The Accidental Foreigner

House Hunters: Taipei Edition

A popular question people asked me while I was in quarantine was what would be the first thing I do coming out. Instead of fun answers like “Have some bubble tea” or “Go see a movie,” I flatly replied, “Look for an apartment.” Ever the pragmatist and a creature of comfort, I could have as much bubble tea and see as many movies as I wanted to the minute I found an apartment. There would be no rest until I could bury my face in a soft, fluffy pillow and burrow myself into a duvet and quality sheets.

There is a popular website that everyone in Taiwan uses to look for apartments, and though it was fun to peruse, I ultimately knew that my semi-fluent Mandarin wasn’t going to cut it and hired an agent. I also needed time to figure out which part of the city I wanted to live in. Did I want to be near trendy restaurants and cafes? Did I want to live in an up and coming neighborhood? Are Taiwanese landlords generally accepting of pets? I finally whittled down my list of requirements — a kitchen, 24-hour security, pet friendly, furnished, and close to a metro station — which I felt still smacked of entitled expat, but I’m too old and too set in my ways to live without certain domestic comforts.

I learned by going on the popular website and talking to expat friends that a kitchen in Taipei apartments is quite rare, primarily because food is cheap and easy to come by in the city. Landlords sometimes restrict cooking in apartments, either to avoid having the space smell or to reduce the risk of fire damage. On the flip side, most apartments in Taipei include a washing machine, and most often, a combination washer/dryer machine; the neat freak in me highly approved of this. I also learned that apartments are generally furnished, although occasionally a bed or a sofa might be missing. Some landlords offer internet service (which you most likely share with other tenants), and some pay certain utility bills for you. Finding a pet friendly home is not impossible, but it does limit your choice.

As the saying goes, God/The Universe/Sovereign Creator provides, and there was only one available apartment that fit my requirements at the time. I was told by expat friends to personally view each and every apartment as photos can be deceiving. As I haven’t rented an apartment in a while, and this being a different country with different building codes, I didn’t know what exactly to watch out for. I was told to look for mold, but since I lived in bone-dry Los Angeles for most of my life, I didn’t exactly know what mold looked like (I know, I know…) One friend told me to be cognizant of how the apartment smelled, since some apartments have a waft of sewer (eww…)

The viewing took place almost immediately after the prior tenant moved out. Even though this was the first and only apartment I viewed, I was already weary of apartment hunting. I hadn’t had a place I could call my own since March 2020 (seemed like an eternity in COVID time), and I wanted to lay down roots as quickly as possible. After a few cursory glances for “mold,” sniffing the air for any hint of sewage, and making sure I could stand up fully in the loft area (which is a serious concern in some lofted apartments), I had the following conversation with the agent.

Me: I’ll take it.

Agent: One viewing? That’s it?

Me: I’ll take it.

Admittedly, I should have inspected things a touch more carefully. The only sources of light into the apartment is the bathroom window and a screened door leading out to a tiny balcony. The windows themselves face another building, so I normally have no idea what the weather outside is like. I must keep the bathroom window covered lest I give free shows to my neighbors. I put too much faith in the internet as I was not successful in searching for instructions on how to use the Italian washer/dryer.

At first, I didn’t understand why my agents looked so rushed and flustered during the viewing. It turns out that apartment hunting in Taipei is quite competitive, especially in the area where I live. Because I was the very first person to view the apartment, and the first to put down a deposit, I landed the lease. My first foray into the Taipei rental market was an all-out war, and I had zero clue.

The moral of the story is…despite the competitive market, I highly suggest viewing more than one apartment when searching for your own home. I’m the kind of idiot that bought a condo without looking at it and forced things to work, so forcing this Taipei apartment to work is well within my wheelhouse. Ultimately, the apartment’s pros outweigh the cons that if I had to extend my lease another year, I would, but folks, do your homework.