat. With Youbike the city is becoming much more bike friendly… bike lanes, taxi driver’s have turned down the attitude a notch, etc.. Our transport costs couldn’t more than double from where they are now, which are very low.
– Utilities would be paid monthly or bi-monthly. These are fairly low except for electricity in summer for A/C, a necessity in my opinion, which has been $100-$150/month for us in July / August. (That said, I think we are still going to get a big lump sum bill since some utility processing was backlogged.)
– I don’t see rents rising faster than income, and incomes aren’t rising. See last’s years student protests caused by housing prices
Hope this helps!
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy – thank you so much for all of your helpful information. My boyfriend and I are moving to Taipei in July, and are very excited! I will be teaching, and he is currently applying to the university for his masters degree. We are looking on 591 now just to scope out rent prices, but won’t sign anything until we are there and have been in the city for a month to check it out. Do you think we can get a decent 1 bedroom apartment (not a studio), that is around 900 sq ft for US $700-800? We don’t want a hole in the wall, but don’t need luxury either. We also don’t want to have a 45 minute train ride in. Is this doable? Thank you for any thoughts!