KAOKaohsiung · TWExchange destination
Taiwan's laid-back southern port city, Kaohsiung offers sunshine, sea, cheaper living and a growing arts scene, all served by a clean modern metro and light rail.
Taiwan avg / mo
€700–1,100
Languages
Mandarin Chinese (plus Taiwanese Hokkien and Hakka)
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c/o Kaohsiung group chat · Fall 2026
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City Guide
Kaohsiung trades Taipei's intensity for warmth, space and a slower pace, with palm-lined harbours, sea breezes and blue skies most of the year. National Sun Yat-sen University sits right on the coast at Sizihwan, and living costs are lower than the capital. With the High Speed Rail putting Tainan and Taipei within easy reach, it is a relaxed base with the whole west coast on tap.
The scene is easygoing and outdoorsy: beach evenings at Cijin, sunset drinks along the Love River, and the regenerated Pier-2 Art Center for galleries, markets and gigs. Night markets like Ruifeng and Liuhe are the default hangouts, and language exchanges connect you with local students. It is less frantic than Taipei but genuinely sociable.
Kaohsiung is easy on the wallet, so budget around NT$24,000-32,000 (roughly 700-950 euros) a month. Rent is markedly cheaper than Taipei, with rooms from around NT$8,000-14,000. Cheap night-market meals and lunchboxes mean you rarely need to cook to save money.
University dorms are the simplest and cheapest option; off-campus, students cluster near NSYSU in Gushan and Sizihwan, or in lively Yancheng. Rooms are affordable but agents may add a fee, so check what is included. Scooter parking is worth confirming if you plan to ride.
Kaohsiung's MRT (red and orange lines) plus a circular light-rail line and buses cover the city, all on one iPass card. The southern TPASS gives unlimited monthly travel for NT$999, and YouBikes fill the gaps. Many locals ride scooters, doable if you have the right licence, but the metro and bikes handle most student needs.
National Sun Yat-sen is strong in marine science, management and the sciences, with a stunning seafront campus; Kaohsiung Medical University and NKUST add health and technology options. Teaching mixes lectures and projects, and English-taught courses are expanding. As up north, free or cheap Mandarin classes are usually on offer, so take them.
This depends entirely on your passport, so treat the below as a map, not gospel. Most European, UK, US, Canadian and Australian students get 90 days visa-free on arrival, fine for a short summer thing, not for a full semester. For a proper exchange you apply for a student Resident Visa at your nearest Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) before you fly, using the admission letter your host university sends.
Once you land, you convert that into an ARC (Alien Resident Certificate) at the local immigration office within a couple of weeks, this is your golden ticket for a bank account, phone contract and re-entry. Start early: TECO appointments and document legalisation can eat weeks. Your host uni's international office will hand-hold you through most of it.
The south is known for bold, cheap food: seafood off Cijin, milkfish soup, fresh fruit and the tall night-market stalls of Liuhe and Ruifeng. Life happens outdoors here, from harbour walks to temple visits around Lotus Pond. Convenience stores remain the round-the-clock backbone of daily life.
Sizihwan and Gushan, by the sea and the NSYSU campus, are the student heartland; Yancheng is the atmospheric old harbour district with cafes and bars; Xinxing and Lingya form the central business and shopping core; and Zuoying, in the north, has the HSR station and the temple-dotted Lotus Pond.
Kaohsiung is a springboard for the south. Tainan, Taiwan's historic former capital, is 15 minutes by HSR or 30 by train; the beaches and reefs of Kenting are about two hours south; and the little island of Xiaoliuqiu, ringed by sea turtles, is a short bus-and-ferry trip. Taipei is 90 minutes by HSR when you want the capital.
Kaohsiung's heat is real, so pace yourself and stay hydrated, especially in summer. Carry your iPass everywhere, keep cash for night markets, and take shoes off indoors. If you ride a scooter, sort the correct licence and always wear a helmet, as police do check.
Student Reviews
“The place is nice since it is where most exchange students go. It is nothing luxurious, but you can live there with no problem. You get a room and bathroom to yourself, but there’s no kitchen so you have to eat out every time, which is a pretty common thing in Taiwan. I would choose this residence rather than the University dormitory since you have your own room (share between 4 in the dormitory) and you do not have a curfew”
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