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Gangnam area of Seoul a good place to live?
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r.



Joined: 06 May 2006

PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2006 7:37 am    Post subject: Gangnam area of Seoul a good place to live? Reply with quote

I am securing a job before going there and I m curious if this is an okay place to live and teach. Is there any nightlife? Any idea on how much a cab home from Itaewon would be? Any other thoughts?
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zappadelta



Joined: 31 Aug 2004

PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2006 1:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, it's one of the most expensive areas in Seoul to live in, so the apartment that your boss will be able to afford will most likely be a dump. I lived there my first year and my apartment was awful. Other than the apartment, there are many things to do in the area. Taxi ride to Itaewon (don't know why you would want to go there) is about 5-6k won.
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sonshine20



Joined: 17 Nov 2005

PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2006 2:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's expensive, modern, and generally popular. In my opinion, other parts of Seoul have more "character". But, yeah, it's a good place to live.
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Don Gately



Joined: 20 Mar 2006
Location: In a basement taking a severe beating

PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2006 3:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

zappadelta wrote:
Taxi ride to Itaewon (don't know why you would want to go there) is about 5-6k won.


A taxi from Itaewon to Kangnam is about 25,000 on the meter or 20,000 late at night when you haggle the price with the cabby yourself.
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pixel8



Joined: 29 Mar 2006

PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2006 4:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tried once from Apgujeong area to Grand Hyatt in Itaewon .... cab fare was about 9,000.
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Bill Brasky



Joined: 13 Feb 2006

PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2006 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don Gately wrote:
zappadelta wrote:
Taxi ride to Itaewon (don't know why you would want to go there) is about 5-6k won.


A taxi from Itaewon to Kangnam is about 25,000 on the meter or 20,000 late at night when you haggle the price with the cabby yourself.



you are getting ripped off
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Don Gately



Joined: 20 Mar 2006
Location: In a basement taking a severe beating

PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2006 7:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bill Brasky wrote:
Don Gately wrote:
zappadelta wrote:
Taxi ride to Itaewon (don't know why you would want to go there) is about 5-6k won.


A taxi from Itaewon to Kangnam is about 25,000 on the meter or 20,000 late at night when you haggle the price with the cabby yourself.



you are getting ripped off


Alright, but I took a cab from Yangjae to Kangnam last night at 9 and it cost me 5 bucks with the traffic.

If you can find a taxi from Itaewon to Kangnam for 5 I would definitely take it.
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thepeel



Joined: 08 Aug 2004

PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2006 7:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I live in the Kangnam area, Seoulleung to be exact.

I've taken countless taxis home from Itaewon and never paid more than 8,000 won. And I have to pass Kangnam to get to my house. If you are going to Kangnam station you should be paying no more than 6. Geeze, 25,000won? Itaewon and Kangnam are across the river from each other (basically).

The nightlife is ok, but expensive. There are many good (for Korea) restaurants.

I would argue that it is the best place to live.
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Don Gately



Joined: 20 Mar 2006
Location: In a basement taking a severe beating

PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2006 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BJWD wrote:
I live in the Kangnam area, Seoulleung to be exact.

I've taken countless taxis home from Itaewon and never paid more than 8,000 won. And I have to pass Kangnam to get to my house. If you are going to Kangnam station you should be paying no more than 6. Geeze, 25,000won? Itaewon and Kangnam are across the river from each other (basically).

The nightlife is ok, but expensive. There are many good (for Korea) restaurants.

I would argue that it is the best place to live.


I stand corrected.
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zappadelta



Joined: 31 Aug 2004

PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2006 8:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was gonna say. Damn, it was about 3 years ago when I lived in Gangnam, but I didn't think it could change that much. I live in Anyang now, much further away from Itaewon than Gangnam, and it usually costs me about 15-20k.
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billybrobby



Joined: 09 Dec 2004

PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2006 8:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don Gately wrote:
zappadelta wrote:
Taxi ride to Itaewon (don't know why you would want to go there) is about 5-6k won.


A taxi from Itaewon to Kangnam is about 25,000 on the meter or 20,000 late at night when you haggle the price with the cabby yourself.


So you haggled down to 20,000? ouch. I guess that's what a good con man does, he rips you off and leaves you feeling like you got a bargain.

Rest assured, dear readers, that your money will be legitimately fleeced from you long before you get in the cab via a series of 30 dollar galbi meals, 6 dollar beers, and crummy 15 dollar clubs. I like to think of it as the Kangnam tax: the extra 50% you have to pay for everything just for the privilege of being in Kangnam.

That aside, it is a fun place. Along with Hongdae and Itaewon, I'd say it's a top night spot. And there's a place called the Sh*tHouse (motto: blow a sh*tty day away at the Sh!thouse) where you can get blotto on soju and not pay for 'side dishes.'
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eamo



Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2006 9:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
That aside, it is a fun place. Along with Hongdae and Itaewon, I'd say it's a top night spot. And there's a place called the Sh*tHouse (motto: blow a sh*tty day away at the *beep*) where you can get blotto on soju and not pay for 'side dishes.'


That sounds like fun.....where's that?



I'm not a fan of Gangnam........The prices are high but I don't really see what you get for that. Just looks like any other part of Korea to me.

Plenty of lucrative privates though. And Gangnam Girls are easy on the eye.......
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seoulsucker



Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Location: The Land of the Hesitant Cutoff

PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2006 9:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Getting out of the Gangnam area at night can be a pain in the a$$.

Tons of people from the surrounding areas and south of the city come to party there, and the taxis take advantage of it.

The kiddies (sometimes close to 30) have to make curfew, and are willing to dish out an a$$load of cash to get home in a hurry.

It's totally illegal, but taxi after taxi will refuse your fare if you live anywhere close or if you're alone. It's a real problem. The other night, it took me nearly an hour to convince a cabbie to take me back home to Sinchon, and I had to pay him 20,000 to do it.

Same thing happens in Jongno a lot, too.
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billybrobby



Joined: 09 Dec 2004

PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2006 10:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

seoulsucker wrote:
Getting out of the Gangnam area at night can be a pain in the a$$.

Tons of people from the surrounding areas and south of the city come to party there, and the taxis take advantage of it.

The kiddies (sometimes close to 30) have to make curfew, and are willing to dish out an a$$load of cash to get home in a hurry.

It's totally illegal, but taxi after taxi will refuse your fare if you live anywhere close or if you're alone. It's a real problem. The other night, it took me nearly an hour to convince a cabbie to take me back home to Sinchon, and I had to pay him 20,000 to do it.

Same thing happens in Jongno a lot, too.


Ah, right, that's true. One trick is to not bother with the taxis that are parked on the side of the road. They're waiting for big fares. Instead, venture into the road and try to get somebody who's just passing through. Another thing you can do is just hike out of Gangnam to a less crowded area. Or you can go with the cursed black taxis.

It's also tough to get a cab in itaewon at midnight, isn't it? I guess all the G.I.s are feeling to hongdae, er, i mean, dutifully returning to base.
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riley



Joined: 08 Feb 2003
Location: where creditors can find me

PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2006 10:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Itaewon to where I live has cost me about 10,000 or less. The thing to remember is that Kangnam is a big place, the southern part, where Don is, is farther than somewhere like Apgujeong. That might also be why it was more. Also the northern part is very different from the southern part.
Don, don't feel too bad about the taxi fare, the last time I took a taxi, the fare came to about 20,000. I accidently (too drunk) gave the guy 40,000. He was honest and asked me but I didn't understand why until the next day when I was totaling up the damages.
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