[Suits]

(07-05-2017 09:30 AM)DirectDanger Wrote:  

I am wondering what $1,100 USD per month will get you in Beijing. That is a decent size budget for an apartment I would think. Do you have pics or links of what a place in that price range will get you?

Here's some quick pictures I took of a place that was going for $1100USD a month in Location A. A place like that would probably be around $1700USD+ a month in SanLiTun, although I got a good deal on a comparable place just a 15 minute walk east of SanLiTun for about $1300USD a month. But that was unusually lucky. The landlord seemed more interested in a reliable tenant than squeezing as much money out of it as possible. Also, I got that place over two years ago and prices are definitely higher now.



Here's an apartment that was going for $800 a month in Location A. Not horrific, but there's just a feeling of agedness and cheapness when you are in it. You could do worse, but the building itself was very old and I knew that given the quality of the bed, I wouldn't be able to have sex without all my neighbours knowing it. That was a problem at my last place, a building of a similar age and build quality.

If you were new in China, you could do worse, but I'd rather pay $1000+ a month for something that I was really happy with, rather than lock myself into a year lease on a place that I wasn't entirely satisfied with for $800 a month.



I've decided at this point to stick with airBNB for a couple more months just to pad my bank account a bit more, so that I can choose an apartment without being forced to live paycheck to paycheck for a while after. I made that mistake in 2015 and while the more expensive place offered a ton of advantages, it wasn't fun living literally on the edge of being able to afford all my expenses and I wasn't able to reduce my student loans at all while I was paying the heavier rent.

At this point, the priority is on making the smart choice and delaying comfort (temporarily) for security and comfort together a few months down the road.

Given the cost of an apartment in the areas that I prefer to live, airBNB isn't anymore expensive, so I may end up just riding out the year with short term places and then I won't have to pay rent for two months while I leave Beijing to travel Jan&Feb 2018.