Chengdu Housing Question

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  • This topic has 12 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 11 years ago by Avatar photoRay.
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  • #10132
    Avatar photoSuzanne
    Member

    Hey all …

    Quick housing question:

    My employer said that they will either provide me with an apartment downtown near our office on Lower Dongdajie, Jingjiang District …

    Or i can find my own apartment (ll be working for an education company, vs a multinational company, so therefore get a stipend of 2000 y)

    I see many of you talking about the Yulin Neighborhood … It sounds like its one of the nicest areas of chengdu, where the western/american expats live … My Chinese employer says it incredibly expensive …

    And a friend who just moved back from chengdu a few months ago, said he lived in the central business district-loved the location and his apartment ($200 per month) but the construction noise and dust finally dove him back to California … But if he came back to live in Chengdu, he’d opt for Yulin (even though its a bit older) …

    I want to be safe and have close access to transportation (easy to get home after going out at night) …although im in my forties, Im very social (like to go out and do things after work, not a homebody), so being close to activity is typically what i like …

    Of course, id love to live in a nice neighborhood, but will i get a true Chinese experience if i situate myself where only expats live?

    Any thoughts? I know many of you have lived here for years, and it would be terrific to get your insight …

    Thanks a million! Suzanne

    #26817
    Avatar photoRay
    Participant

    I would recommend taking the 2000 kuai and finding your own place, one that suits you. Interestingly, i pay exactly 2000 kuai for a nice place, top floor, large garden, newish building. Yulin is not too expensive, but Tongzilin is considerably more. Anywhere you live you will not be the only foreigner; Chengdu isn’t Shanghai or Beijing. You’re still gonna be stared at, commented upon, hell i even get laughed at (that’s understandable)….Also, if your employer is Chinese, they often have very different ideas about what represents a nice place to live..

    #26818
    Avatar photoles
    Participant

    Not sure of the circumstances surrounding your apartment decision but hopefully you will be given an opportunity to first view the “employer-provided” apartments before having to make the decision to find your own.

    I first came to Chengdu in 2000 and have lived in the tongzilin area and jinjiang; IMHO the dongdajie area is a much better location. If you prefer convenience, then that dongdajie area is within walking distance to jiuyanqiao (bars), yanshikou/chunxi road (lots of restaurants and department stores/food shopping – ito yokado and isetan) not to mention a plethora of good restaurants that you can find/explore walking towards xinanmen or north of dongmendaqiao.

    Yes indeed the dongdajie area is teeming with new construction right now so with regards to noise, the apartment location is critical…with regards to dust, the entire city is under construction at this point so I am not so sure yulin is any less dusty. Good luck!

    #26830
    Avatar photoSuzanne
    Member

    Ray & Les … Thanks a million for your feedback … Truly appreciate it 😉

    Ray, i agree, id rather select my own apartment ( my gut feeling is the same), and do understand that the Chinese taste in housing is different (I’ve learned from my sister-in-law and recent landlord, lol) … I had to laugh, tonight i was looking on a Lonely Planet map of chengdu and most of the streets that were actually printed, aside from the major tourist spots, were in Yulin) … I have seen the prices in Tongzilin, and definitely higher 😉 Les, my Chinese colleague says she lives in Dongdajie, and she loves it (since it is close to the bars, restaurants) … So ill check that out too …

    Dusty: i ran across a blogger who had recently been transferred to Shanghai … and he said that you can spot a person from Chengdu a mile away, since they’re a bit dusty 😉

    Thanks guys!

    #26831
    Avatar photoSuzanne
    Member

    Btw, Ray, do you mind if i ask which neighborhood you’re in? Sounds right in my price range … Thnx 😉

    #26832
    Avatar photoRay
    Participant

    I’m in Yulin, but i bargained hard! It was originally 2500. If you sign a one year lease you absolutely should get a discount. If not just insist on 3 or 6 months. My landlord is pretty cool: 28 year-old owner of 4 apartments. That’s her “job”, collecting rent. Good luck to her…

    #26835
    Avatar photoAnne Zhou
    Participant

    Hi Ray,

    I will be interning for the US Consulate this summer for two months and am looking for a place to rent.

    From my understanding, the US Consulate seems to be in the Yulin neighborhood. What’s the average rent per month in Yulin district? What about in other neighborhoods?

    Can you get me in touch with your landlord?

    Thanks!

    Anne

    #26860
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster

    You should definitely be in the South in my opinion – the good neighborhoods to be in are Yulin, Tongzilin, and Zongbei/Zongnan (close to US consulate). The rent isn’t that high in Yulin – it’s higher than most other areas of Chengdu but the district that you live in determines your proximity to restaurants, shops, subway stations, other people, etc. Location is important and will have a big influence on your experience in Chengdu.

    Quote:
    From my understanding, the US Consulate seems to be in the Yulin neighborhood. What’s the average rent per month in Yulin district? What about in other neighborhoods?

    Yulin is actually West (across Renmin Nanlu) from the US Consulate. It’s difficult to say what average rent is, but I’d estimate about 1,400 for a one bedroom, maybe 1,800 for a two bedroom, and 2,300+ for a 3 bedroom apartment.

    #26883
    Avatar photoSuzanne
    Member

    Thanks for the detailed info, Charlie 😉

    #26885
    Avatar photoRay
    Participant

    Ha ha this thread brings my mind back to some of the disastrous housing experiences I had here. Sure others have had some too. In a nutshell:

    Apartment #1: provided by the school. Had to share with an alocholic 65 year old. Toilet blocked once. Put note on door: “Don’t flush the toilet!” Came home to a sea of turds.

    Apartment#2 (also Zhongbei): Great place, awesome housemate (dude, please come back!) but rat infestation. Cause: woman upstairs kept pigeons as a hobby. Rustling under the bed at night….nightmare

    Apartment #4 two storey, 4 bedroom, roof garden. Shared with ex. Broke up with ex. Lived alone in a 4 bedroom place for 3 years….one bedroom was like a tomb..spiderwebs, dust and shit…

    Apartment#5: Wow a jaccuzi! In the area that should be the kitchen! No kitchen (i improvised). Loved that place. Came home one day, note on the door. Place had been condemned cos everytime i took a shower (in the jaccuzi!) water would leak into the apartment downstairs…miss that crazy kitchenless jaccuzi bling palace

    Apartment# 6 (current place). Go to have a look. Floorboards are totally warped, like bent and shit. Landlord said garden got flooded during the flash flood we had, water poured into the living room. Negotiated a big discount…

    Ah, it’s all good…

    #26886
    Avatar photoSuzanne
    Member

    Omfg … Lol … 😉 A true vet, Ray … Now i definitely have a more well-rounded frame of reference … Armed and ready 😉

    #26887
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster
    Quote:
    Ha ha this thread brings my mind back to some of the disastrous housing experiences I had here. Sure others have had some too. In a nutshell:

    Nice! Mine:

    Apartment #1: a studio about 30 sq/m in Wangfu Gardens. There was a small balcony with a sink and microwave. It was basically the size of an apartment in Manhattan (the NY borough, not the Chengdu housing complex). The tightest living conditions I’ve ever been in.

    Apartment #2: a 1-bedroom apartment across the street. I finally had room to setup some DJ equipment, but this apartment was still tiny. Maybe 55 sq/m.

    Apartment #3: a 2-bedroom place in Jinjiang near the river. I tried living in a new part of the city, but it was boring.

    Apartment #4: a 2-bedroom place on the roof of a super old building in the middle of what looked like a Chinese ghetto, in the East near the Hemp House. The rent was dirt cheap, I think like 1,100 for a big place that I shared with a good Chinese friend. In the stairwell of the apartment we’d find needles sometimes and there was trash generally all over the neighborhood.

    Skip to current apartment #7: an awesome 7th floor 3BR apartment with a private rooftop garden. Been living here for 3 years now.

    #26888
    Avatar photoRay
    Participant

    Damn, 30m2? That is snug! (or as estate agents say: “cozy”). Need a murphy bed in a place that small….

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