TAOTaoyuan · TWExchange destination
Home to Taiwan's main international airport and a cluster of big universities, Taoyuan is an affordable, well-connected base with strong Hakka roots and the mountains close behind it.
Taiwan avg / mo
€700–1,100
Languages
Mandarin Chinese (plus Taiwanese Hokkien and Hakka)
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c/o Taoyuan group chat · Fall 2026
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City Guide
Taoyuan is the gateway to Taiwan, with an international airport that makes cheap weekend flights around Asia almost too easy, and it hosts major universities like National Central, Yuan Ze and Chung Yuan. Living costs are lower than Taipei, which is a quick Airport MRT or HSR ride away. With a large Hakka community and green hills to the south, it blends everyday Taiwanese life with easy escapes.
The scene centres on the university towns of Zhongli and Taoyuan District, where night markets and cheap eateries around campuses like NCU are the default hangouts. It is more suburban than Taipei, so students lean on campus clubs, sports and quick trips into the city or the hills. Zhongli's night market is one of the liveliest in the north.
Taoyuan is budget-friendly, so plan for around NT$24,000-32,000 (roughly 700-950 euros) a month. Rent near the universities is cheaper than Taipei, and the airport on your doorstep makes regional travel a bargain. Night-market food keeps daily costs low.
University dorms are the easiest and cheapest choice; off-campus, students concentrate in Zhongli near NCU and Yuan Ze, or in central Taoyuan District. It is a spread-out city, so weigh up transport to campus, and confirm scooter or bike parking. Check leases and what is furnished before signing.
The Taoyuan Metro (Airport MRT) links the city, the HSR station and the airport with Taipei, while TRA trains and buses cover the rest. One iPass or EasyCard works on everything, and the TPASS gives unlimited monthly travel across the region. Many students also ride scooters or YouBikes given the spread-out layout.
National Central University is strong in science, engineering, earth sciences and management; Yuan Ze and Chung Yuan add engineering, IT and design. Teaching is solid and research-active, with English-taught courses common in STEM. As elsewhere in Taiwan, campus Mandarin classes are usually on offer and well worth joining.
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.
Taoyuan's Hakka heritage shows up in hearty dishes like stir-fried Hakka noodles and preserved-vegetable pork, and the region's night markets, Zhongli above all, are the place to graze. Temple fairs and old streets keep tradition close, while convenience stores handle the round-the-clock basics of student life.
Zhongli is the southern university hub around NCU and Yuan Ze, full of student eats and the big night market; Taoyuan District is the administrative and commercial centre; and areas near the HSR and Airport MRT stations are handy for travellers. The city is spread out, so pick based on your campus.
With the international airport here, cheap flights to Japan, Korea and South-East Asia are the headline perk. On the island, Daxi's old street and the Cihu area are a short trip, the Lalashan cloud forest and Xiaowulai waterfall reward hill-country day trips, and Taipei is minutes away by rail.
Taoyuan's spread means transport planning matters, so know your Airport MRT and HSR options and consider a bike or scooter. Make the most of the airport for cheap trips, carry cash for markets, and take shoes off indoors. A little Mandarin goes a long way in the more local suburbs.
Student Reviews
“I wanted to live in Taipei because Taoyuan is a big city but without club, bar, without touristic attractions... You can live on the campus to have the university experience but it was not my choice. However, I don't recommend it because it was a little bit expensive for the m2. I recommend you the house of my friend: coliving room Taipei on Facebook. You have a lot of apartment of 9 people (less or more), with a French renter.”
“I recommend it if you don't want to spend a lot of money on accommodation because it is really cheap, but it has incovenients like you are in a room with 4 people, the room is not really clean, you don't have a kitchen or a fridge, the school is really far from Taipei”
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