Job Discussion Forums

[Javelin of Radiance]

I'm copying this, with some modifications, from another thread on a different part of the forum, as I thought it was interesting, especially since one member is currently having problems getting things fixed in their flat. Plus I'm bored and want to try out this poll thing.

1. Do you live on or off campus?
2. How much do you pay for rent?
3. If you pay, is it good value for the money, or is it over-priced?
4. How many rooms in your apartment?
5. How is your internet service?
6. If you need something fixed, does your school or landlord fix things promptly without moaning about it?
7. How far is your apartment from your normal workplace?
8. How far are you from the nearest department store or supermarket?
9. Are you close to an inter-city bus or train station?
10. How close are you to the nearest airport?
11. Would you say its safe or not safe in the area where you live?
12. Anything you dislike about your apartment?
13. What else do you like about your apartment?

1. On campus.
2. No cost to me.
3. ---
4. Living room, kitchen, bathroom, three bedrooms, balcony. Good for singles, or husband and wife with possibly one or two other biological units.
5. Fast, reliable.
6. Yes.
7. Five - seven minute walk.
8. 10-20 minutes by bus. 30-60 minutes on foot.
9. Less than 30 minutes by public transit.
10. 1 hour.
11. Aside from the normal pickpockets and terrible drivers outside our little bubble, it's very safe.
12. Faces the wrong direction, not enough natural light and sunshine. Great in summer (keeps me cool), not so great in winter (keeps me cool).
13. a. Because it's free I've saved tons of money that can be used for other things.
b. No weirdo room-mates.
c. It feels like home.

[roadwalker]

*On campus.
*No rent, I do pay for water/ electricity. No gas.
*-------------
*2 bedrooms, living, kitchen, bathroom. Balcony off one bedroom.
*Free (campus) internet slow but reliable. I paid for DSL. Usually faster.
*Yes, will get right on it if something needs fixing or replacing.
*Depends on teaching building. 5 min walk or 20 minute brisk walk/7 min bicycle ride.
*5 minutes from three smallish supermarkets, 10 minute walk to a bigger one and 30 minutes by bus downtown to a mega-store.
*25 minutes by bus to train and bus stations. Another 25 to the G-train.
*By car, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to airport.
*Very safe area.
*Don't likes: apartment is dark and sometimes colder than outside. Has some water damage with mold in a room I don't use for that reason. (Climate partly to blame- humid summers and damp winters.)
*Likes: Location is great. Seldom problems with things not working.

[D-M]

1. Do you live on or off campus?

In a fairly quiet residential area away from main roads.

2. How much do you pay for rent?

Its part of the job. Electricity, water and internet are also covered.


4. How many rooms in your apartment?

Its a shared place. I just have a private lockable room with shower and WC.

5. How is your internet service?

Not great. Its very slow as everyone in the building uses the same line.

6. If you need something fixed, does your school or landlord fix things promptly without moaning about it?

Yes. They are pretty good at fixing things TBH. I feel cheeky because they will happily send someone around to replace a light bulb.

7. How far is your apartment from your normal workplace?

Its a walk of less than 3 minutes.

8. How far are you from the nearest department store or supermarket?

We dont have a department store or Carrefour type supermarket in the town. Both are hours away.

9. Are you close to an inter-city bus or train station?

The bus station is about 25 minutes walk. We dont have a train station.

10. How close are you to the nearest airport?

About an hour from Guilin airport by car.

11. Would you say its safe or not safe in the area where you live?

I think very very safe. I have never heard of any assault or threats and have always felt secure. Some people have lost bicycles here but thats about it.

12. Anything you dislike about your apartment?

Its a bit too cold TBH. As others have mentioned ... it is normally colder inside than out. Another problem is noise from a neighbours dog ... I have got used to it but it still can wake me at 4am with its barking sometimes.

13. What else do you like about your apartment?

I like the convenience really. Whilst it isnt ideal I really dont want any of the headaches or hassle associated with renting on my own. My employer would give me an allowance if I chose to do so, but Im happy to just take their accomodation.

[mw182006]

1. Do you live on or off campus?
On

2. How much do you pay for rent?
$0 - all utilities paid

3. If you pay, is it good value for the money, or is it over-priced?
N/A

4. How many rooms in your apartment?
1 + kitchen + bath

5. How is your internet service?
Bad. DL speeds are around 125 kb/s

6. If you need something fixed, does your school or landlord fix things promptly without moaning about it?
I told my Dept head I had no microwave when I started 2 months ago. I walked in last week to a strange box on the floor. Microwave of course.

7. How far is your apartment from your normal workplace?
2 minutes

8. How far are you from the nearest department store or supermarket?
10 minute walk

9. Are you close to an inter-city bus or train station?
10 minute walk

10. How close are you to the nearest airport?
30-45 minutes

11. Would you say its safe or not safe in the area where you live?
Very safe

12. Anything you dislike about your apartment?
Shower leaks due to bad caulking. Tibetan mastiff on the ground floor loves to bark.

13. What else do you like about your apartment?
Faux wood floors in the bedroom. Can see mountains from my window.

[choudoufu]

1. on campus, in the "experts bldg" with all the single teachers.
2. no rent. water+electric+intertubes included.
3. n/a
4. 2BR/huge living room/tiny kitchen and bath. one bedroom with balcony
set up as office. (no office in admin bldg=no office hours) approx 80 square
meters.
5. super fast unless streaming from outside china.
6. call campus maintenance direct. they'll usually be over within 30 mins to
fix anything. they'll also come by appointment if i'm in class.
7. 3-5 minute walk.
8. 5 min walk to hospital, 7 minute walk to supermarket.
9. 10 min walk to long-distance bus station. 5 minute bus ride to the
super train station. one hour to haikou for shopping, 90 minutes to sanya.
only 45 mins by city bus to the beach.
10. 45 minutes to the super train stop, lower level of haikou airport.
11. safe
12. basketball court below my bedroom window, but department had a
sign installed -- b-ball between 9am and 8pm.
13. all furniture and appliances were new when i moved in. visited the school
prior to signing, requested new paint, got new paint and new curtains.
can stay in apartment with utilities still covered during spring break and
summer vacation (if re-upping).

great area, no pollution, warm weather year-round, 5-10 minutes by
bicycle to the countryside, light traffic.

small AC unit in the sleeping bedroom will lessen the worst heat and humidity
in the entire apartment, or really chill the bedroom. no heating system.

cooking gear was new but chinese standard. wok, rice bowls and chopsticks,
ricecooker, more chopsticks. no plates or dishes or cutlery.
taobao proviced microwave, blender, teflon, oven, pizza pans, and so on.

spent about 1500 rmb setting up.

girls at the nursing college next door don't close their curtains.

[kimo50]

I gotta have the worst apartment ....

16th floor of a building constructed for the workers of a failed chemical plant
Elevators not reliable (yes - 16th floor!)
Toilet needs to be operated manually**
Hot water lasts about 1.5 minutes**
Wall is wet paint peeling appears to have a leak somewhere inside
Window handle broke off first time used**
Washer on the fritz**
All fire detection and escape features inoperative (lights, alarms etc.)

complaints about conditions yield the following solutions:

'This' is China hehe
I need to pay for repairs **

[JoeKing]

1. Off campus
2. 500 RMB (2000 rent less my 1500 allowance)(It was my choice to take apt. - I could have kept looking)
3. Average - I wish I had kept looking, but had jet lag and just wanted out of the hotel that they put me up in.
4. One room studio style with the kitchen in kind of a nook separated by sliding glass door. A lanai also separated by sliding glass door with rail to hang and dry clothes.
5. Internet is slow, but that could be due to the VPN.
6. It's a brand new place - I am the first to live here. Still, there were a couple minor problems that they took care of fairly quickly.
7. I can see the school from my window and could hit it with a well thrown baseball, but I can't get to it from that direction. Before I got my E-bike I had to take a circuitous route onto a busy street with no sidewalk because of a construction site - it was like the "walk of death".
8. Ten minute walk before I got the E-bike
9. 15 minute walk
10. Ningbo has an airport 15 minutes away by taxi, but I've only used Shanghai Pudong-closer to 3.5 hours when you add up train and subway
11. Very safe
12. I hate the kitchen. Get this-it came with an exhaust hood, but no burner to cook with. Not one. Even one would not be enough but at least it would be a start(like my Korean apts.). Limited counter room, limited cupboard space, but strangely it comes with a "dish dryer"(I use it to store my pots and pans in). Like JoR, Faces the wrong direction, not enough natural light and sunshine - clothes take longer to dry.
13. Bathroom is pretty nice, and nice underground parking for my E-bike.

[twilothunder]

Off campus. Reasonably nice, modern, easy to keep clean.

One large bedroom, large L-shaped living area. Near to a subway station and shopping mall.

Pretty lucky really, my only real complaints are I'm on the tenth floor and the smog just lingers this high. Countryside next door neighbours - rude, uncouth, noisy and obnoxious.

[FelixHalson]

1. Do you live on or off campus?
- On Campus

2. How much do you pay for rent?
- Nothing

4. How many rooms in your apartment?
Bedroom, Study/Balcony, Living Room, Kitchen, Bathroom

5. How is your internet service?
-Good, they upgraded us to High Speed internet which can go up to 5mbs, but normally hovers at around 700kbs to 1.5mbs

6. If you need something fixed, does your school or landlord fix things promptly without moaning about it?
-So far they have bought me a brand new sofa, a new 40” 3D TV, upgraded the internet, replaced light bulbs whenever necessary and fixed some issues I had like breaking a door handle pretty quickly.

7. How far is your apartment from your normal workplace?
-5 minute walk

8. How far are you from the nearest department store or supermarket?
-10 minute walk, but it’s a Chinese Supermarket, not a Carrefour or RT Mart. Closest western style supermarket is 25 minutes away by taxi or 40 minutes on the bus.

9. Are you close to an inter-city bus or train station?
-15 minute taxi ride to a station on the High Speed railway between Shanghai and Beijing

10. How close are you to the nearest airport?
-There is a local one, but I always fly in and out of Shanghai, which is a 2 hour train journey, followed by another hour or so getting to Pudong

11. Would you say its safe or not safe in the area where you live?
-It’s a matter of when, not if, I get hit by a car/bike/truck/tractor. But apart from that there are no problems with safety.

12. Anything you dislike about your apartment?
-It’s on the sixth floor and there isn’t an elevator, Chinese plumbing is crap and for some reason they shut the water off at 11:00pm. Building looks like it needs to be torn down despite being only 7 years old. It can get very dirty which drives me crazy and my AC units seem to be slowly dying in this cold weather, although they have said they will replace them so I’m hoping this will happen sometime soon!

13. What else do you like about your apartment?
-Usually quiet, really quite spacious, I’m on the top floor so no noise from above and good views outside my window, including a small hill behind, convenient, there really isn’t any way to spend money here so my living costs are bugger all, FAO are always helpful if there is something wrong with the apartment, I have the key to the apartment across the hall which is just used as storage space. It’s home!

[mike w]

1. off campus
2. RMB3800/month
3. It's the right price for the type, size and location
4. Bedroom, lounge, kitchen, bathroom, 2 balconys.
5. Excellent - fibre-optic broadband.
6. Yes
7. 15 minutes walk.
8. 5 minutes walk.
9. 30 minutes taxi to Beijing station.
10. 45 minutes taxi.
11. Never noticed anything untoward; never felt intimidated in any way.
12. Couldd have been on a higher floor for a better view.
13. North-south through apartment. Central heating is very good.

[NoBillyNO]

1. Do you live on or off campus? off
2. How much do you pay for rent? 2700
3. If you pay, is it good value for the money, or is it over-priced? good deal
4. How many rooms in your apartment? 6 two BdRm, 9th floor with view of Beijing andclose to 798 Art district, kitch, glassed in pouch, bedroom balcony_glassed-in, bathroom and laundry room, large living room and of course bath
5. How is your internet service? good and fairly fast
6. If you need something fixed, does your school or landlord fix things promptly without moaning about it? just fix it myself and then take off from rent.. bought an aircon this way this summer, took rent off the new lease
7. How far is your apartment from your normal workplace? long way
8. How far are you from the nearest department store or supermarket? Walking distance in 5 min. or close bus ride to western enclave where Jenny Wongs does "bizness"...
9. Are you close to an inter-city bus or train station? Bus lines
10. How close are you to the nearest airport? 30 min
11. Would you say its safe or not safe in the area where you live? Very surveillance cams and walking guards.
12. Anything you dislike about your apartment? the 3rd world is creeping in, due to the inexpensive accommodations in this location, large groups of non- English speaking expats from India and Africa are moving in...locals seem to resent the new arrivals to this village setting.
13. What else do you like about your apartment? It has all my own furniture and safe locations for my bikes and is not far from my shop.

[Shanghai Noon]

1. Do you live on or off campus?

On

2. How much do you pay for rent?

0, but I pay for water and electricity

3. If you pay, is it good value for the money, or is it over-priced?

N/A

4. How many rooms in your apartment?

Four: two bedrooms, one living room/kitchen, and one bathroom

5. How is your internet service?

Decent. It would be faster without my VPN

6. If you need something fixed, does your school or landlord fix things promptly without moaning about it?

Every time I have asked, they have fixed things without much fuss, but if it's something small I will usually just ask some guy from the backstreet to do it for a few yuan.

7. How far is your apartment from your normal workplace?

2-3 minutes

8. How far are you from the nearest department store or supermarket?

It is a 10 minute walk to the nearest Lotus; 20 minutes to Walmart.

9. Are you close to an inter-city bus or train station?

No, but we should be getting a subway station someday soon. According to the Shanghai government, it opened sometime last year.

10. How close are you to the nearest airport?

Though I live in Pudong district, there is no convenient way for me to get to the airport. I need to take a bus, the subway, the subway again, and then either take the MagLev or stay on the subway.

11. Would you say its safe or not safe in the area where you live?

There is little danger of crime, but the car factory across the street can't be good for my health.

12. Anything you dislike about your apartment?

The walls are cracked, the decor is not very imaginative and the furniture is not very durable. It looks like the school just chose the cheapest shit they could get.

13. What else do you like about your apartment?

Rent in Shanghai is goddamn insane, so it has saved me a lot of money. I have no roommates. My floor only has two teachers living on it permanently. Everyone else goes home on the weekend.

[MisterButtkins]

1. Do you live on or off campus?
-on campus
2. How much do you pay for rent?
- 0
3. If you pay, is it good value for the money, or is it over-priced?
-NA
4. How many rooms in your apartment?
-2 bed, 2 bath, kitchen, living room
5. How is your internet service?
-passable but could be better
6. If you need something fixed, does your school or landlord fix things promptly without moaning about it?
-fixed within 2 days
7. How far is your apartment from your normal workplace?
-about 200 meters
8. How far are you from the nearest department store or supermarket?
-perhaps 1km
9. Are you close to an inter-city bus or train station?
no
10. How close are you to the nearest airport?
3 hours. There is no airport in this city.
11. Would you say its safe or not safe in the area where you live?
very safe
12. Anything you dislike about your apartment?
YES, guests have to sign in and show ID when they enter. Of course, if it's a man they don't even care, but if it's a woman under 40 they make her sign in and give the two of us dirty looks. I will not live on-campus at my next gig for this reason.
13. What else do you like about your apartment?
extremely warm, cool in summer, nice sofas

[Kysorb]

1. Do you live on or off campus?

No

2. How much do you pay for rent?

3500

3. If you pay, is it good value for the money, or is it over-priced?

Excellent Value - The apartment was brand new when I moved in last year and came with new everything. Heat is included with this place which it wasn't at my previous place.

4. How many rooms in your apartment?

2 Bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, living room/dining room, entramce area.


5. How is your internet service?

20M

6. If you need something fixed, does your school or landlord fix things promptly without moaning about it?

My pevious landlord was a total wanker. This landlord however is excellent and didn't raise our rent when we resigned this year because my wife and i were getting married.

7. How far is your apartment from your normal workplace?

10 Minute scooter ride

8. How far are you from the nearest department store or supermarket?

Depends on your definition. but i suppose i am 15 minutes from the Wanda. There are multiple wu marts before then..

9. Are you close to an inter-city bus or train station?

8 or 9 subway stops

10. How close are you to the nearest airport?

Other side of town, not close, 80 minutes on the subway or 150 yuan taxi

11. Would you say its safe or not safe in the area where you live?

I would say my area is safe however it,s developing from old to new. There are still quite a few rub and tugs within a 1km radius.

12. Anything you dislike about your apartment?

The damn building management company. They still haven't given me window screens which they promised last summer... Also there appears to be the occasional cockroach this winter which i am researching how i deal with. I've never had this before generally because i don't eat at home... I blame the people below me since i have no food and cook once a month..
Oh, and my neighours on either end of the floor are a family and they treat the common hallways like its an extension of their house. Nice people, but this angers me; especially last months purchase of 20 cabbages for them to eat but for us all to have to smell slowly rotting over the winter

13. What else do you like about your apartment?

The only other foreigner within a 1KM area is a guy who i work with and showed him where i live and he immediately wanted an apartment here. I like not being judged by my neighbors by some other foreigners misdeeds. at my old apartment 20-30 of our teachers all lived within the block... Needless to say there is always at least 1 idiot in a group that big. And everyone gets painted with their brush.

[MozartFloyd]

1. Do you live on or off campus?
On campus
2. How much do you pay for rent?
Nothing
3. If you pay, is it good value for the money, or is it over-priced?
N/A
4. How many rooms in your apartment?
2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bath, balcony
5. How is your internet service?
good unless using vpn
6. If you need something fixed, does your school or landlord fix things promptly without moaning about it?
prompt, within a few hours of call
7. How far is your apartment from your normal workplace?
4 minute walk
8. How far are you from the nearest department store or supermarket?
10 minute bus ride, or bike ride
9. Are you close to an inter-city bus or train station?
yes, there's a bus just down the hill from my apartment
10. How close are you to the nearest airport?
no airport in this city unfortunately, so one hour high speed train ride to wuhan or zhengzhou
11. Would you say its safe or not safe in the area where you live?
very safe
12. Anything you dislike about your apartment?
the living room is small, so there's not much room to entertain, and there's no nurses college next door where they don't close the blinds
13. What else do you like about your apartment?
close to everything, quiet: i hear birds in the morning, on the fourth floor away from noise, decent furnishings, and kitchen supplies