Apartment Hunting 101

One of the last lessons in Chinese I had back at my last semester at UF was “apartment shopping.” There was no way that any amount of preparation could have prepared me for what I would encounter in trying to find an apartment in Nanjing. My experience in Shanghai was easy. JT found a really nice modern apartment in a great area with a great roommate. Nanjing... Not so easy. In three days I saw at least 9 apartments, was heartbroken by not getting one, wheeled and dealed for my second choice and finally found a place to call home.

Monday morning JT and I set off to my new offices (which are really nice and will come in a later blog post) to meet with my coworker, Cheryl (who is incredibly nice and you’ll meet more of her in a later post too... So much so write about), so that the three of us could go house hunting. We met with one agent that morning and I didn’t know what to expect. JT, who has moved 7 times in 3 years, was much more prepared than I was. We walked into the first apartment that was considered a “studio.” It was about the size of a dorm room, had a “mattress” that was about 2 inches thick lying on a wooden bed frame. The dry wall was peeling and it smelled terrible (I would use a stronger adjective, but I’m trying to be sensitive to the audience). I knew it was going to be a long day...

JT stayed calm and collected as the agent took us to 4 or 5 other similar style apartments and he told the agent these were too small. I was so happy that he was along with me. He knew just how to talk to the agent and explain to her what we were looking for (he has had ample opportunities to practice his “apartment shopping” chinese). Finally the agent took me to a “real” apartment. I quickly realized I knew I was willing to pay a little more for a more “homey” feel.

I will spare all the gory details of the price negotiations and the ups and downs I had with finally getting a suitable apartment (while not first choice... I’m not bitter or anything...). All I know is apartment shopping in China is cut throat. And what’s even more of a pain is the fact that tenets pay anywhere from 3-6 months rent up front. Yeah, that wouldn’t fly in the US. Obviously this was fun taking out thousands of RMB at the ATM especially with a $500 daily withdrawl limit. But I now have a place to call home.

It’s just across the river from work and about a 10 minute walk or a quick bus ride away. It’s in a nice part of Nanjing that is close to downtown, but with a little more of a “neighborhood feel.” My coworker Cheryl lives just down the road so I have a friend close by. There’s a nice park and walking path along the river, and I also have a shopping mall with a nice grocery store, Sephora (believe it or not... But I doubt they sell makeup for white people), movie theatre and (supposedly) a gym. The apartment has two bedrooms, and hopefully I’ll be able to find a roommate in the next few weeks. It was a little more than I wanted to pay, but it’s worth it to now have a home. And with a roommate, the rent won’t be too bad. The bathroom is less than desirable, but hey... You can’t win ‘em all. This weekend, I’ll be putting a lot of time into sprucing up the place and a trip to Ikea is scheduled for Thursday. I’ll be sure to post pictures soon once it’s up to par...except of the bathroom (it’s really that bad).

I’ve got one more night in the Crown Plaza and I’ll actually be a little happy to leave. My departure from the hotel and moving into the new apartment means I’m really doing this. No turning back now!

Sticky situations and nervous breakdowns.

I want to apologize ahead of time for my lack of knowledge on “how to blog appropriately.” Until I really get settled here in Nanjing, which I will now refer to as NJ and can give you all more specific and funny stories on life in China, I’m probably just going to tell you what I’m doing.

Saturday started out like any other day in China, except it was moving day. And while the laughs and the “ayes” when the bellman, taxi drivers and train station workers saw just how much luggage we had was somewhat embarrassing, I took it in stride. In my minimal Chinese I told them I was moving to NJ, “that’s why I have so much stuff.” But they still said, “but it’s sooo much stuff.” Whatever.

After a pleasant two-hour train ride to NJ, I was excited to see my new city. If it hadn’t been for JT (his Chinese is much better than he gives himself credit for), I don’t know how I would have managed navigating around the train station, telling the taxi drivers where to go and realizing the sticky situation I was about to get into.

My new boss was kind enough to make reservations at a hotel almost across to the street to my new office. And since the organization offered to pay for the first couple of nights stay, I acquiesced to the offer. JT was a little disappointed we weren’t staying at the Crown Plaza or the Sofitel...he’s called the silver spoon child for a reason...just kidding. When we arrived at the Green Tree Inn, I knew it wasn’t five star but figured it was probably better than somewhere my friends and I may have stayed on a fraternity road trip. And granted the room had a somewhat lingering smell of cheap air freshener to cover up the cigarette smell and the beds brought new meaning to “stiff as a board,” I wasn’t about to offend my future boss and tell him this was not up to par with my family’s standards. That was until JT saw the sign that read “hourly rates available” and the contraceptives for sale in the display case. My mom made the executive decision that we were out of there.

So there we were with our six pieces of luggage, two backpacks and two purses off to find the Crown Plaza... JT’s wish came true. We packed back into two cabs and set off in search of our new and what promised to be at least a little nicer hotel. After a nice joy ride around Nanjing and pulling into the wrong hotel and me nearly having a nervous breakdown because the cab driver didn’t know where he was going I was finally at my home for the next few nights. A little bit of a rocky start, but mainly I’m just happy to be in my new home.

On the way to Nanjing.

I have arrived. Although actually getting here to Nanjing has been somewhat of a roller coaster of an adventure. With only three bags, I was able to keep all my bags under 150 pounds. I (surprisingly) finished all my packing a full 12 hours before the plane was scheduled to take off. So that evening was calm and relaxed. You all will be happy to know my last meal on US ground was Chick-Fil-A breakfast, so I ended my food experience in the US on a very high note. Now off to catch my plane!

When I told people the flight would be in upwards of 15 hours, I had looks of shock. It actually wasn’t too bad considering I was able to be upgraded to business class and enjoyed the full lay down seat. And the fact I only slept about two hours of the flight wasn’t too bad considering I had all the HBO programming I could dream of and a variety of movies all available at my leisure. Even though I only got about 30 pages into my new book, I did catch up on Entourage, watched a few episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, enjoyed some old SATC favorites and finally saw The Reader and Vicky Christina Barcelona... So there went about 12 hours of my life dedicated to TV. Now I was in Shanghai... Welcome back.

Being back in Shanghai was somewhat surreal. Mom asked me if I felt back at home, and I actually kind of did. I mean, it’s not my first home, but it was home for more than six months. There was still so much construction going on, probably in lieu of this elusive “expo” going on in 2010. I think people are still a little unsure of what exactly this “expo” is going to be. I was just happy to be somewhere familiar and glad the city hadn’t drastically changed in the two years I was away.

That night, JT’s flight was delayed getting to SH so Mom and I decided to hit up an old favorite of mine for dinner, Simply Thai. You may be asking, you went to China to eat Thai food? Well, I figured I’ll be eating enough Chinese to last a lifetime the next year, and since Mom was footing the bill, I decided we’d go big. After a great meal and only one glass of wine, I was about to fall asleep at the table. My two hours of sleep the last 24+ hours was catching up with me. We got back to the hotel, and at 10 pm I immediately crashed. And little did I know just how big of a day the next day would be!

Moving day is approaching...

Hi friends! Thanks for stopping by my new blog and reading up on my China adventures. It'll be a great way to keep you all updated on my life abroad and all the crazy stories that will (inevitably) come along. Stay tuned for updates, pictures and hopefully videos of life in China. I look forward to your comments!