Compounds in the French Concession

by **aaaight** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 1:10 am

Hi there,

I will relocate to Shanghai with my wife and kid next month. We would like to live somewhere in the French Concession around Huaihai Lu. We got several offers from agents and I am wondering which compounds to include in our short list. Can anyone comment on any of the following compounds in terms of management, facilities, soundproofing (non-existent for the most part I would assume

), etc.:

- Joffre Garden
- Palace Court
- Ambassy Court
- Mingyuan Century Garden
- Mayfair Tower
- Royal Mansion
- Shanghai Grand Plaza

- Any other suggestions for that area?

Thanks a lot for your help!

by **aoki** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 5:55 am

Ambassey has a nice club and child-friendly outdoor pool.
Haven't been in the apartments but I heard they were nothing special.

If you are willing to move just a little north there are a number of buildings in the Ulumuqi Lu/Anfu Lu/Huashan Lu area.
Chevalier apartments are OK (but make sure the water pipes have already been replaced in the apartment and the apartment above!); gym is poor.
Summit has very nice clubhouse, but apartments are sometimes a little shoddy for the price they ask; depends on the owner & repairs done.
Don't know much about Kingsville; large French community in Kingsville & Chevalier
There are also some nice ones on HuaShan. Can't remember the name right now

by **Adrienne** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 6:47 am

Here's my two bob's worth on these properties.......

aaaight wrote:
- Joffre Garden - built as more of a local compound with totally different interiors. Some landlord's have done well but many rather shoddy/unnatractive. Not as HOT any more since the market closeby was moved and a huge construction site started rising up.
- Palace Court - This is having a bit of a revival with a number of landlords renovating their apartments. Plus is good sized kitchen.
- Ambassy Court - As said earlier it has great clubhouse. Three towers were built with left and right being local - interiors done by individual landlords which are hit and miss. These are generally cheaper than the middle block that is the developer's with good bedrooms/nice open living/study floorplan but not so good baths/kitchens.
- Mingyuan Century Garden - Pretty old now and quite local. But some have been renovated and are nice. Darkish rooms.
- Mayfair Tower - This is an older block with good sized living and kitchens. Very expensive in it's hey day. If you can get a well renovated one at a good price then take it. No club but you can get a clubcard at Grand Plaza down the road.
- Royal Mansion - Hmmm. Good bargains but very local.
- Shanghai Grand Plaza - This has 3 phases that are quite different. 1-3 is the first phase - spacious but old. Blks 5-8 are pretty small and blk 9 is the newer one that has nice apartments....albeit a bit old. Good pool in summer and Maya Mexican restaurant onsite.

- Any other suggestions for that area?

If you get a well renovated one at Wukang Apts they are worth a look. That's all I can think of now.

Have a look at our Advice on Leasing so you can get an idea of the ins/outs of rentals here.

PM me if you want some help.

Cheers,
Adrienne

by **SnappySammy** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 7:13 am

Adrienne.. I need some help....How can I get my GF's parents out of my Apt.....

by **Buzzd** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:07 am

SnappySammy wrote:Adrienne.. I need some help....How can I get my GF's parents out of my Apt.....

Try telling them some of your jokes.

by **aaaight** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 5:36 pm

Thanks much to both of you, aoki and Adrienne, that was exactly the information I was looking for!

About the differentiation between "local" and expat compounds: Is there more to this than just the fact that in "local" compounds there will be mostly Chinese people (which I wouldn't mind as such :wink:

) whereas expat compounds have a more international feel to them? If, as you say, it is essentially the individual apartment that counts (except for the clubhouse), why not head for more local compounds (e.g. Fuxing yuan) and look for a well-renovated flat there at a cheaper price? The building quality in terms of soundproofing etc. appears to be much the same in all compounds from what I gather, right?

by **Newsgirl** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 5:41 pm

For what it's worth. We lived at Ambassy for a while during out apartment search. The apartments we saw there weren't great.. but the gym & pool are nice.
Summit Apts are nicer and the grounds are nice - but the construction, like much in china, isn't great. Chevalier is pretty similar. But the neighborhood is nice which makes the rest of the hassels tolerable.

by **aaaight** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 6:24 pm

Thanks, Newsgirl!

I have looked at some of the previous discussions in this forum on the above compounds. From what I read it seems that, besides the general problem of soundproofing, there is a particluar noise issue at Palace Court and Joffre Garden due to construction works outside as well as inside (owners renovating their apartments).

Would you agree to that statement or is it basically the same everywhere? Is there ANY compound where noise is NOT an issue?

Again, your help is much appreciated!

by **disconbobulated** » Thu Jan 21, 2010 6:40 pm

The Us Embassy and the Iranian Embassy, both have nice compounds. They are in spitting distance from each other. If they ever go off... that would be interesting placement of embassies. I wonder which side the Chinese guards who are guarding both embassies would take? I think Iran,due to the arms sales.

Compounds in the French Concession

Compounds in the French Concession

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