The Great Apartment Search

I knew that finding an apartment would take a significant part of my time when I moved back to Shanghai. My friend Ade recommended a real estate agent and even before I left Chicago I was contacting her with my wish list. My wish list included:
- 2 bedrooms
- Balcony
- Wood floors
- Good security in the complex (preferably 24 hours a day)
- Within walking distance of my new job
- Under 10,000 RMB (about $1500) per month

I arranged to meet Jessica my first full day here to begin to look at apartments. At 10am on Wednesday, the 10th I met her in the lobby. She shook my hand and said, “Very nice to meet you – today we will see 12 different apartments.” I was slightly taken aback, but said, "Ok– let’s go." That first day we wound up seeing 15 different apartments. They were all over the city, but most all (except for 3) were within walking distance of my new office and met all my criteria. Jessica was good.

I was pretty jet lagged though and after looking at so many places, needed some time to evaluate. There are plenty of available apartments, especially those focused on expats because many expats left when the visa laws changed because of the Olympics. Rents have also come down lately which is to my benefit as well. On Thursday I walked the distance between my office and a couple of the complexes and decided that I would focus my search on the Laoximen (老西门) area of Shanghai. I contacted Jessica and we made another appointment, this time for Monday, the 15th. On Monday we saw 6 apartments in two different complexes – 3 that I had seen initially and 3 new apartments. The last apartment that I saw was bigger than the rest and slightly out of my price range. It had a window in the kitchen, higher countertops, three bedrooms (one set up as an office), 2 bathrooms, a balcony, a storage room. There was also a two bedroom apartment in the same complex that I liked as well and I was debating between the two. Finally, I told Jessica if we could negotiate with the landlord on the larger apartment, I would take it – if not, the other was already under my budget and I would take that one.

Jessica negotiated the three-bedroom down to meet my budget. It’s over 150 square meters (1600 square feet) which is double the size of my place in Chicago. The utilities will probably kill me, but it’s on the 22nd floor, is quiet, bright and really nice. There is a big supermarket at the corner, it’s close to the line 8 subway station and there is an excellent health club in the complex. As my former students would say, “It is a very convenient place to live.” 这个地方很方便。

China is still very much a cash-based economy, especially for deposits and initial rent payments. Needless to say, it took a while to get that much cash. At home it would have been so easy to just write a check, but not here. On Tuesday I put down a deposit and today (Friday) I paid the balance and signed the lease.

My landlord and her husband are both Americans and own a company that focuses on Balanced Scorecard Management Consulting. They told me that their initial company was bought out by Hewitt (after offers from Towers, Hewitt and Mercer) in China in 1997, but they think Mercer has better brand recognition now and is growing more quickly. What a small world. My main contact will be my landlady’s secretary (Tracy) who will take care of all the details. I think we might go out for a drink some time together too. We really connected over the last week as we waited for approvals and sat in cabs together babbling in a mixture of English and Chinese that many people would not understand.

I’ll be moving in sometime next week and am looking forward to decorating my place and putting some personal touches in it. When my things that are getting shipped arrive, it will really feel like home and I’ll be ready for visitors!

Please – come to China to see me! I’m going to be here three years (maybe not in the same apartment, but still, here) and will always have space for guests. Shanghai is a vibrant city – a good place to get over jet lag and serve as a springboard to the rest of China and the rest of Asia. You have time to make plans, so come!

Question – What has been your favorite or least favorite house/apartment that you’ve lived in? I love my condo in Chicago; we’ll see how this new place turns out. Please share.

Cheers!