Best time of the year to study in Taiwan?

[cpsm]

Hi all,

I applied for the spring term in MTC, and have already received my acceptance letter. Unfortunately, the company where I'm working in currently is short on staff and has requested if I can postpone my leave to June (Summer term).

Just wanted to ask for your opinions on whether summer is a good time to be in Taiwan, or if autumn would be the better option? A friend of mine said that typhoons can be quite bad during summer, not forgetting the humidity and heat.

Appreciate any input on this matter:)

[OneEye]

You won't really avoid the typhoons by waiting until August to come here, because they're most frequent from July to October. Taipei doesn't tend to get hit as hard as other parts of the island though, so I don't think it's anything to worry too much about. Then again, I grew up in Florida.

Summer is hot here, there's no denying that. But then so is most of the fall. Taipei really has two seasons (one hot and humid, one cold and rainy), with very short transitional periods of pleasant weather. In the summer semester, you'll get to see the Dragon Boat Festival, and in the fall you'll see the Mid-Autumn Festival. There tend to be a lot more students at MTC during the summer, which could be good if you're looking for more social interaction with your classmates.

In my opinion, any time is a good time to be in Taiwan, except winter. Still, it isn't that bad during winter either. If you're only here for one term, make the most of it. See as many things as you can, try as much food as you can, speak Chinese to as many people as you can. It's a really pleasant place to live, so don't stay locked up in your room studying (but do study hard), because you'll regret it later.

[skylee]

Besides typhoons, there are also earthquakes.

I think I would prefer to be in Taiwan outside of the summer months (June - mid-Sept). It is just too hot.

[cpsm]

Thanks for your input, OneEye and skylee.

Any idea if it would be more difficult to look for accomodation in summer since there are significantly more students?

[OneEye]

I'm not sure, but I don't think it should be a big problem. There's plenty of housing available in Taipei. A lot of the extra students in the summer (though not all) are 華僑, and many of them stay with family anyway.

[foodtarget]

I studied in Taiwan for the Fall semester a couple years ago, from the beginning of September to mid-January. When I first arrived, I thought it was uncomfortably hot and humid. For the first month I slept naked on a bamboo mat on the floor with no sheets or blankets because it was the only way I could feel comfortable in the heat without sending my electric bill through the roof by running my AC all the time. And remember, this was September, so I don't even want to know what June-August felt like.

But I thought my month of suffering through the heat was more than worth it once October rolled around. I thought the weather in October, November, and December was wonderful. The average daily high during these three months ranges from ~80F in October to ~70F in December, compared to the average high of 90+ during the summer months (based on the climate chart on the Taipei Wikipedia page). So I personally would avoid summer in Taiwan at all costs simply because of the hot weather.