Where to live in Taipei: choosing an area by commute, MRT line and night-time safety

On this page

1. Where to live in Taipei? Start from your commute, then look at district names
2. Where do the Bannan, Songshan-Xindian and Tamsui-Xinyi lines go?
3. Areas foreigners often consider, and who each one suits
4. Is Taipei safe? How to judge night-time safety yourself
5. Things to check on the day you view a room
6. Which areas are Seal Co-living houses in?
7. FAQ
8. Sources

Taipei City is compact and its MRT stations sit close together, so picking an area mostly comes down to picking the ride you will take every day. Once you know where you have to be each day, the list of areas shrinks to a handful. Work through the questions below in order, and leave the later ones alone until the earlier ones are settled.

1. Where you commute or study. Take the school, office or part-time job you go to most often each week as your reference point.
2. Which MRT line. Living on the same line as your destination, with no transfer, matters more than living close on the map.
3. Budget. On the same line, rent changes when you move a few stations out from the centre or share more of the space with other people.
4. Daily life. Supermarkets, laundry, places to eat, and the walk home at night.

Where to live in Taipei? Start from your commute, then look at district names

Listing sites sort rooms by administrative district, but district boundaries often run down the middle of a road, so a district name rarely matches the area people actually live in. National Taiwan University's main campus has its address on Roosevelt Road Section 4, with Gongguan Station at the gate, and a few lanes away the address already belongs to another district. Songshan Station causes similar confusion. It is the eastern terminus of the Songshan-Xindian Line, yet the area south of the station is Xinyi District, and Nangang District begins a short way east.

Searching by MRT station is therefore more accurate than searching by district. Mark the places you go every day on a map, check which line and station they are on, then look a few stations in each direction along that line.

If you do not yet know where you will work or study, you can start somewhere with easy transfers and move once that is decided. People on a working holiday and people who arrive first and look for work afterwards are often in this position. Options with a shorter lease are covered in Short-term rental in Taipei from 30 days: renting for one to six months, and the total cost. To filter a rental site by MRT station, see Finding a room in Taipei without Chinese: how to use 591, what the listing terms mean, and other ways to search.

Where do the Bannan, Songshan-Xindian and Tamsui-Xinyi lines go?

These are the lines foreigners in Taipei ride most. The terminals follow the service patterns published by Taipei Metro, and the station order follows its official station list.

These lines cross each other at only a few stations, and the ones below are enough to remember. The Bannan and Tamsui-Xinyi lines meet at Taipei Main Station, the Bannan and Songshan-Xindian lines at Ximen, and the Songshan-Xindian and Tamsui-Xinyi lines at Zhongshan and C.K.S. Memorial Hall. If your office is in Nangang Software Park, look at the Wenhu Line as well. It meets the Bannan Line at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center and Zhongxiao Fuxing.

Fare cards, monthly passes and last trains are not repeated here. See New to Taipei? How to get around by MRT, bus, YouBike, TPASS and taxi.

Areas foreigners often consider, and who each one suits

This section sticks to things that can be checked, such as location and transport. We do not list rents by area, because room types and conditions vary so much within one area that a single figure would not help. For how the room types compare, see Co-living, en-suite room, room with shared bathroom or monthly rental apartment? Comparing places to live in Taipei for foreigners.

Gongguan and Taipower Building through to Daan

This area follows the Songshan-Xindian Line. National Taiwan University's main campus is beside Gongguan Station, and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and the Gongguan campus of National Taiwan Normal University are nearby. NTNU's main campus and library campus are on Heping East Road Section 1 in Daan District, and the directions the university gives for the library campus say it is about a 10-minute walk from Exit 5 of Guting Station.

It suits people studying at these universities or their language centres. Shuiyuan Market and Gongguan Night Market are next to Gongguan Station, so meals and groceries are a walk away. If your classes are on NTNU's main campus and you live in Gongguan, you ride 2 stations to Guting, so count that travel time separately. Student housing has its own article, Student housing near NTU, NTUST and NTNU: dorms, off-campus rooms and one-semester leases. Housing for Mandarin-center students is covered in Mandarin student housing in Taipei: NTNU and NTU dorms and 1–3 month stays.

Xinyi District, from Taipei City Hall Station to Songshan Station

The area around Taipei City Hall Station on the Bannan Line is where the department stores cluster. Taipei City Hall Bus Station is here too, with intercity buses leaving for other cities and counties. Taipei 101/World Trade Center and Xiangshan stations on the Tamsui-Xinyi Line are on the south side of the same district.

Further east, the stretch from the north side of Houshanpi Station up to Songshan Station is residential. Next to Songshan Station is the Taiwan Railway Songshan Station, and Raohe Night Market and Songshan Market are within walking distance. This stretch is close to both the Bannan Line and the Songshan-Xindian Line, which makes it the easiest base for anyone who uses both. For a weekend walk starting from Taipei City Hall Station, see A weekend from Taipei City Hall Station: Songshan Cultural Park, Four-Four South Village, Xiangshan sunset and the 101 night view.

Nangang District, from Houshanpi and Kunyang to Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center

The stations at the eastern end of the Bannan Line are all here. Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center is 2 stations east of Kunyang, so you can get to work or a trade show at the exhibition centre without changing trains. Change to the Wenhu Line at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center and Nangang Software Park Station is 1 station away.

It suits people who work in Nangang, and also people who want to live on the Bannan Line and commute towards Taipei City Hall or Taipei Main Station every day. Around Kunyang Station you will find the Taipei Music Center and several parks, and from the Houshanpi Station area you can walk to Nangang Sports Center and Taipei City Hospital Zhongxiao Branch.

Around Zhongshan and Songjiang Nanjing stations

Zhongshan Station is where the Tamsui-Xinyi Line and the Songshan-Xindian Line cross, so you can reach Beitou and Tamsui, or Gongguan and Xindian, without a transfer. Heading east, Songjiang Nanjing Station connects to the Zhonghe-Xinlu Line and Nanjing Fuxing Station connects to the Wenhu Line.

If the places you need to reach are spread over several lines, living around here keeps your transfers to a minimum.

Songshan District, around Nanjing Fuxing and Taipei Arena

In this district the Songshan-Xindian Line stops at Nanjing Fuxing, Taipei Arena and Nanjing Sanmin, and Songshan Airport Station on the Wenhu Line is also inside the district.

As mentioned above, the station actually named Songshan sits at the south-eastern edge of the district, and many addresses around it are in Xinyi District or Nangang District. When you view a room, go by the station name.

Shilin and Tianmu

The Taipei Japanese School is in Tianmu, with its address on Zhongshan North Road Section 6 in Shilin District. Japanese families who come to Taipei with school-age children often put this area on their list.

There is no station called Tianmu on the MRT map. The Tamsui-Xinyi Line passes Shilin, Zhishan and Mingde on its way north, and Tianmu is still some distance from those stations, so you take a bus. If you are coming to Taipei alone to work or study, check how long your daily ride would take before deciding to live this far north.

Is Taipei safe? How to judge night-time safety yourself

No official body ranks Taipei's districts by safety, and we do not rank them either. What you can do is read how official sources describe the overall picture, then walk the route you plan to live on.

The Taiwan page of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Overseas Safety website (updated 28 Nov 2025) says the general security situation in Taiwan is relatively stable. The same page also warns that, according to police statistics for 2024, the number of recorded criminal offences relative to population is about 2.8 times that of Japan, and that theft and fraud are on the rise. The cases it lists involving Japanese victims are mostly pickpocketing at night markets and sightseeing spots, belongings taken while the owner looked away during a meal or while shopping, and online investment and romance scams.

The precautions on that page are specific.

• At night, walk on bright streets with plenty of people, and avoid quiet or dimly lit places.
• Do not carry large amounts of cash or valuables, and keep cash and credit cards in separate places.
• Carry your bag in front of your body, with the opening where you can see it.
• If someone you have never met in person brings up money, treat it as a possible scam and check first.

To check your own route, the Women's and Children's Protection Division of the Taipei City Police Department publishes a list of "women's and children's safety alert locations" (婦幼安全警示地點) on the government open data platform, updated every six months. It lists roads, parks and squares where, in the past 3 years, residents filed reports or offences against women or children by strangers took place, and which the police judged worth a reminder. The columns include the location and the precinct in charge. Each entry marks one stretch of road or one park as a reminder to people passing through, and the list draws no conclusion about a whole district. Before you move, see whether the walk from your room to the MRT station is on it, and if it is, switch to a brighter route.

Save the emergency numbers in your phone ahead of time.

The ministry's page lists the Foreign Affairs Service Center number as a line for foreigners, answered in English 24 hours a day, and notes that the center has staff who can speak Japanese, though they are not always on duty. For fuller safety guidance on living in Taiwan, the ministry recommends reading it together with the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association's safety handbook for Japanese residents in Taiwan (in Japanese).

Things to check on the day you view a room

What photos cannot show becomes clear quickly once you are there.

Come back at night. Walk from the MRT exit to the front door at the hour you would normally come home, and look at whether there are street lights, how many shops are still open, and whether you have to cut through an empty lane or park. A walk that felt short on a daytime viewing often feels different after dark.

Ask what time the garbage truck comes and where it stops. In Taipei you carry your garbage to a fixed spot at a fixed time and hand it to the truck. If that time does not fit when you finish work or class, it becomes a daily nuisance. The rules and how to look up the schedule are in How do you take out the garbage in Taipei? Truck times, official bags, recycling and food waste.

Find the nearest supermarket and self-service laundromat. If the place has a washing machine, check that there is somewhere to hang clothes. If it does not, how many minutes away the laundromat is and how late it stays open will shape your week.

Before you decide, ride your actual commute once. Pick the rush hour for work or class and time it from the front door of the room to the door of your destination.

Which areas are Seal Co-living houses in?

Our houses are in Xinyi District, Nangang District and Zhongzheng District, all near an MRT station. The walking times in the table are estimates, so walk the route yourself when you come for a viewing.

If you work along the eastern part of the Bannan Line, or want to live between Taipei City Hall and Nangang, look at the houses in Xinyi District and Nangang District. If you study around National Taiwan University or NTNU, look at Gongguan House. The supermarkets, parks and hospitals near each house are on the neighbourhood page linked from each house page. Room types and prices are on the house list, and when you want to walk the area yourself, book a viewing.

FAQ

Which area of Taipei is less safe?

There is no official ranking by district to quote. The Japanese foreign ministry describes Taiwan as a whole as relatively stable and warns that theft and fraud are increasing. Checking the police list of alert locations and walking your route home at night will tell you more about the exact address you plan to live at than any ranking would.

I do not speak Chinese. Which area is most convenient?

The area makes little difference. Being near an MRT station and having your regular destinations on one line matters more. Taipei Metro's official website has station names in Japanese and Korean. If something happens and you need to ask in Japanese, the National Immigration Agency's 1990 hotline offers Japanese service 24 hours a day.

Is there no MRT station in Tianmu?

No station on the MRT map is called Tianmu. The Tamsui-Xinyi Line passes Shilin, Zhishan and Mingde, and from those stations you take a bus on to Tianmu. How to look up bus routes and arrival times is covered in our transport article.

I do not know yet where I will work or study. Can I live somewhere for a while first and decide later?

Yes, and plenty of people do. Start with a place that has easy transfers and a short lease, then move onto the right line once the location is fixed. Seal Co-living's minimum lease is 30 days, and the monthly rent on a short lease is higher than on a long one. The short-term rental article explains how it is calculated.

Sources

(All retrieved on 10 Oct 2026)

1. 1.Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, lines and headways: Bannan Linemetro.taipei/cp.aspx?n=EAD981369A065968&s=3092796CF14AC78E
2. 2.Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, lines and headways: Bannan Line: Songshan-Xindian Linemetro.taipei/cp.aspx?n=EAD981369A065968&s=0F3F913C344BA050
3. 3.Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, lines and headways: Bannan Line: Tamsui-Xinyi Linemetro.taipei/cp.aspx?n=EAD981369A065968&s=1CC297E1D0B4C7B1
4. 4.Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Overseas Safety website, Taiwan basic safety data (in Japanese)anzen.mofa.go.jp/info/pcsafetymeasure_008.html
5. 5.Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, safety handbook for Japanese residents in Taiwan (in Japanese)koryu.or.jp/safety/safety/guidance/
6. 6.Government open data platform, Taipei City women's and children's safety alert locations (Women's and Children's Protection Division, Taipei City Police Department)data.gov.tw/dataset/145628
7. 7.Taipei Japanese Schooltjs.tp.edu.tw/
8. 8.Taipei Japanese School regulations (PDF)tjs.tp.edu.tw/pdf/gakkoukisoku-202604.pdf
9. 9.National Taiwan University, campus map and addressntu.edu.tw/about/map.html
10. 10.National Taiwan Normal University (library campus), directions (PDF)taebc.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/sites/default/files/_%E5%9C%8B%E7%AB%8B%E8%87%BA%E7%81%A3%E5%B8%AB%E7%AF%84%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%B8%EF%BC%88%E5%9C%96%E6%9B%B8%E9%A4%A8%E6%A0%A1%E5%8D%80%EF%BC%89%E4%BA%A4%E9%80%9A%E8%B3%87%E8%A8%8A_1.pdf