Living in Taipei can be a rewarding experience. The abundance of food and culture is mind-blowing, not to mention the fact that there is always something going on in this buzzing city. People in Taipei are well-known for their friendly and helpful attitude. Since more people in Taipei speak English than anywhere else in Taiwan, you can get by with very basic Mandarin Chinese. Life in Taipei has 5 major aspects: housing, food, transportation, entertainment and travel. If you would like to know more, read on!

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Housing

Currently, NTUB does not offer on-campus dormitories to exchage students. When you are looking for housing, keep in mind that prices skyrocket around the downtown area. New Taipei City is generally cheaper when it comes to rent and most areas are easily accessible by MRT. Finding a place to stay can be rather time consuming without the help of a local and this website: www.591.com.tw. You can also find housing groups on Facebook, which are more friendly to foreigners. 

Food

Almost any type of cuisine can be found in Taiwan whether it be Japanese, Thai, French, Italian or Mexican. The authenticity of the food is for the customer to decide; however, the choices are unlimited. There is an abundance of restaurants and creatively decorated cafes in the Zhongxiao Fuxing and Zhongxiao Dunhua area, so be sure to pay those areas a visit. Traditional Taiwanese food is most prevalent in night markets such as Shilin night market or Shida night market, where stinky tofu, bubble tea and other Taiwanese delicacies can be found.

Transportation

One of the things that come to mind when people think about the positive aspects of Taipei is convenience, and this is largely due to the dependable public transportation system.
The major form of transportation in Taipei is the MRT. New MRT lines are constantly being added to the route map so for the newest version, always check on the official website.
Next, you have buses. Although their signs are often all in Chinese, local people are happy to help you find your way. Taxis in Taipei are relatively cheap compared to a lot of other countries. The minimum rate is NT$70 and the timer periodically adds NT$5 as you travel. At night the minimum rate is NT$90.

Entertainment

Taipei is a city teeming with tourist attractions, yoga centers, gyms, restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs. You will always be able to find some type of entertainment. A few popular tourist attractions are the National Palace Museum, Taipei 101, Xiaobitan and the hot springs of Wulai. While yoga centers and gyms are scattered throughout the city, there is an abundance of bars and clubs around the Zhongxiao Dunhua and Taipei 101 area.

Travel

Taiwan is a great country to travel from as the island is situated in the middle of basically everything. If you’re interested in exploring Hong Kong, it is only a one hour plane ride away. The Philippines is about two hours away and Indonesia is approximately five hours, not to mention Japan and Korea, which are three hours away.

Travelling within Taiwan is a joyful and fun-filled experience as well. There are so many beautiful and breath-taking places just waiting to be discovered. Popular travel destinations include Sun Moon Lake near Taichung, Kenting, Taitung and the various mountains that make up the spine of Taiwan.