Taipei is an amazing city! I spent 33 days there, where I mainly played games, worked on my music, hung out with old and new friends, and ate food. I had been here twice (a month each time) so I kind of knew what to expect.

Taipei is quite affordable but still clean and nice. It’s a great destination for its food and nightlife. Accommodation prices are getting more and more expensive now as its become a popular destination, but you can still live decently for under $1,500 a month (I hear of average salaries in Taiwan being around $1,000-1,500 a month).

I documented my costs so you can see how my spending was broken down. Hope this helps!

Cost of Living in Taipei, Taiwan

Food

I didn’t end up eating as much Taiwanese food as I should have. I didn’t even hit up the night markets because most of my time was spent working on music. The recording studio I visited was in the basement of a taco restaurant so we ended up eating there a lot. I also ate at the cyber cafe or whatever was around my accommodations.

Food	NT	USD
Noodle Soup (and gaming)	165	$5.50
Beef noodle soup	330	$11.00
Beef noodle soup & Drink	250	$8.33
Pizza and Drink	500	$16.67
Momo’s	500	$16.67
Tacos	210	$7.00
Drink	60	$2.00
Snacks	130	$4.33
Drink	50	$1.67
Tacos	200	$6.67
Korean food	200	$6.67
Beef noodle soup and dumplings	320	$10.67
McDonald’s	105	$3.50
Snacks	200	$6.67
Drinks and food	500	$16.67
Lunch	156	$5.20
Beef noodle soup	170	$5.67
Pork rice	150	$5.00
Watermelon drink	50	$1.67
Beef noodle soup	110	$3.67
Beef rice	220	$7.33
Onigiri	25	$0.83
Onigiri + Noodles	78	$2.60
Tacos	200	$6.67
Curry rice	220	$7.33
Vermicelli soup + bread + vegetables + juice	200	$6.67
Tacos	200	$6.67
Snacks	160	$5.33
Malaysian food	250	$8.33
Pizza and drink	220	$7.33
Snacks	100	$3.33
McDonald’s	160	$5.33
Sushi	150	$5.00
Sushi	180	$6.00
Black tea	100	$3.33
Sushi	300	$10.00
2 Onigiri and Candy	88	$2.93
Noodles & Water	66	$2.20
Noodle soup	70	$2.33
Mango juice	90	$3.00
Chicken + Watermelon juice	210	$7.00
Sushi	90	$3.00
Beef noodle soup	140	$4.67
Water + Snacks	60	$2.00
Dumplings	70	$2.33
Teppanyaki	300	$10.00
Soup	180	$6.00
Waffle	260	$8.67
Salmon Rice	160	$5.33
Beef noodle soup	120	$4.00
Lemon Tea	60	$2.00
Onigiri + Water	100	$3.33
Noodles & Water	160	$5.33
Noodles & Water	165	$5.50
Groceries	160	$5.33
Burger + Fries	280	$9.33
Onigiri + Cough Drops	100	$3.33
Lunch	140	$4.67
Lunch	200	$6.67
Dinner	220	$7.33
Black tea	100	$3.33
Sushi	300	$10.00
2 Onigiri and Candy	88	$2.93
Noodles & Water	66	$2.20
Noodle soup	70	$2.33
Mango juice	90	$3.00
Chicken + Watermelon juice	210	$7.00
Sushi	90	$3.00
Beef noodle soup	140	$4.67
Water + Snacks	60	$2.00
Dumplings	70	$2.33
Chicken + Watermelon juice	210	$7.00
Sushi	520	$17.33
Beef noodle soup	140	$4.67
Water + Snacks	60	$2.00
Dumplings	70	$2.33
Dinner	200	$6.67
Beef noodle soup and dumplings	320	$10.67
Tacos	200	$6.67
Tacos	200	$6.67
Groceries	160	$5.33
Chicken + Watermelon juice	210	$7.00
Total		$472.73

Entertainment

I ended up going to the cyber cafe a lot, as you can see below. I did more gaming than drinking!

Entertainment	NT	USD
Gaming	200	$6.67
Gaming	180	$6.00
Gaming & dumplings	150	$5.00
Gaming	150	$5.00
Gaming	150	$5.00
Gaming & food + drinks	140	$4.67
Beer	220	$7.33
Gaming cafe	160	$5.33
Gaming cafe	160	$5.33
Alcohol	550	$18.33
Show	100	$3.33
Gaming	200	$6.67
Gaming	130	$4.33
Alcohol	550	$18.33
Gaming	200	$6.67
Alcohol	300	$10.00
Total		$118

Got to go on a radio show for my music which was cool!

Miscellaneous

I did a medical physical exam while I was there which created most of the expenses. Without insurance, the 2-hour exam was $166.67 and included x-rays, blood tests, hearing, sight, stool/urine, EKG tests and more. It even had massage chairs and food at the end of it. I’d say it was a good deal!

Miscellaneous	NT	USD
Bandaids and drinks	220	$7.33
Shirt and skirt	400	$13.33
Medical Physical Exam	5000	$166.67
Total		$187.33

Transportation

I used my metro card pretty often, but the metro closes around midnight and taxi is more convenient when going to places for nightlife.

Transportation	NT	USD
Card	500	$16.67
Taxi	400	$13.33
High speed rail	160	$5.33
Taxi	170	$5.67
Taxi	100	$3.33
Card	200	$6.67
Taxi	200	$6.67
Taxi	200	$6.67
Taxi	120	$4.00
Taxi	200	$6.67
Taxi	200	$6.67
Taxi	200	$6.67
Flight from Vietnam to Taipei		$75.45
Total		$163.78

 

Accommodations

I booked an AirBnB around Zhongxiao Dunhua. I would say Zhongxiao Fuxing and Zhongxiao Dunhua are good places to stay around as they are pretty central.

Accommodations	USD
Taipei AirBnB	$549

Summary

Food	$472.73
Entertainment	$118
Miscellaneous	$187.33
Transportation	$163.78
Accommodations	$549
Total	$1,490.84

I spent 1,490.84 for 33 days, which amounts to about $45.18/day. Not bad! This is about the cost of SF rent with roommates, and I was able to drink and eat out all the time at some nice restaurants.

Let me know what you think in the comments!