Job Discussion Forums

[inotu-unotme]

I had this posting in a Mexico forum. Thought it would be interesting to get peoples experiences in different parts of the world with their housing...

1. How much do you pay for apartment rent?
2. Do you think its overpriced?
3. Would you say your apartment is big or small?
4. What country do you live in?
5. Do you live near a tourist area or near the water?
6. Would you say its safe or not safe by popular opinion in your area?
7. Are you close to shopping areas for food and clothes?
8. How long does it take you to get to the closest normal size grocery store?
9. Are you close to a bus or train line?
11. How long does it take you to get to the nearest large town or city?
12. How much is a bus ride cost to get the the nearest large town or city?
13. How close are you to the nearest airport?
14. How is your internet service?
15. What do you not like about your apartment?
16. Anything else about your apartment worth stating?

I'll go first.

1. How much do you pay for apartment rent in Mexico?
1600 pesos

2. Do you think its overpriced?
somewhat. Some places are cheaper but not as large and not as close to the water.

3. Would you say your apartment is big or small?
Big

4. What country do you live in?
Mexico

5. Do you live near a tourist area or near the water?
Yes, and yes.

6. Would you say its safe or not safe by popular opinion in your area?
safe

7. Are you close to shopping areas for food and clothes?
I'm close to the centro of the area I live in. There's shopping and grocery stores. But, to have great shopping you need to go to the next city over.

8. How long does it take you to get to the closest normal size grocery store?
6 - 10 minutes by bus.

9. Are you close to a bus or train line?
Bus runs right in front of my house.

11. How long does it take you to get to the nearest large town or city?
About 30 - 45 minutes by bus.

12. How much is a bus ride cost to get the the nearest large town or city?
30 pesos

13. How close are you to the nearest airport?
1 hour 45 minutes away

14. How is your internet service?
It's okay. I pay for high speed internet connection

15. What do you not like about your apartment?
Its noise level is so loud sometimes that I can't believe it. But, its amazing what you get used to. And we have never liked the apartment manager.

16. Anything else about your apartment worth stating?
The apartment is two blocks from the ocean/ beach. When I walk outside my apartment and hear the waves I forget about the noise and think I'm lucky to be there.

[PC Parrot]

1) Rent? $21,500 per annum, but it's not an apartment. It's a new-build villa.

2) Over-priced? Not compared to others on the market. And as we get to keep $8,000 / year in excess housing allowance, I'm not complaining.

3) Big? Well it has 3 beds & 3 baths, so it's not exactly small for a TEFLer.

4) UAE

5) Tourists do visit the city.

6) Very safe.

7) We have two 4x4's, so shopping is not a problem.

14) Internet? Not as fast as it should be for the money we pay.

15) What do I not like about it? It's not in Western Europe.

16) We have a nice private garden which is great for bbq's & dinner parties.

[spiral78]

Housing varies wildly even within cities. Some teachers get lucky, others live horror stories. Further, teachers who have lived for some time in a location almost always have found better accommodation than a newbie to the area will be able to locate.

No thread like this can provide realistic expectations for any given city and for me, it's both too intrusive and too time-consuming to reply. Others obviously may not feel the same.

[Sashadroogie]

Life in the Workers' Paradise means an A+ for everything.

[psychedelicacy]

1. How much do you pay for apartment rent?

Nothing, but it's worth $2,197 per month.

2. Do you think its overpriced?

I consider it expensive, but it's in line with local market conditions.

3. Would you say your apartment is big or small?

Big

4. What country do you live in?

Qatar

5. Do you live near a tourist area or near the water?

No.

6. Would you say its safe or not safe by popular opinion in your area?

As a male, yes. Females may get hassle.

7. Are you close to shopping areas for food and clothes?

Yes.

8. How long does it take you to get to the closest normal size grocery store?

5 minute walk

9. Are you close to a bus or train line?

Yes (bus)

11. How long does it take you to get to the nearest large town or city?

I'm in one already.

12. How much is a bus ride cost to get the the nearest large town or city?

N/A

13. How close are you to the nearest airport?

Very (walking distance), but not for long, as the current airport will be replaced this year..

14. How is your internet service?

Good.

15. What do you not like about your apartment?

Nothing.

16. Anything else about your apartment worth stating?

A+

[mk87]

Vietnam - HCMC

1. How much do you pay for apartment rent?

My house between 3 of us is $900/ month... I have a small room so I pay around $150

2. Do you think its overpriced?

Not at all, obviously personally I get a great deal, but the house itself is great value.

3. Would you say your apartment is big or small?

Big... my room is pretty basic, but my 2 housemates essentially have 2 studio apartments to themselves and we have a huge downstairs living area

4. What country do you live in?

Vietnam

5. Do you live near a tourist area or near the water?

Right in the centre of the city.

6. Would you say its safe or not safe by popular opinion in your area?

Very Very safe

7. Are you close to shopping areas for food and clothes?

Only downside, there is no convience store in walking distance, but 3 mins on a bike will get you to a very well stocked place. Foreign beers etc

8. How long does it take you to get to the closest normal size grocery store?

10 minute walk (3 mins on a bike)

9. Are you close to a bus or train line?

yes, but never use it

11. How long does it take you to get to the nearest large town or city?

Walking out of my door

12. How much is a bus ride cost to get the the nearest large town or city?

N/A

13. How close are you to the nearest airport?

20-25 minutes on a bike or car

14. How is your internet service?

Annoying, sometimes its excellent, other times its horrific. Although we are about to upgrade to fibreoptics - so here's hoping

15. What do you not like about your apartment?

They have been knocking down building and building a new house across the alley from ours effectively turning our courtyard into a kind of refugee labor camp, people showering in the rain etc... its quite interesting to see, but the 7th day in a row of not being able to get my bike out of the door because of piles of sand and gravel starts to grate a bit

16. Anything else about your apartment worth stating?

Right at the end of a very nice alley, full of modern families.

[MuscatGary]

1. How much do you pay for apartment rent? 280 OMR (That's 727 USD)

2. Do you think its overpriced? No, it's cheap for the area.

3. Would you say your apartment is big or small? Medium! One bed, hall, lounge, kitchen, bathroom, utility room, balcony.

4. What country do you live in? Oman.

5. Do you live near a tourist area or near the water? Yes and yes.

6. Would you say its safe or not safe by popular opinion in your area? Very.

7. Are you close to shopping areas for food and clothes? Yes.

8. How long does it take you to get to the closest normal size grocery store? 5 minutes walking.

9. Are you close to a bus or train line? They don't realy exist here! Buses only for inter-city and no trains at all.

11. How long does it take you to get to the nearest large town or city? I live in the capital.
12. How much is a bus ride cost to get the the nearest large town or city? N/A

13. How close are you to the nearest airport? 5 minutes drive.

14. How is your internet service? Unreliable.

15. What do you not like about your apartment? Nothing.

16. Anything else about your apartment worth stating? Nice neighbours, Omanis and Filipinas!

[Simba_09]

I have rented this luxury Real Estate in Arizona last year. I pay $20 for this. But, for me, this amount really worth as the apartment is full of complete set of home.

[coledavis]

1. How much do you pay for apartment rent?
The school pays for the rent and bills. The rent is high compared to other flats in this small Russian city, but then our landlord pays his tax which is a bit of a rarity and a necessity for our school to claim as an expense.
2. Do you think its overpriced?
Yes, but for the reasons given and I personally don't pay.
3. Would you say your apartment is big or small?
Medium. Bedroom and living room, a touch unusual for Russia, but the rooms are relatively small.
4. What country do you live in?
Russia (European)
5. Do you live near a tourist area or near the water?
No and no.
6. Would you say its safe or not safe by popular opinion in your area?
My area yes, although there are some murderous areas and one or two have occurred even in my area. I've only had one incident, but this was in a rural area when two guys tried unsuccessfully to mug me on a bridge.
7. Are you close to shopping areas for food and clothes?
Yes to both.
8. How long does it take you to get to the closest normal size grocery store?
8 minute walk to a large one; 3 minutes walk to convenience stores.
9. Are you close to a bus or train line?
Bus - one minutes walk. Coach - 8 minutes walk. Train - a few miles away, although it is possible to catch a bus to the station.
11. How long does it take you to get to the nearest large town or city?
Almost a two hour coach journey to the administrative capital, about 2 and 1/2 hours to a larger city, between 6 and 9 hours to Moscow.
12. How much is a bus ride cost to get the the nearest large town or city?
About 130 roubles; I guess this is less than 3 UK pounds, maybe 5 USD.
13. How close are you to the nearest airport?
2 and a half hour coach journey to the city, so maybe more to the airport (never used it - internal flights in Russia are, ahem, perilous).
14. How is your internet service?
Excellent. (I pay for it personally however and had it installed.)
15. What do you not like about your apartment?
The workmanship. Very little fits, shelves in wardrobes are broken, few structural works are made good. Landlord a very inconsiderate man who is always busy with his own affairs, although he can be fun (if you're in the mood for him).
16. Anything else about your apartment worth stating?
People in the flat above (I think) are forever doing DIY, shouting at each other early in the morning and generally making a row. The bed was bought for cheapness rather than comfort. 9th floor so a pain when the lift breaks and you're tired at the end of the day. Water a pain: often just cold, occasionally none at all; both conditions can go on for days, even weeks.

[JustinC]

1. How much do you pay for apartment rent?

Nothing, I'm an expatriate EFL teacher and I don't expect to have to pay for an apartment. That's expected as I shouldn't have to negotiate rent the day I get here.

2. Do you think its overpriced?

Probably, but my employer pays so it is up to them and the owner.

3. Would you say your apartment is big or small?

Quite big for a two people; very, for one.

4. What country do you live in?

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

5. Do you live near a tourist area or near the water?

Yes, there's a water park about a mile away. No joke.

6. Would you say its safe or not safe by popular opinion in your area?

Very safe, apart from the roads, which translates to going anywhere what-so-ever.

7. Are you close to shopping areas for food and clothes?

5 minutes' walk.

8. How long does it take you to get to the closest normal size grocery store?

A couple of days, although last time I stocked well up so maybe a bit longer.

9. Are you close to a bus or train line?

A private bus takes us to work in the morning.

11. How long does it take you to get to the nearest large town or city?

It depends on the traffic.

12. How much is a bus ride cost to get the the nearest large town or city?

Free in the private bus.

13. How close are you to the nearest airport?

Maybe half an hour to an international airport.

14. How is your internet service?

Why, do you want to sell me a better service?

15. What do you not like about your apartment?

No jacuzzi nor handmaidens.

16. Anything else about your apartment worth stating?

It lacks cockroaches, rats, mold, mildew, noise and light pollution (at night), air pollution, noisy neighbors, nosy neighbors, icy windows, messy flatmates, psychopathic housemates, and flooding - all of which I have had to endure previously.