apartment hunting in beijing

Started apartment hunting yesterday in Beijing. And while my real estate agent didn't make such a great impression over the phone, I told myself that I might be just a culture difference thing, so I met her and we went to our first few locations.

1st apartment - Just a few stops from my school, the location was great. With some amazing restraunts, a starbucks, and this amazing Chinese style college close by. My agent and I met a rather talkative friend of hers to show us the place. Just a short walk from the station, I thought it was going to be a gooder. We arrived to what looked like a jail. A jail. I said to myself, ok, we will just take a look. Walked inside to steel and piping everywhere, and while I convinced myself that it was just the outside, I was wrong. The apartment was a dive. An absolute dive. Think of your first single college dorm room, make it smaller, more ugly and dirty...and then you have that apartment. A bed, a sink, and well, that was pretty much it. I said to my agent, "Ok, next apartment."

2nd apartment - was in the same area, just a little further away from the station. Alot further! So much so that I would need to get a bicycle to get there (but, that is actually ok with me. I miss riding a bike!) This time, it was in more of a community. The building itself seemed very Chinese - bicycles parked out front, no elevator, little lighting in the hallways and just a general run-down quality to the place...I started to become skeptical. After going to the 11th floor, and the agent attempting to open the door about 3 times, we made our way inside. This time, there was an actual bedroom and living room. While a little dirty, it was ok. But, I kept thinking to myself, "Would l want to show my parents this?." I could imagine myself cringing, and holding my breathe and hesitantly saying, "So, uh, mom and dad, I'm sorry, but this is my apartment." That was enough to make me move on to the next one.

3rd apartment - Even further from the the station, but I was optimistic that things might turn out better. This time, the building was in good condition. Security guard and lots of trees around. We walked into the apartment and I was pleasantly surprised. A good size living room with nice furniture, and further down were a pair of sliding doors into the bedroom, and the kitchen then was on the enclosed balcony. While the bathroom had alot of pipes sticking out and some of the walls were a little rusted, this was the first one that was actually liveable. So, I said I would think about it.

4th apartment - this one was close to the train station. Literally 2 minutes on foot! While the area seemed more quiet, with seemingly not too many restraunts around, the building itself was really nice. Marble floors in the hallways, and security guards, and well-lit hallways, I thought this might be a good option. I walked into the apartment with the agent, and was pleasantly surprised. It was a studio (which I am not really keen on), but so spacious! Nice wood flooring, large windows at the back, good living area with nice tv and storage units. And the bed on the opposite side (which I would probably buy a divider or something to separte the bed area and living room). And kitchen is rather spacious. I had my doubts about studios, because I don't like sleeping in the same room I eat in. But, this apartment changed my mind. So big and lots of room to move things around. Another bonus - there is a small gym at the bottom of the building and a supermarket. I have to think about this one. The apartment itself is really beautiful, but I'm not sure what is around the area. I want to be close to restraunts, cafes and other things like that.

What is also making this process a little uneasy for me is my agent. Not really sure about her. She doesn't seem to have alot of knowledge about the places we are visiting. She said we would go looking for more today, but she wasn't able to find anymore that were in my price range (and my range is not unreasonable!). I'm just too darn trusting alot of the times. I need to be more aggressive with this. I'm getting a little anxious. I just called another agent and he is looking for me.

 I just need to remind myself that it was only my first day. And, I have time to do this, so I shouldn't rush myself. I feel proud of myself in a way, keeping my wits about me and staying level headed. This time last year, finding an apartment in China seemed so daunting. Not really having any perspective on Chinese culture or society also made the process even more challenging. This time round, I know what I want.

I just know that somewhere there is an apartment in Beijing with my name on it. Just waiting for me. Finding an apartment completely for me, I'm realizing, is not just about a place to live, but its going to be my space. Just for me.

It feels good to write about this. To hear myself think. more to come...