I've been looking for apartments online and two that have caught my eye are Skyline Mansion and the Shimao Riviera....

Are there others that I should be considering?

I would like to be in Pudong in a modern building....

Overall they are very close. Shimao has more for families/kids, and is close to small conveniences (bakery, 24 hour quicky mart). Skyline is a little more luxurious and is in a cleaner neighborhood, but for the same price the units are ~20m^2 smaller. They are the same distance from line 2 subway, but Shimao is close to the line2/4 interchange and a new line that is just being started now, these 3 lines will make getting to any part of Puxi very easy. Shimao has a lot of extras including a shuttle bus system which is very convenient.

CoffeeHawk_0 wrote:Overall they are very close. Shimao has more for families/kids, and is close to small conveniences (bakery, 24 hour quicky mart). Skyline is a little more luxurious and is in a cleaner neighborhood, but for the same price the units are ~20m^2 smaller. They are the same distance from line 2 subway, but Shimao is close to the line2/4 interchange and a new line that is just being started now, these 3 lines will make getting to any part of Puxi very easy. Shimao has a lot of extras including a shuttle bus system which is very convenient.

CoffeeHawk-

Thank you so much. Do you have any other suggestions of placed to check out with similar pricing for a 2/3 bedroom unit?

i see another choice for you maybe would be Fortune Residences
Much newer than Skyline Mansion and Shimao

From both you can hear the foghorns from the river at night. I don't live in either complex but I do live nearby.

takes a while, a long while to get used to the fog horns, but it is a view, a very good one if you have north-west windows

Chicago2Shanghai wrote:I've been looking for apartments online and two that have caught my eye are Skyline Mansion and the Shimao Riviera....

Are there others that I should be considering?

I would like to be in Pudong in a modern building....

Of cource you have a lot of choice, apt with spacious view, like Shimao Riviera, Yanlord Garden, etc.

okey......to share my little secrety. you could find more details at:www.xpshanghai.com

Hello. I live in Shimao. Arrived in November from Michigan, US. I think it is a great location and the facility has a lot of green space, which is nice. The view of the river is great and the other little extra we discovered is that at the end of the street there is a small ferry you can take to Puxi in 5 mins. It is faster than taking the metro or a taxi or private car to puxi. The facilities are very nice, pool is one of the best.

I would consider Yanlord Garden. It is well established, well managed. And fantastic garden. Extremely close to the ferry, and good indoor and outdoor pool. There is also a twice weekly city shopping truck that comes to the compound to make shopping very easy. I lived there for more than 6 years and really miss it.

Hi, I used to live at yanlord, now am at skyline....don't miss yanlord one bit...different people have different experiences , but for me, yanlord was a pain...old...dark and dingy, and terrible service....every two days, I'd have to have tradespeople in to fix one thing or another....after our one year lease was up, I was so happy to be out of there...I agree that the gardens and public areas are nice, big etc, but you live inside, not outside. I'd prefer Skyline any old day....new, clean, fabulous service, great spot, and not 10000 people like in yanlord! I have friends at Shimao Riviera too, they are happy as well. I guess it isn't until you get here and physically see them that you can make up your mind. Good luck!

shimao riviera --> I live here at shimao and have never faulted it.
yanlord --> seemed ok.. but not from the reviews i hear.
summit panorama/residences --> dirty, look old. although are nice inside.
skyline --> cooool.
tomson riviera ----> looks expensive but looks stylish.. not sure when its completed?

RE. what meeow said. everyone's experiences are different. I lived in a bright sunny duplex penthouse - lovely deisgn and experienced great service at Yanlord. The compound has a lot of people but individual bulding entrance flow is good. Also the small low rises only have 18 families per building so you quickly feel like you are living in a little community. And unlike most complxes where the buildings are placed in lines, Yanlord buildings create an inner circle, actually a circle eight, that gives a great sense of seclusion as well as an almost 1.4 kilometer inner road that is great for early morning and late night walks and runs. Shirmao has had its own problems, espcially with its first couple of buildings with quality problems. Skyline has tons of wasted space within the units that you are paying for - also once all the building in the area goes up,Skyline will be completely blocked form any river view. But I am glad that you are happy where you are.

I was sold on Shimao before we came for our looksee. But when I arrived, the close proximity of the coal transfer station (RIGHT in front of Shimao) and all the dust was terrible (not that air quality is great anyway).

We decided on Skyline and have lived here for about two months. The complex is maybe 1/3 occuppied.

I love being able to walk across to the superbrand, Luijazui subway stop and CityShop at Citgroup Tower (western grocery market) is about a 3 minute walk from the building and the two ferries to to Pudong are literally across the street. Rent will probably be a little higher. Most of what we looked at in Skyline was never occuppied, you will likely be first tenant, where as Shimao was older complex. We had a few very minor maintance issues when we first moved in, but was VERY pleased on how responsive the management company was.

The location is worth the extra few dollars, great views of Jinmao, pearl tower and getting to watch the completion of the SWFC Shanghai World Financial Tower right next door.

There are about 6 different floor plans throughout the 3 buildings, we are in 302sq meter or about 3350sq feet. We just relocated from Atlanta and are having a great time!

I too am also trying to decide between Shimao and Skyline.
With limited Mandarin skills, does anyone have an opinion on the building managment team and their communication skills (fixing problems, giving advice and getting taxi?
Shuttle bus?
The ease of access and proximity to:
Carrefour?
Western style markets?
Metro?

Also I will most likely send my child to Concordia school and via school bus.
About how long is the travel time?
Many Thanks.

Scojay wrote:I too am also trying to decide between Shimao and Skyline.
With limited Mandarin skills, does anyone have an opinion on the building managment team and their communication skills (fixing problems, giving advice and getting taxi?
Shuttle bus?
The ease of access and proximity to:
Carrefour?
Western style markets?
Metro?

Also I will most likely send my child to Concordia school and via school bus.
About how long is the travel time?
Many Thanks.

Hi,
As far as i know,Concordia international school is located at Pudong Jinqiao,it's around 20-30mins drive if good traffic .But that would be more than 30 mins drive,especially more if traffic jam.

By the way,Skyline is a little bit expensive than Shimao for the same or similar size of apt. For 2 Br, USD1800-2000 in Shimao,but USD2100-2300 in Skyline,especially inquiry price is USD2500 in much higher floor.

if you don't mind find an apt through agent,please feel free to call me:13472696124 christina or email at :christina.jj@gmail.com

Good luck

Christina

Hey,how is going for your accommodation search?

if you 've not find a suitable one so far,in the meantime you don't mind find it through an agent,i am willing to help you

As a realtor having more than 4 years,i specialized in providing free service of relocation for expatriates.And,the majority of my clients are from Europe and US. Normally,i will offer my clients some appropriate proposal according to their requirements in detail.i've ever helped lots of clients find suitable apts in Shimao and Skyline,hence i am very familiar with relevant situation on them.Could you please inform me yours if you don't mind cooperate with me for your home search?You could send me email at :christina.jj@gmail.com or call 13472696124 .

Kindly regards

Christina

Mambo, I looked into Tomson Riviera when it was time to move...they are finished, but are only for sale at the moment...ridiculously expensive at that....you can't even have a look inside until you fill up some nutty form with all your asset details (and they also want to know which car you drive! No kidding...I got given this form when I wanted to view) and then they take 3 days to verify and choose to offer you an appointment or not!! Needless to say, only one got sold, and got promptly returned to the developer. I think it'll be a while before their feet touch the ground!!

As for the ongoing posts about the apartments, it really depends on personal choice, but I've been in Skyline since Sept and no complaints at all. We moved from Japan and just when I thought I should forget about the high service standards we were used to there, I am surprised that here in SHanghai, there is a place which is at par with them. Bussing time to JinQiao schools are roughly 20 minutes..also depends on whether your child is the first/ last to be picked up/dropped off. As for rents, there are plenty of empty apartments in Skyline (as I'm sure there are in other compounds), so please don't let any agent tell you its really hard to get a place (one recent arrival to Shanghai got told this when they enquired about Skyline, seeing that it was 10% occupied then!!)...and asking rentals are not so close to what you should be paying anyway. Do your homework well, and don't believe everything that the agent tells you. Negotiate for everything you need BEFORE you sign the contract e.g flyscreens/extra storage/cupboards/furniture etc..anything else you may need). Hope this helps, and all the best!!

Living at Skyline with kids going to Concordia. The bus leaves here at 7:05 drives through Yanlord then straight to Concordia. They are on the bus about 30 minutes. We are very happy with our school and accommodations choice. Our employer is very close to Skyline and we could NOT get a driver with our package. So no matter the weather a quick jaunt to work and kids get the commute. Regarding communication, I have NEVER walked into the management office and not had someone there that speaks English, very prompt attention to the few minor problems we had in our new apartment. Doormen in the lobby all understand "Taxi" and radio to the gate to send one in. Metro is less than 5 minutes walk, 2 minutes to the boat to the Bund. Lotus Supermarket at Superbrand Mall has a great selection, clean, well organized, is less than 10 minutes walk and I use Cityshop at Citigroup Tower ( 5 minutes walk) for a few exclusive western items I can't find at Lotus. You will be a 25RMB ($3.25USD) cab ride from Carrefour and 28RMB to Concordia for an event etc.. I much prefer Lotus over Carrefour, Carrefour checkout lines are terrible and NEVER make the mistake of going to Carrefour on Sunday. Feel free to PM if you need pictures or other questions about Concordia or complex.

Thanks Ken. Pls see my PM.
Scojay

To Ken and others who can help:
I am also getting ready for my new assignment in Shanghai around June/July. I am also looking for a furnished 2/3 bedroom unit in either Shimao, Skyline or may be other equivalent compounds. I have a few questions.
[1] Is June/July a high season for rentals [ high or low availability]
[2] Is Shimao Riveria better than Shimao Lakeside [what is the difference]
[3] Since Shimao is great for family, what about single professionals, is Skyline then better for single professionals?
Ken: Can I PM you too for some detail questions about Skyline.
Thanks
LCC

CanadaKen21 - we must be neighbours. I'll PM you.

Almost all of the apartments that I saw during my search in Shanghai were a disappointment after living in Beijing. My biggest gripe was that many of them had small rooms, no oven, and no dishwasher. I looked at about 30 places and I finally chose Skyline over both Shimao and Yanlord.

Shimao had great views of the river but small rooms and either small or non-existent balconies. I needed a decent sized balcony to set up my barbecue.

Yanlord is about 5 years old but looks about 15 on the inside due to poor maintenance. Some buildings had really great river views but every building I looked at had dirty cracked walls in the foyer. I also found the rooms small at Yanlord. (One of the apartments that I visited at Yanlord had the most butt ugly interior furnishings that I had ever seen in my life!)

Skyline isn't all that great but it is new and has ovens and dishwashers. The shop isn't very good but it is starting to improve. I would also rate the club as mediocre but it seems to be OK by Shanghai standards. There are no fire sprinklers but I have a smoke hood since I live on the 37th floor. My apt is 194 M2 gross, about 160 M2 net. The master bedroom is about 40M2 and has a large walk-in closet. The bathrooms seem to be 1980 design. The ensuite bathroom has a jacuzzi but a lot of wasted space. The 2nd bedroom also has an en-suite bathroom but no closet at all! There is also a guest toilet. All the appliances are top of the line Meile and the cupboards are high quality SieMatic units. There was not enough cupboard space so I supplemented it with some units from Ikea. Heating and aircon is top quality and there are also radiators in the bathrooms but they didn't install floor heating or towel warmers! The kitchen and bathroom floors were quite cold during the winter but some small rugs solved that. The apartment had some tasteful basic furniture and the landlord agreed to provide additional items that I requested. I ordered the 2M internet and sometimes it works great and other times it almost grinds to a halt. SAT TV is provided by the landlord and the 1 time that it stopped working he had a replacement card next day. Shopping at City and Lotus is very convenient as are all the F&B outlets in the Superbrand mall.

I have a small view of the river but I don't hear any foghorns. Maybe I'm a heavy sleeper. Skyline was more expensive than either Shimao or Yanlord. There currently seems to be a glut of apartments in Shanghai and this makes for a renter's market. My landlord agreed to a special provision that clinched the deal. I signed a 1 year lease and paid 2 months security deposit and 1 month rent up front. The landlord agreed to use the security deposit as rent for the 11th and 12th months of the lease. This solves the problem of getting the deposit back at the end of the lease.

Apartment hunting on the internet is a good place to start but the impressions conveyed are often not truly representative. You need to visit every place, go through your checklist, have a walk around the area (without the agent), and visit at least twice before you make your decision.

Good luck apartment hunting and do you golf? If so, PM me.

David

Hi, I'd like to revive this interesting post for people looking for accomodation in Liujazui (i'll be moving myself in August).
If I tried to summarize comments made above, would it be fair to say:

Shimao > Skyline
- cheaper
- much better club/pool/gym
- view on rivers (for some rooms) / no expected blocked views like Skyline

Skyline > Shimao
- newer than Shimao
- better equiped
- very low occupancy rate
- no foghorns!!
- no view of "coal transfer station

and... Yanlord sucks in comparison?

Ciao all

Is it already too late to be asking this???

Does either Skyline or Shimao or Yanlord or xxx..... have 1 bed apts.? If yes, what range would they be coming under? Thanks

Guess it is late............

I beleive we have 80sqm apartments in one one the towers. The three towers are all configured a little different. It would bed 1 bedroom + den (no closet). EVeryone is partial to where they live. We are glad we made the choice we did!

hi still_here, I confirm CanadaKen21's comments: I visited their so-called 80 sqm 1 BR flats last week-end. This is of course 80 sqm GROSS! I measured the whole thing myself, and it is not bigger than 65 sqm net. Lay-out is nice though.
However I met a fellow expat in the lift who mentioned smthg worth noting: He warned against the low-lying floors for fear of mosquitos. BTW he was renting a 150 sqm gross flat on 47 floor, with river view for 2000 US$.
It's good to share info because I have heard that some bast*rd of landlords own more than 50 flats in the same building. The guy I met showed me more than 8 flats himself...that belonged to him. Bloody capitalists!

Fortune Residence is the newest, and very likely the nicest in Lu Jia Zui now. Opened in Feb. this year, It's right on the river, and seems to be built to very high standards. Apartments right along the river are quite expensive, so for a better value for the same kind of unit, I recommend one of the towers at the back of the compound, away from the river. No health club at this time, but there are some good options around. When I was there this spring helping a friend move in, I noticed that the ponds in the gardens were full of tadpoles. It's so nice to have a bit of nature just outside your door.

OliverP,
you can hear the foghorns even in Jinqiao

oh yeah, takes a while to get used to the fog horns, although now that the population on the river is so high, they have told the ships to shut the faaaaaak up. You should have heard it 2 years ago groan

Hi All,

I am looking at a few apartments in Shimao Riviera with gross area of about 230sqm. The asking prices are all between USD2800-3000/month

Generally speaking, how much should I knock off the asking rental price?

All constructive advices are most welcome