Finding An Apartment In Wudaokou

[electric]

Hello, I'm coming to BLCU to study this fall. However, I'd prefer to stay in an apartment outside of the school, as their rates are a little higher than I wish to pay. One Chinese friend of mine suggested the Wudankou area, as it's close to BLCU and has a lot of foreigners.

So, I'm wondering, are there any resources online that I could search for an accommodation ahead of time, or should I find it after I arrive? Thanks for any info

[MirroRobin]

Most important website, I think, is www.thebeijinger.com's classifieds section. You can also take a look here.

[Peiruo]

Agreed MirroRobin - thebeijinger.com is best place to start

At Electric, your chances of getting a decent deal are much greater if you view the apartment in person once you arrive in Beijing. Best method is to take down a stack of agent's phone numbers for apartments listed in Wudaokou (from the beijinger) and then call and tell them what you are after once you arrive. Prices vary between 2500 - 6000 RMB / month for a one bedroom flat in Wudaokou walking/short bike ride from BLCU, and quality varies alot. for 6000 rmb per month you can rent a really nice 2 bedroom place in Huaqingjia yuan - the nicest apartment complex in the area or for 2500 you can rent something that needs love and has really disgusting furniture in an old 小区. If you shop around you can find something decent for between 3000-4000 but beware that apartments move fast and agents will really try to screw you at the beginning of semester when new students are arriving. Its best if you have a place to stay that is not too expensive while you look so you have time to get a feel for the market and don't end up taking something that is not worth the price you pay

[yvonne.c]

hi electric,

Well, my recommendation would be, you could firstly go to a local B&B hostel/hotel which you can conviniently registered online by using a credit card and the next few days, maybe you start to make a few local friends and you could ask them to take you to a local agent(they do charge an equal amount of one-month-rent for their service, no matter how long are you going to stay) and find the apartment of that area. The price varied from RMB1000 to five figures depends on your expectations (if you are willing to share or not); and also on the property's condition itself(new or aged, furnitured or not, etc.); and also, on how long you are about to rent (6 months or 12months?).

thebeijinger.com could be quite helful， and also you could register and go to the "classifieds" under "houseing" subcategory. There's people there seeking flatmates or apartment for rent,and maybe you could make yourself a deal there prior to your trip.

I think we seem to share the same problem here, since I am about to go to UCD this fall myself. I am not going to living on campus either. But at present, I am living in Beijing. - Not in Wu Dao Kou, but I have lived in this city for 8 years...

If you should have any further question, feel free to let me know... Good luck!