Winter 2011-2012 Kunming Housing Report

[abcdefg]

It’s always something of a challenge to find a place to live here, but this year I really lucked out. A good friend’s graduate school professor’s sister had a place to let. The professor’s sister is an older woman who had lived here for years with her retired Army physician husband. They raised a daughter here, who grew up and married. A month or so ago, the older couple moved in with their adult daughter and the daughter’s husband to help care for and raise the young grandchild. A not unusual arrangement.

They have never rented out this apartment before, and left a lot of their things here for me to use. In addition to it having all necessary furniture and appliances, they left pots and pans and dishes and so on. Even left me some good Pu’er tea and a jar of 云南白药高。 Very kind people.

It’s on the fourth floor of an old building, no elevator, and is about 65 square meters. One normal bedroom and a smaller second one with a couch and a TV. Plenty of closets and cupboards, some of them still full of the old couple’s stuff. Living room has a south exposure and includes a study desk near the windows. Spacious kitchen with a dining table in one end. Gas stove. I can use their rice cooker, utensils and so on.

Bathroom is small and has a squat toilet plus only solar warm water for showers, but I think it's adequate. Kitchen has one of those old, two-part washing machines for clothes that isn't automatic. Seems to work OK.

An elderly gatekeeper locks things up at midnight, but since I’m seldom out on the town, it is not an inconvenience. Costs me ￥1,800 per month, utilities extra. The management fee is miniscule and there was no real estate agent commission to pay.

This place has lots of personality and is so much better than the tiny new highrise flat I rented last year. It felt like it could just as well have been in Manhattan or Boston or Denver. This place really feels Chinese.

[anonymoose]

Since you periodically go back to the US, and then return to China, and start looking for places to live from scratch (in other words, seem to pack up completely and leave, before returning later), is there any reason why you keep returning to Kunming?

[abcdefg]

...is there any reason why you keep returning to Kunming?

That's a good question. I have several good friends here and that's the main reason. One of my friends lets me store my daily use household items with her while I am back in the US, making it easier to set up housekeeping the next time round.

I also find it easy to arrange study here; good private schools and teachers are abundant. I like the pace of life (fairly slow), I like the food, I know my way around the city since it is not immense. The weather is OK, though not as great as the publicists would have one believe. The air quality is not bad. It's near quite a few interesting places to visit on three-day weekends. Those are the main "pro's."

The main "con's" are that housing is difficult to find and public transportation is inadequate. Streets are too small and traffic is often snarled. Taxis are too few and the drivers are frequently arrogant.

I've thought about other places, and particularly like Zhuhai in Guangdong and Yantai in Shandong, but I keep coming back to Kunming. It's sort of like one keeps wearing a comfortable old pair of shoes even when some new ones might actually be better.

[drungood]

Sounds good! I'm a bit concerned about finding a place in Kunming when I arrive at the end of January. Right now I have nothing set up and intend to stay at a hostel until I can find a better place - is this prudent or a bad idea? There are quite a few classified ads for housing on gokunming.com as well as people looking to share an apartment, but it could be hard to find something to follow through with.

[abcdefg]

Right now I have nothing set up and intend to stay at a hostel until I can find a better place - is this prudent or a bad idea?

You have the right idea. Very prudent. I strongly recommend only arranging a hotel or hostel until you can look around in person. I usually plan on spending a week in public lodgings while looking for a more permanent arrangement. I have tried prearranging housing based on classified ads and it has always been a disaster.

There is just no way to cover all the variables. Considerations which seem relatively unimportant at first, may easily become very important later. Such as "How much traffic is there on the nearest street? Is public transportation convenient? Are there small stores and restaurants nearby? Are the next door neighbors remodeling? Is someone building a new high rise across the street (dust and loud noise)?

If you don't require your own apartment, and can share one instead, life will be so much easier. It will not only cost less, but places will be easier to find. If you are lucky, you may also have an "instant" friend who can help you get your feet on the ground and show you the ropes of living here.

Though it is only a personal preference, I like my own space at least in part because I have a Chinese girlfriend who sometimes sleeps over. I also like to cook a large part of my own food, buying fresh ingredients at the wet market.