Looking for an Apartment in Chengdu

[graceas]

Hi,

We’ve been to almost 20 apartment viewing in Tongzilin area and Century City area. So far we only liked 2 apartments in Europe City. The 2 apartments are well maintained and I just need to do my version of cleaning to pass my standard. We went to Century City since we were told that it is cheaper there plus it has more space. However, we were not happy with what we saw in Swan Lake and a 6 month old building which I forgot the name. Our budget is at most 4k. Do you guys have any other suggestions?

[Charlie]

You should be able to find a good place for 4k depending on the number of bedroom or amenities you require. Around Century City will be slightly cheaper but actually that area is still unreasonably expensive in my opinion. I suggest living further north (closer to Chengdu) unless you work in the Software Park. Tongzilin is expensive but 4k should barely be enough to find a decent place there. 20 apartment viewings seems like a lot, but sometimes that’s what it takes. I looked at dozens of apartments before finding my current one, which I’ve been in for almost 3 years now.

[SS]

Agree 4k should be an adequate budget. Some agents are rather worthless and will parade you all over the place trying to make you feel like your budget is not enough, or get you to compromise your requirements. I would not enjoy living in either area you mention, but you don’t say much about what you are looking for in an apartment or neighbourhood so it’s not easy to give many suggestions. We must have looked at 40 places before getting into our current one.

[Brendan]

I looked at a solid 50 apartments before settling on my previous place, at which point I’d given up being run around by wasteoid agents with either no clue, or a twisted sense of self entitlement to a commission. I then ironically found my current place the first time I looked myself. Finding anything to a decent standard in Chengdu can be tricky regardless of budget.

4k can and will get you a good space/place in any number of locations, but you should still expect to spend considerable time and energy looking. Agents have things fairly well sewn up, and they will almost always try and push up your budget in my experience, alongside showing you apartments that don’t fit your requested criteria. Speak to as many people as you can, as it’s likely that you’ll be more successful on referral rather than finding an agent with your best interests at heart.

Hope you find something soon!

[graceas]

Thanks everyone. So far my husband liked Europe City not only because of those 2 apartments but the complex has lots of plants and trees. The last 3 times we went there, there are people who water the plants unlike the other complex we saw like Utopia and Jinji(?) in Tongzilin. Can you suggest other places that is at par or even better than Europe City? We can ask our agent to look at those places for us or maybe we can go there ourselves and find a property agent office.

We will be working in Tianfu Software PArk so we are looking at west side areas between 2nd and 3rd ring so at least it is not to far from office and the city. Near supermarkets like Carrefour or near Raffles City and close to Metro would also be lovely.

[Brendan]

Quote:

So far my husband liked Europe City not only because of those 2 apartments but the complex has lots of plants and trees.

I do remember that about Europe City when I was originally looking almost 2 years ago for an apartment. I declined living there at the time though not just for it’s location (I work downtown), but for it’s being a little disconnected. That’s since changed following the opening of Galleria, and the subsequent completion of a number of apartment complexes in the vicinity. I’d say if you like that area then take a good walk around and see what’s available. If you can’t find anything yourself on foot, maybe consider finding an agent or Chinese speaking ‘friend’ who could see what’s on offer. Just stipulate up front very clearly what you want, including your budget etc. I just visited a friend’s new apartment in that area recently and have to say it was a great space. In a year or two that area will be buzzing with activity.

[Author]

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