I want to share how much it costs to live here. I think it's surprising, the kind of lifestyle you can have halfway across the world. I'll share real numbers. What can your money do here? How far does a dollar take you?
Let's start with the rent.
I'm sitting in my new apartment. It's a studio, so I look around and this is everything. I do have a good sized balcony for hanging clothes and sitting outside, listening to music and smoking at night. We got a lot of shelves, one square is filled with books. Another with cleaning supplies, and so far that's it. I got a mini fridge here next to me, not turned on yet. I have a love seat and a chair set that's fake red leather. It's hard and not too comfortable, but it works. I got a small TV with cable. The bed stand fits a queen. The bathroom is a basic wet room (toilet combined with shower and sink). There's a good-sized counter, and then a little alcove with a mirror that we could call desk space. There's plenty of closet, too. I'm on the third floor with no elevator. There's a common kitchen downstairs where I haven't seen anybody. It's got a water machine and coin dryer. I got a lot of room outside for storage. Honestly, it's the perfect size. I can have a few guests over. But really it only needs to be big enough for two. I got parking, which is a big deal. I walk left and there's this little park that traces the drainage canal. There's sakura already in bloom. I walk right and out and I'm a 10-minute walk from the zoo and main city park. Walk out and straight and I can reach the bus or tain station in 15 minutes. I'm a 9 minute drive from my place of work. All this for less than $250 per month. I put a deposit down for 2 months. If I don't come back, then I lose it. But who wouldn't want to keep this place forever? Here or not. $250!*
The wifi is included in the rent, as well as water. The electricity is 20 cents per kWh (6.5 NTD). Since the summer is coming and bringing the heat, the A/C being on will practically be the entire cost of utilities. It of course varies, but I'll say $30/month for now until I update this later.
It's my homebase. I can walk to the music store and place drums for $7 an hour. My lunch today cost 5 bucks. Large iced coffee for $2 (200, 150 and 60).**
So, what about day to day living? It's hard to say, as everyone lives differently. Rent is supposed to be your biggest expense. But what I spend most of my money on is eating. I eat out all my meals. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, snacks and drinks. This ends up being probably more than twice my rent.
I haven't cooked in two years. I've heard that buying ingredients and making your own meals roughly works out to the same price as eating out. Save the dishes and time. How much are we talking?
Well, let's start with coffee. A large Americano from 7/11, which is a solid choice, is $1.50 (45). To sit down at a nice cafe to do some journaling or reading over a fresh cup usually hits over $3 (100).
I eat until I'm full for $3-$4 per meal (90-120). I get lunch for free at my school. I stop by 7/11 on the way in the morning for my breakfast, coffee, and afternoon snacks, spending more than 4 bucks (133). After work I'm grabbing a nice dinner for more than $6 (200) which is considered expensive for one person. Fancy dinner date? The most I've spent is $60 for a feast (2000) typically split.
A local beer from the convenience store is a little over $1 (35). You can find plenty of cocktail bars that will charge you $8-$10 per drink (250-300). But the entrance to my favorite club in Taipei is less than $20, which covers two drinks (500).
Given all this, one should keep in mind that I'm in one of the most expensive cities in Taiwan, Hsinchu City, which can often surpass Taipei prices for things. If you head farther south then you will see costs drop by 20-30% for food and drink.
Okay, transportation. If I take the bus to Taipei or Taichung, both a little over an hour away, it's over $8 round trip (250). If I want to take the high speed rail (HSR) and get to the end of the island in an hour and a half, that's 75 bucks there and back (2400).
But how I get around is by scooter. I drive to and from work in 25 minutes, five days a week. I spend $3 a week on gas (90)! How much was the scooter? This one cost me $312 (10,000). This of course is second-hand. The one before this one I bought for $375 (12,000) which I literally ran into the ground after over 16 months of precarious riding. At this rate, crashing scooters every year and a half, I'm spending less than $30 per month having my own personal means of transportation. Pretty good, right?
What's the total? Miscellaneous expenses, toiletries, cleaning supplies, parking tickets, doctor's visits, stationary, and whatever else (oh yeah, the gym membership is $34 per month (1088)) and we're looking at roughly $1,250 (40,000) per month. What do you think? No cooking, eating and drinking whatever you want, heading out of town, commuting to work, living pretty much like a king or queen. Free as a bird. If you really have fancy tastes, then just double it all. Still reasonable.
It all really comes down to where you're making your money. This all sounds great if you're earning US dollars, and spending them here in NTD. The conversion counts. But if you're like me, working here and getting paid locally, it's a bit of a different story. Still, I make plenty to live comfortably. Income can be a separate post. Stay tuned.
* Really it's 7,500 NTD (New Taiwan Dollars) per month. ** Amounts in parentheses are rough figures in NTD, which are 32 to 1 USD.
Have more questions about cost of living here in Asia? Email me for anything specific and I'll reply: kkent2045@gmail.com
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Enjoy!