Apartment hunting (again)

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Since we took the decision to move, the apartment has really become a place neither of us enjoy spending a lot of time in. I email Martin and tell him we're not going to stay. He phones up in a panic and starts offering discounts but it's too late for that. Since we moved in, the entire street has turned into one noisy construction site, rudely interrupting our lives for 13 hours each and every day. They are extending the MRT westwards, under the river, to Sanchong. Added to that is the refurbishment taking place next door and if that wasn't bad enough, the apartment has a mosquito problem. The previous tenants were 3 American lads and from a look at the walls in the bedrooms they just killed them wherever they saw them. I've tried to be a bit more respectful to the paintwork and have invested in an electric mosquito trap which is proving to be invaluable. Nonetheless, despite all the windows and doors being shut I find myself having to kill about five or six of the little bastards every evening. And occasionally a couple slip through the trap and feed ferociously on us as we sleep. It's not uncommon to wake up the middle of the night with six or seven bites, and they can be guaranteed to find the one square inch of skin not plastered in repellent. I can only speculate that they are coming from the drains but even copious amounts of bleach has failed to stem the tide. Oh, and talking of drains, there is clearly trouble brewing in the bathroom. The toilet has started belching noxious gas back into the apartment which makes the living room smell like a sewer. So when Martin offers us a few thousand NT off the contract price to stay we respectfully decline. We want out, and soon.

For the foreigner looking to rent an apartment in Taipei there are a thousand pitfalls to avoid. These include, moving next to a school/temple, signing a contract after just one viewing and failing to haggle. But I would say that the biggest one (which I blundered straight into with Martin) is looking through adverts on English language websites such as craigslist. These apartments are aimed at the westerner and are therefore grossly overpriced. Maybe use them for something temporary but certainly not for anything longer term. We are also reluctant to use an agent who will charge us a half month's rent as a finder's fee. So, using the fantastic invention that is Google Translator we start to scour www.591.com.tw which is a free property website. We take it in turns to call the landlords, laughing at each other's attempts to make ourselves understood. Invariably we are hung up on but just occasionally we find someone who can speak English and organise a few viewings. I have made a vow to take Chinese classes in the New Year. We can't carry on like this.

The view from Wei-Wei's place



We begin our viewings, and, rather like last time it's a disappointing process. One rainy night however, just after viewing a particularly disappointing 3 bedroom place near Wenfang Hospital MRT with wonky floors, both damp and mold issues as well as problems with security I get a call. It's from a lady called Wei-Wei. It turns out she has been given our details by a friend who Melissa had called when inquiring about a different apartment. She has a place in the mountains, not too far from Shihlin, coming up for rent in a few weeks and wants us to have a look. This one sounds more promising so we head up there the next day. Getting there involves taking the 255 bus towards and beyond the National Palace Museum for about 20 minutes from Shihlin MRT. We arrive and the general area is beautiful with green tangerines growing on the trees and mountains on three sides. The air is noticeably cleaner than down in the city. The apartment itself is on the 4th floor of a 4 storey block. This is considered unlucky by the Taiwanese but our only concern is having to take the stairs. We have previously agreed that if we were to live in a non-elevator building then the 4th floor would be our limit. Inside, the apartment is extremely light and spacious. At Martin's you need to have the lights on at lunchtime, so limited is the amount of light that gets through the windows. The measurement she gives us is 31 pings which translates to 1103 sq ft. It's a big place. There is a balcony on both sides and a view of both the mountains (see photo) and the city. The living rooms and bedrooms are both finished to a good standard and although the bathrooms and kitchen are fairly tatty, they are at least clean and having two toilets is a bit of a luxury. The rent is $19000 NT/month which represents an $11000 NT saving on Martin's. Yes it's unfurnished aside from a washing machine but with the extra money we'd save it wouldn't be too onerous getting it kitted out. Being so isolated is a bit of a concern but the buses run regularly to both Dazhi and Shihlin. In fact, Melissa would be able to get to work quicker from here than from Martin's. My job is about 45 minutes from here near the NTU hospital MRT but will have me working all over the city so living in the mountains is as good as anywhere for me. That said, in a country with the highest density of convenience stores in the world I'm a little put out at the prospect of having to take a bus to my nearest 7/11.

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