Chinapocalypse wrote:NYU students studying in Shanghai so the content is written from an American mindset.

NYC Americans CBC Just received Green Cards and instantly begin whining "China ! Apocalypses !"

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Hi
Can anyone recommend occasional care for 3 year old in Shanghai and/or parent child classes in Mandarin etc?

jzzzzzzz wrote:With that budget you will be able to get a superb apartment anywhere in the city. Adrienne, who posts on ShanghaiExpat, will be a good place to start.

Thanks once again jzzzzzzz for your kind recommendation.

I think it is really quite difficult to get the gist of the two areas of Kanqiao and Jinqiao from abroad. Basically, Jinqiao was developed as a planned area by the government way back when therefore it is far more organised and has the feel of a suburb. It has mainly villa but some apartment compounds that border each other where expats and locals live. Streets are wide, there are pavements and people can cycle around. There are a couple of sports grounds and a couple of strips of restaurants/bars for entertainment. There is a large Carefour supermarket, shopping mall and sports club. Within the area are also two international schools, Dulwich and Concordia. Kanqiao on the other hand is far more spread out and there are pockets of mainly villa compounds around the area. There are two international schools there SCIS and BISS and this is what has attracted the developers into building accomodation for the expats. However, as it is not a planned area like Jinqiao is the feel is more semi rural/industrial with some newly built shopping malls. Lots of expats do live in the area and enjoy it thoroughly as other posters have mentioned.

IMHO i feel that YCIS has the better education(especially mandarin program)....but extra -curricular is not as good as some of the other school...fyi....I wish my kids were at ycis , but they are old enough(14 and 16)that I allowed them the final choice(we saw 6 schools)....they chose the british school....they had previously been to ycis in Beijing and learned so much in their mandarin program....not so quick at BISS...but the school has a lovely feel for the boys...so....I want them to enjoy their last years of school.

jodiegillies wrote:IMHO i feel that YCIS has the better education(especially mandarin program)....but extra -curricular is not as good as some of the other school...fyi....I wish my kids were at ycis , but they are old enough(14 and 16)that I allowed them the final choice(we saw 6 schools)....they chose the british school....they had previously been to ycis in Beijing and learned so much in their mandarin program....not so quick at BISS...but the school has a lovely feel for the boys...so....I want them to enjoy their last years of school.

I think you did great letting your teenagers choose their school. I did the same, putting my younger ones at YCIS (and the ECAs are certainly not as good as some of the other schools like you said) and letting my teenager go to SCIS where he would be happier at. Cheers.

Hi Adrienne or anyone else that can help!

We are moving to Shanghai in August 2012 and we are debating whether to live in Luijiazui, Century Park or Jinqiao. We have two kids (ages 5 and 2) that will be attending YCIS and our housing budget is 40K.

We will not have a car or driver. My husband will have to pick up a bus to take him to work where the 4 subway lines meet on the Pudong Side (Century Ave.). Can anyone recommend the best housing for our budget based on where our kids will be attending school, my husband's commute as well as the following criteria: decent furniture, 4 rooms, quiet (solid construction), good layout and a decent clubhouse. We would prefer to live in a villa (so the kids can run outside) but will consider apartment living if necessary based on our budget and criteria.

Can anyone suggest the best complex considering these factors? Season's Villa is on my list and I was wondering what people's thoughts are or if it is even a possibility considering our budget?

Many thanks, Monica

Hi Adrienne or anyone else that can help!

We are moving to Shanghai in August 2012 and we are debating whether to live in Luijiazui, Century Park or Jinqiao. We have two kids (ages 5 and 2) that will be attending YCIS and our housing budget is 40K.

We will not have a car or driver. My husband will have to pick up a bus to take him to work where the 4 subway lines meet on the Pudong Side (Century Ave.). Can anyone recommend the best housing for our budget based on where our kids will be attending school, my husband's commute as well as the following criteria: decent furniture, 4 rooms, quiet (solid construction), good layout and a decent clubhouse. We would prefer to live in a villa (so the kids can run outside) but will consider apartment living if necessary based on our budget and criteria.

Can anyone suggest the best complex considering these factors? Season's Villa is on my list and I was wondering what people's thoughts are or if it is even a possibility considering our budget?

Many thanks, Monica

If you hope to have an even remotely manageable life with 2 young children without a car, then Lujiazui is really your only practical option. Century Park or Jinqiao would be extremely difficult.

It's perplexing to me that you are being given such a large housing allowance, but no allowance for car and driver. Can you not go back to the company and ask them if it can be divided to 35 for housing and 5 for a car & driver?

Thank you Klick! I appreciate the response. They won't break our housing allowance up to provide a driver unfortunately. It is possible they will provide a group driver to work only which might be OK if the kids get picked up by bus for school.

Within LuiZiaJui then, which building would your recommend for our budget (for a 4 bedroom apartment) and do you think most of the buildings in LuiZiaJui will provide bus transportation to Yew Chung? Are there decent parks in LuiJiaZui so that the kids can run around?

Regards,
Monica

Thank you Klick! I appreciate the response. They won't break our housing allowance up to provide a driver unfortunately. It is possible they will provide a group driver to work only which might be OK if the kids get picked up by bus for school.

Within LuiZiaJui then, which building would your recommend for our budget (for a 4 bedroom apartment) and do you think most of the buildings in LuiZiaJui will provide bus transportation to Yew Chung? Are there decent parks in LuiJiaZui so that the kids can run around?

Regards,
Monica

All of the expat-heavy compounds in Lujiazui will have bus service to YCIS, that isn't really any problem.

I am in Yanlord Garden in Lujiazui and I think it's great for kids. On campus there is plenty of open space for running around and it is fairly green and 'park-like' in and of itself, 3 different playgrounds, 2 outdoor pools, a kiddie splash pool, lots of room for bike riding and ball playing. We've been very happy here, have lived here for going on 3 years now. The layout of the campus is pleasant and it has a good "neighborhood" kid of feel to it. We also have no car & driver and have found living here very practical; we can walk to nearly everything we need on a regular basis (supermarkets, restaurants, kid friendly stuff like the aquarium,etc)

Shimao Riviera is also a good choice, and a (slightly) shorter walk for your husband. Great outdoor pool, clubhouse facilities are a bit better in some ways than Yanlord. Has somewhat less of a 'neighborhood' feel to it than Yanlord, due to the way the buildings are laid out (more linear, less 'common spaces' to run into people you know) but the apartments are quite nice and very spacious. They all have great views of the river. One thing I have heard people I know there complain of is, sometimes it is more 'noisy' between apartments - I think maybe the construction is not as good as Yanlord Garden. This might not be true of all of the buildings though; some are newer than others.

Skyline Mansion also might be an option. The apartments are big and the management and staff are, I understand, really great. However as a compound they definitely do not have the outdoor space that Yanlord or even Shimao have. Most of my freinds who live there bring their kids to Yanlord to play in the playgrounds or use the splashpool, as it's right over the road.

These aren't your only options but they are the ones I am most familiar with and that I think you would find most amenable. I only have one so I don't need quite so much room, but at 40K you should be able to find a decent, spacious 4 bed in any of these.

Thank you so much Klick! You have been very helpful and I truly appreciate it! Monica

Century Park would actually be okay depending on which side you live on. On the south side, there's 3 subway stations, Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, Century Park (both on line 2), and line 7 Huamu Rd. The places around here are almost all apartments though, but the area is nice.

Hi - I just recently went to Shanghai for a weekend to look at villas/apts in the same area. For RMB40k would be difficult to get a villa but can probably get a town house instead. You will be able to get a spacious 4 bedroom apts under RMB40k.

I have been warned that Season villa has been sold and now all are individually owned, and there have been problems. Personally I would stay away although it's right next to YCIS so it's super convinient for kids to go to school.

I looked at Shimao Riviera, the layout and view are great. There is a huge green area which I really like. You can definitely get a 4bedroom apt around RMB35ish.

Good luck!