香蕉同居中 Grin Banana Co-Living — Local services in Taipei

TLDR: Avoid this place at all costs.

I tried both Banana Grim and Zhongshan. On the first night at Grim, I couldn't sleep because the guy next door made phone calls until 3 a.m. He wasn't particularly loud, but the walls are made of plywood with zero sound insulation, so you can hear every single noise from the adjacent rooms.

After that first night, I realized there was no solution because people are just living their normal lives. It's a noise insulation problem. So I immediately asked to leave. I thought since it was only one night, we could easily cancel the contract. They insisted I try it out for a week and leave if the situation didn't improve.

The situation didn't improve. After a week, they suggested another room in Zhongshan. I went to visit, and it seemed okay. Oh boy, was I wrong.

The apartment is relatively small with a washer and dryer next to the room. People used it every single night until 2 or 3 a.m. I kindly asked in the group chat to limit usage to 11 p.m. No one, including Banana, answered or acknowledged the message. I wrote to Banana directly the next day, and they told me to post a note asking not to use the machine late at night.

I felt it was weird to put up a note myself. I thought it was a landlord's responsibility. Anyway, after a week, I finally put up a note, and things improved. However, a few days later, the owners went into the apartment and removed it 🙄

Then everything went back to being loud. I complained again, and they finally explained they have a deal with a restaurant. The people using the machine at night are restaurant workers who need to wash clothes after work. So there's nothing that can be done.

It's crazy to me that they would rent that place to someone wanting a quiet space while knowing it would be loud because of the restaurant deal.

You pay for a service, a place to sleep, but it's impossible to sleep. Isn't that the definition of a scam? Paying for a service that...

I stayed in Grin for a few months around early 2023 (Jerome), it's a very nice and neat place to stay with probably one of the best and widest share space available, on its own floor. The community back then was pretty cool and the company would put up a good amount of paid and unpaid events to connect people across its different houses. That being said just like a lot of places and countries in Asia, the insulation at Grin can put off newcomers from the west. Do take into account that if you're a light sleeper and get bad luck with your neighbor, you might need plugs or an helmet (which made it for me). Now if Grin doesn't cut it for you on that hand, know that most other (and smaller) shared houses have their common rooms way closer to the bedrooms than in...