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| What type of place in Seoul do you live? |
| Koshiwan (study room) |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Officetel/Hotel |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| I live solo in a studio |
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30% |
[ 9 ] |
| I live solo in a 1BR |
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16% |
[ 5 ] |
| I live solo in a 2BR |
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13% |
[ 4 ] |
| I share a place with a teacher/spouse/sig other |
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36% |
[ 11 ] |
| College Dorm |
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3% |
[ 1 ] |
| Other |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
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| Total Votes : 30 |
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matthews_world
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
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 Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2004 6:44 pm Post subject: If you're in Seoul, what kind of situation do you live in? |
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With the real estate situation as it is in Seoul, teachers are stuck with a variety of place to stay.
Some live in small cramped koshiwans (study rooms0 or hotels. Some have a studio or possible 1 or 2 bedroom apartment to themselves. And some share apartments with other teachers or their spouses/family.
If you're in Seoul proper, where do you live?
I'm looking at teaching in Seoul this summer and live outside of it.
Last edited by matthews_world on Mon Feb 16, 2004 6:58 am; edited 3 times in total |
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matthews_world
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2004 1:08 am Post subject: |
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I've heard that there are some really great places but you end up paying the price.
Feel free to complain or talk trash about your current living situation.
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the_beaver
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2004 5:48 am Post subject: |
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| matthews_world wrote: |
I've heard that there are some really great places but you end up paying the price.
Feel free to complain or talk trash about your current living situation. |
My place is great. |
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Mr. Pink
Joined: 21 Oct 2003
Location: China
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| Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2004 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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I think people living with spouses/family should be A LOT different than those living with another teacher. Every place I have lived and shared with another teacher was crap compared to how I live now.
There is a big difference when your money gets your housing and furnishes your housing vs. a hawgwon. |
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the_beaver
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2004 5:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Mr. Pink wrote: |
| There is a big difference when your money gets your housing and furnishes your housing vs. a hawgwon. |
Yep. |
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Cthulhu
Joined: 02 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2004 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Yes--things are definitely looking up once you start getting your own place instead of someone getting it for you. Koreans can help greatly in this regard, though a hefty downpayment for key money is often critical as well. |
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lush72
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: I am Penalty Kick!
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| Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2004 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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I live in Seoul, in a brand new building, and I have no other complaint except for the dust. I don�t know if the building is still settling but, let me tell you, the dust is FIERCE! I have never lived anywhere, in my entire life, which is as dusty as my current apartment! We have a cleaning lady in twice a week (Monday and Thursday) and you wouldn�t believe how bad it gets! I should have rented a slightly older, SETTLED, apartment.
Having said all that I would never go back to employer supplied housing. Having your own housing really makes things much easier for you in the long run. When I was in the ESL game I always got a housing allowance rather then �company� housing. In the beginning, getting the key money together was a bit of a hassle, but it was still well worth it. |
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Butterfly
Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Location: Kuwait
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| Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2004 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Cthulhu wrote: |
| Yes--things are definitely looking up once you start getting your own place instead of someone getting it for you. Koreans can help greatly in this regard, though a hefty downpayment for key money is often critical as well. |
Definately. I think your world is so much better when you are not living in school housing, and have your own key money down. You don't feel this hatred for your boss, because he/she doesn't have that complete hold on you. When you are living in their housing I think they feel like they 'own' you a bit more more and treat you accordingly. When you are living independantly, you feel that they are just a boss of another school, and you leave work completely behind you when you finish your day. I advise people to save their own money and put their own chunsae down, and suddenly you stop giving so much of a crap about the way your school is run. All in a days work. |
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Mashimaro
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: location, location
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| Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2004 7:00 pm Post subject: |
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What is the likelihood of losing your 'key money' / down payment ?
I'm worried about what happens if the appartment is sold and I don't know about it and the previous owner pisses off with my money. |
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dutchman
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: My backyard
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| Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2004 4:51 am Post subject: |
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| lush72 wrote: |
| We have a cleaning lady in twice a week (Monday and Thursday) and you wouldn�t believe how bad it gets! |
Hey Lush, we're thinking of hiring a cleaning lady also. What do you pay for twice a week and how long does she stay each time? |
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Butterfly
Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Location: Kuwait
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| Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2004 5:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Around 10,000 per hour, three-four hours per week. |
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Jensen
Joined: 30 Mar 2003
Location: hippie hell
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| Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2004 11:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Mashimaro wrote: |
What is the likelihood of losing your 'key money' / down payment ?
I'm worried about what happens if the appartment is sold and I don't know about it and the previous owner pisses off with my money. |
Here's my limited knowledge...out of date (about 10 years) and could be wrong too, hope it's slightly helpful:
I remember hearing about this kind of thing happening. It's definitely a possibility. In scams, I think it would be more often the case that the person you pay is not the actual owner. Then you're screwed.
Usually, I think the cash you hand over is already "pissed" away before it hits the owner's hand. How my in-laws explained it is was as long as I was dealing with the actual owner, there wasn't much chance I'd be cheated because I'd have the apartment in any case and the owner would have to pay up if they wanted me out. In Seoul the value of an apartment increases so quickly that if I decided to give up the place, the owners would be able to get enough to pay me back, plus make some money, as soon as they found new tenants. With that in mind, it wouldn't pay to get into a place that was over-priced, or might decline in value for some reason.
I couldn't get enough cash together to "buy" a place outright, so I had about US $25K down on an apartment, and was paying a couple hundred dollars (can't remember what it was in won then) a month on top of that. It was in Bong Chon Dong, up against the hills around Seoul Uni. Nice spot, but not real popular at the time, so the price wasn't bad. I wonder what the same place would cost now? My visa got screwed up and I bailed out with about 5 months left on the contract. The owner had the right to let the place sit empty for those five months and pull the "rent" out of the contract money. And technically she didn't have to return the "deposit" (...contract money...can't even remember the correct term, maybe kyeyak kum?) until the contract was up. She was good about it, took her a little while to find new renters but she only took the rent out for the period the place was vacant. The one problem you could have is if new folks can't step in and take your place, an owner might have a hard time getting money to pay you back.
It would have been bad if I hadn't had relatives to keep an eye on things and go collect the money when it was available...difficult to do if you aren't tight with the owners and happen to be out of the country. |
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kangnamdragon
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Kangnam, Seoul, Korea
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| Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 2:53 am Post subject: |
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| dutchman wrote: |
| lush72 wrote: |
| We have a cleaning lady in twice a week (Monday and Thursday) and you wouldn�t believe how bad it gets! |
Hey Lush, we're thinking of hiring a cleaning lady also. What do you pay for twice a week and how long does she stay each time? |
Also, where does one find a trustworthy one? |
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Mashimaro
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: location, location
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| Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 4:33 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks for the advice Jensen.. glad not everyone completely ignored my important question. I've noticed most threads about housing just turn into a p.i.s.s.i.n.g competition about who has the biggest and best appartment. All very well, but not particularly useful |
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matthews_world
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 7:00 am Post subject: |
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Just curious who put their own key money on a place.
Also would like to know how far do you travel to your workplaces and who lives near subway stops in Seoul.
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