hi

moving to shanghai for work soon.
budget for housing is US$2,200.
was originally quite happy till i see how expensive housing can be!
Would like some help on the following.

1) office is in jin mao tower. was thinking of staying in yanlord gardens in pudong. would you suggest i stay in pudong or puxi?
2) my wife is keen to stay in a service apartment. which would you recommend for that budget. i can't seem to find any. again, would it be near to jin mao tower? service apartment has house keeping. would it be better to stay in a condo (yanlord) and hire my own part time ah yi?
3) how much would utilities amount to each month? the company has a weird policy; if the rent comes with utilities, i would need to refund it 10% of the rent. trying to figure out with would make more sense.

thanks

Hi t,

as you can see, I am pretty new here as well..

I am going to move from Hong Kong to Shanghai pretty soon, too.
BTW: I am German, not Hongki, if of any interest and just to avoid misunderstandings.

In my opinion (and I am just waiting to get shot at about), US$ 2,200.- is not too much for a decent place as I learnt recently. It's crazy here and I do know about high rents here in HK.

Serviced apartment was my first idea, but after seeing f... u... places for US$ 4,000.- and more I figured I should forget about it. What's the service anyway, get fresh bed sheets and somebody is dusting a little, if any is done...after all?

At present my recommendation is Shimao Rivera, very close to Yanlord as you might know. I checked Yanlord, Skyline Mansion, Hong Kong Plaza? *(serviced apartments), Silver Cord *(serviced apartments) and around half dozen more...

Haven't made up my mind yet, but as I wrote before US$ 2,200.- will be tough for serviced apartment. Best place seen is Marriot serviced apartment, but this rent I can't even read that number, something like RMB 65,000 for 50+ sqm.

My girlfriend is already in Shanghai for few month and she is staying in a serviced apartment until I move up as well. Quite frankly, hell of expensive RMB 10,000.- for approx. 40sqm, breakfirst sucks and service is just not worth paying for it.

I can't give you much advise, just sharing my experiences...

Best Regards,
Another camel in the dessert looking for water..
P.S. I am on the road w/ US$ 3,500.- housing allowance

best would be to move into a serviced apartment for a month first and to do some house hunting. It's always better to tell the real estate agents that your budget is lower - they will show you exactly the same places but for a lower rent... you can easily save 1000 USD in rent per month! If you don't believe me try to go and try with two agencies (or more).
As for the question Pudong vs Puxi - I live in Puxi and travel to Pudong perhaps twice a year... but if you work in Jin Mao, that's pretty close to Puxi anyway, and if you lived in Yanlord you can take the ferry to the other side very easily. On the other side you could live in Puxi somewhere close to the metro line and commute easily to Pudong... better come and have a look yourself!

1. do you prefer to be close to work or close to nightlife? is commute time important?

2. why bother with a serviced apartment when you can hire an ayi (housekeeper) for a fraction of the difference in cost?

3. utilitites vary greatly from month to month; even within the same building. generally, the apartments that include utilities ensure that no money is lost... probably better to pay for your own utilities if you rent an expensive place.


definitely try to come to shanghai and live in a serviced apartment for about four weeks while working with real estate agents to find a permanant location. angie's second suggestion of citing less than your maximum is on target.

don't expect ultra-luxurious for usd2200/month. but you will be able to find some great places!

Service apts are not worth the cost. You can get a good ayi for a tiny portion of your budget to do all the service stuff plus more. You should be able to find a decent apt fairly close to Jin Mao for you budget and still have some left.

I spent a year in a non-expat/non-service complex that was very nice for only $500 month but it was down near Nanpu bridge which is 10 minutes by taxi from jin mao. I would expext to find a nice place in a non-expat complex near the jin mao area for no more than $1500.

http://www.shrelocation.com/apartment%20table.htm

are the prices listed inflated? possible to get lower prices by bargaining?

seems like pudong is not really a nice place to stay.
nanjing xi road? or jingan?

how long does it take to travel from jing an temple metro stop to lujiazui?
is it a chore to do so in the morning? how bad is it? thanks

prices that you find at agencies' webpages are always inflated. But you can get (almost) all places for less money. There might be some places (that are completely owned by one developer) where there is almost no room for negotiation - but if you have individual landlords/ladies then prices can vary dramatically! The secret is to understate your budget. Also work with more than one agent.

t900 wrote:how long does it take to travel from jing an temple metro stop to lujiazui?
is it a chore to do so in the morning? how bad is it? thanks

15-20 minutes perhaps. You're lucky that you don't have to change lines at Peoples' Square

T900, There are 20+ rental offices around Yanlord on Puchang and Dongchang Roads, as others have said, play them off each other. In this months "That's Shanghai" they are showing 3BR fully furnished 151sqm for $1500 at Yanlord, probably not a good view, but good location and you can walk in all weather! With your employers utility policy, ask him to pay utilities if you go under your monthly allowance. If no driver, there is nothing like walking to work and you would be a few minutes away from the Jin Mao at Yanlord! Rush hour on subway, no matter what anyone else says, packed in like sardines does do justice! It is brutal getting a cab in this city on a rainy days so my vote is close to office! Go with the Ayi, get a referral from someone in your office, tell your wife she can us the money you'll save staying out of serviced apartments for her massages! Good Luck, great city!!

Service apartments are good as a bridge between hotels (where you might stay for a one or two nights) and a full rental agreement (which would last for one year)

If you plan to stay a few weeks then a service apartment would work. If longer then find yourself an apartment and ayi.

Hi, I'd like to revive this post for people looking for accomodation close to Jin Mao tower.
Does anyone recommend a service apartment around?