Job Discussion Forums

[Sechelt]

I'm in contact with a school offering a choice between a (furnished) school apartment (no info., yet, on: size, kitchen, laundry...), or Y2,200 per month for an apartment of my own choice. While it may appear easier to take their apartment, my wife may not be offered a contract- requiring her to be with another school. So, it may be more convenient for us to choose an apartment of our own. However, I have no idea about apartment rents in BJ- preferably furnished.
The school has just moved to Shun Bai Lu, in the Chaoyang District, "just East of the BJ-Chengde Expressway," near the Western Academy of BJ.
Does anyone have an idea about rents in the area?

[mike w]

East Bejing is more expensive than west Beijing. I have an 8th. floor, 90 sq.m. 2-bedroom fully furnished apartment near the 2nd. ring road in W. Beijing. Everything in the apartment is new. The rent includes heating and maintenance.

In E. Beijing, around Chaoyang, this could cost about 3,500 RMB/month.

I pay 2,300.

[kimo]

Hi,

You didn't say if you're already in China and have an idea how things work or not. If not, you might want to consider talking with your school about staying in their furnished apartment with their help the first term. If things, don't work out you will have had time to scout around and learn better how things operate here.

For example, in your own place, you'll have to pay for your utilities. Here's the way you might have to do it.

Rent - You go to the bank, fill out a form and transfer the cash.
Phone - Phone company calls me and a recording tells you how much you owe. You then go to the bank, fill out a simple form and pay the amount by a certain date.
Water - You take a reading, give the numbers to someone. Later you receive a bill from your elevator woman, then go to a certain place and pay it.
Gas - Same as the water bill.
Electricity - You take a special card for the meter to the bank, fill out the same simple form as for the phone, pay the cash, take the card home and insert it in the meter to load up.

When there are problems in the apartment, I have learned to try and fix them myself before screaming for help. So far, I've changed a light fixture in the ceiling, replaced tiles, replaced toilet bowl flappers, cleaned the in-line hot water heater, insulated my door and window cracks from the wind, unplugged the drain numerous times and more. Of course, my apartment is a little old, but cheap and far away from your desired location on the west side and with a large southern exposure.

My first school set me up fairly well with sheets, blankets, some appliances and other things. That made it easy for me to concentrate on getting used to my job and life here in China. The next year when I left, some of those things I was able to keep and thus lower my start up costs in my own place.

Just a few things to consider.

[Roger]

What if your wife gets a plush enough job near your own school? What if her employer carts her to and fro your home?
Renting your own premises can involve quite some hassles though they can be smoothed out pretty easily. However, one major problem is timely payment of your utilities; in a high-rise I lived in in Shenzhen I used to see notices bearing the numbers of the flats, the amounts due and the deadline to pay; though nobody's name was thus publicised it was a pretty shameful thing to see your flat mentioned on that board. What's more, every day you were overdue carried 2% in interest, which doubled the initial amount within a month.
Currently, I live in my own flat, and have a deal with the bank to pay for my telephone. The bank pays every month, but I won't get any bill from them; instead the housing management sends a bill some time later, which includes other utility dues.
The monthly cash payment method is not a very good solution; they will give you a call, yes, but if you are not at home then they simply unplug your line when your dues haven't been paid. You then go to the Telecom office and settle the bill. The best thing is to simply go there in good time, not knowing how much you owe them, and pay whatever they say you owe them.

[Sechelt]

I thought I had covered everything, but there's always something left out. I'm currently in China, so have an idea of how things work (thanks to Kimo for details provided- that's an impressive list. Hopefully newly arrived FT's will see it and have an idea of what's what. ) I say I have an idea of how things work, because it is very doubtful any FT (or CT, for that matter) would ever be able to figure it out... I have the great fortune (for various reasons) of being married to a Chinese- so she could assist with the ins and outs of setting up the apartment, utilities... Being a CT, she is very unlikely to get a "plush enough job," as Roger suggested (though, it's a good point, as some schools offer very nice fringe benefits- to FT's).
As Mike W. put it: