Hassaotik

Hi!

Has anyone travelled recently to Kaohsiung?
Do I have to book my accomodation in advance( I#m looking for something around 300USD/month), ?
I#m going to stay from August till December, so it should be available for long term vistors.
Can anyone give my an advice on this issue and K. in general?
Thanks in advance,

Chris Schob

Hi,

I lived in Kaohsing two summers ago. Kaohsiung gets a bit of ribbing as a dirty
industrial city with not much charm. I don't fully concur with that.

First, there is no need to set something up prior to arrival in Kaohsiung. The
property slump there since the mid 1990s ensures that you will have your choice of
affordable accomodation in a variety of locations. As for the price, it really
depends on location and what you want from your place. I lived in an efficiency
(taofang), and paid NT6500/month. (I think I remember that was about US$220 at the
time). On top of that I paid for phone and utilities. The utility bill was about
US$35/month (a/c cranked all Summer). Many Taiwanese told me that I overpaid for my
place, and I agreed. I was paying for location--I was on ZhongShan Er Lu, which is
conviently on major bus lines and close to department stores, train station, etc. Had
I agreed to live off of the main road, or in an extra room of a Taiwanese family, I
could have paid considerably less (NT5000/month or better.)

Finding an apartment is not difficult if you can speak at least a bit of Chinese. If
you cannot, get someone to help you. But don't be deterred by a language
barrier--landlords there want to rent out their vacant lots; they will make the
effort to communicate clearly with you.

Housing complexes are all over the town. If you know what area you want to live in,
I'd say simply walk into several of these places and check their bulletin boards for
vacancy announcements. Invariably these are in Chinese but again, a Chinese assistant
alleviates any problem there. Many places have '24 hour security' (i.e. a guy that
sits at a desk and watches incoming traffic--if your abode has this service, expect
to pay about 10%/month of your rent to him for his 'services.'). These guards can let
you know of vacancies and sometimes have a key so you can take a look around.

Kaohsiung does have its rougher parts. I am not so well versed as to tell you with
authority where to avoid but follow common sense and you should be ok. Actually,
there was a bar on the second floor of my complex that seemed to operate as a bit of
a brothel. This never posed any problem or nuissance for me on the 7th floor. Keep in
mind that standards of cleanliness and sanitation are lower. Make sure to see your
place before you hand over money. And make sure that things you wold expect in the
West are the standard with the place you settle on. That is, be sure that the place
has a/c and, should the a/c break down, who will repair it, and when.

Renting by the month is standard. Most landlords will require a deposit of 1-2 months
rent when you get your place.

In general, Kaohsiung is a great city if for nothing else then for its location.
Unlike Taibei in the far north, Kaohsiung is centrally located. This makes weekend
trips to places like Alishan or Kending beach very reasonable.

Have a great time.

Chris

assaotik <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > Hi!
    >
    > Has anyone travelled recently to Kaohsiung? Do I have to book my accomodation in
    > advance( I#m looking for something around 300USD/month), ? I#m going to stay from
    > August till December, so it should be available for long term vistors. Can anyone
    > give my an advice on this issue and K. in general? Thanks in advance,