Settling in has introduced interesting challenges. The following is meant to create a realistic picture of our experience here and not to complain or compare by any means (although I’ve done plenty of both, sad to say). I hope these encounters will make us wiser and more discerning so that we’ll be a helpful resource to other future pilgrims.
Apartment Hunting
We were advised by friends to seek the help of real estate agencies in finding housing. After many fruitless online searches, we took their advice and made appointments with agencies in the area we were hoping to move to. You’ll find that appointments are made loosely here. You should expect that plans may change at the last moment, sometimes while you’re already on your way there.
On the upside, this gives us cause to keep in regular contact with people through WeChat or texting and to make new friends. My guess is that most real estate agents here aren’t used to dealing with high maintenance foreigners. I’m pretty sure we forced the agent into becoming friends with us through our incessant calls, rejections, and requests.
I’ve learned to adjust my expectations quite a bit. It didn’t help that the first apartment we were shown was stunning … but, of course, way out of our price range. We considered it, and reconsidered, but decided that our financial resources would be better spent elsewhere.
After seeing a few additional open apartments, I was starting to lose hope. Some looked completely rundown and probably housed a few (or more than a few) college bachelors in the past. Others were bad enough in photographs to warrant skipping the viewing altogether. Traveling back and forth between districts and to and from the agency office was tiring, especially for our resident translator. We’re incredibly grateful for her willingness to speak with anyone and everyone on our behalf!
We finally saw a partially remodeled apartment that was still in the process of being remodeled. I was very iffy about the place, especially when it seemed like the landlord was reluctant to do any further remodeling. The kitchen was completely filthy and falling apart and the bathroom setup was not ideal.
After negotiating terms and talking and yarping about it, we decided to sign the lease. I’ve had to repent many many times for my complaining, especially while cleaning. I spent a few days cleaning the kitchen and it’s still not clean! I spent a few hours scrubbing the bathroom – wall to wall tile, my worst nightmare. After using an entire bottle of cleaner, the bathroom is now somewhat cleaner than it was before. We have been uncovering flaws here and there, including a nearly exploding washing machine (not really, but it shook and moved so violently that I was certain it would explode with our poor laundry still inside), a leaky water heater, and a really stinky fridge. I’m learning to live with it day-by-day and it’s certainly a sanctifying process.
I can safely say now that I’m grateful. We’ve been blessed with a three-bedroom place which will allow us to host visitors at anytime. Our living area is large enough to give Haddon ample playing space and even a corner to himself. We live in a relatively quiet and safe neighborhood, close to a pivotal train station, and down the street from a McDonald’s and a Walmart. Our landlord has been accommodating in calling technicians and coming over to help fix what needs fixing. We can finally call this college town our home (at least for the next year) and hopefully bear fruit. What more could we ask for?