Dear Shanghai Expats ! We come in august to Shanghai and found a lane house in region Ju Lu Rd/Fu Ming Rd. 180 sq.m. (with garden 40sq.m) for 30k RMB. Can you advice me - is it a good district ? Is this price too high (we rent for 3 month on first step) ? We have a big dog - is it suit (to walk with on street) place for dog ? I know that in Pudong it is more green fields, but my wife wants to live closer to bars, rests and clubs... is it far away to XinTianDi ? Thank you very much. We will make decision to sign contract or not according to your posts...

Great location. Not close to Xintiandi but that is a good thing. Plenty of restaurants / bars / cafes nearby. Price seems good to me, maybe even too low. There can be lots of problems with lane houses, plumbing, electricity, insulation etc.

good location as far as neighborhood and being close to town. Mind you its NOT an expat area at all butt it is near some nice cool ares with entertainment within walking distance. Dog should be ok but will need to be leashed around there.

It sa hike to XinTianDi, but as lordlunchalot says, thats probably a good thing.

OPnly issue is teh price. Not sure how fitted out the palce is. For 30k a month though, it had better be primo and have no heating/AC, electrical and plumbing issues. Double paned windows, enough powere to run all cliate control, refitted plumbving and drainage are going to be key issues. Also ask about potential flooding and moisture issues, as lane houses are on teh ground so you need to be concerned.

Thanks a lot. I ask estate agent for this important points.

Regarding your dog, please make sure to get the dog registered immediately and get all the necessary licenses, etc.. Especially, if you plan on walking your dog on the street.

I think technically, dogs are not allowed on public property during the 'normal' daylight hours and the law requires that you have the license/registration in hand when walking the dog.

Sorry, don't mean to scare you, but there was recently a story about someone's dog taken from their ayi/housekeeper in an apt compound. The dog was registered, but the paperwork was in the apt and the police refused to wait for the ayi to retrieve it. It was a nightmarish story about eventually locating the dog and getting it back.

It's a fantastic location - we live just nearby. There is, within spitting distance, a Chinese supermarket, wet market (for fresh vegetables, fish and meat), Shintori Japanese restaurant, People 7 bar and lounge, La Grange restaurant run by a Basque chef who formerly worked for a Michelin-starred restaurant in France, the good bistro Otto which also has a good selection of wines by the glass, GuYi, a marvellous Hunnan restaurant with delicious spicy food, several hotpot restaurants, and you're 10 minutes' walk from the Portman and two Metro lines.

I think it's about the best corner in town. Lots of cool little lanes to investigate, too.

Thanks a lot for your answers. Indyshiu - I saw some nightmare stories regarding this dog's law. I hope China will progress fastly and pay attention to the animal rights... Chineese restrictions for the dogs were very close to refuse me to go there. Do you know - can I take dog by car to my office ?
By the way estate agnt told me he has an option for lane house with same price but located in Yang An RD/ Jiang Xi Rd. Is it better or worse, if other conditons the same ? Thanks again.

That depends on where your office is, always a good thing to be closer to the office, Fumin / Julu is a better corner I think but would trade location if closer to work. Taxis here are cheap if you want to get around after work but traveling in peak hour periods is not fun, better to be close to office and walk or ride a bike to work.

And just a quick reality check tekmeta, animal rights will likely happen after human rights are addressed and right now, there are still people living far below poverty line so...

Yu is right on with human rights...i think it is still less than 2000 rmb per month for the average income per month and I know of our personal conversations regarding the lack of police justice(at least in my mind), I wanted to bring my lab and probably will do, just depending on length of stay but animal rights are non-existent. I heard that people are scared of dogs.

May be you are right, but human rights mostly related with level of life (income, corruption level, main democracy aspects etc.) and education. Animal rights not related to life level... it is related with humanity and education. May be I'm wrong.

Hello again ! Estate agent advice to take lane house on Yang An RD/ Jiang Xi Rd. Can you advice me - how is this location ? I mean neighborhood... facilities... etc. Thanks.