Kunming accommodation info

[hakkaboy]

I know when I was flat-hunting I needed to know how much others were paying and what they got, so I thought I should post my flat hunting experience. Flat hunting in Kunming strikes me as a very time consuming business. You need to see at least a dozen. The adverts at the cafes along Wenlin Jie all seem very pricy, eg to get a room in someone else's flat for 600 yuan, or rent a whole flat for 1500 yuan. I went to one of the numerous accommodation agencies in the area and eventually found a flat very near the Doughnut shop opposite the Middle School affiliated to the Normal University. It was 800 yuan a month. Chinese people told me it was pricey, but it has a Western style toilet (马桶的厕所) in a very big restroom with a shower etc. It was very clean and even modern inside. I am sharing with a friend, so the flat was really an 一室一厅(one bedroom, one living room), but we are using the living room as bedroom #2, and there is a very spacious hallway where we put a sofa so that it can function as a living room. There is also a reasonable size kitchen, and a computer room. It is on the 4th floor. We saw lots of 7th floor flats during our search, and would have taken one had one been suitable but the absence of lifts makes a 4th floor flat more pleasant. There was no furniture at all in our flat, but we stipulated that 2 beds, a sofa, a computer table, a TV, a table and chairs to eat on were the minimum furniture we needed, and the landlady provided them all from her own effects. We had to pay 6 months' rent in advance, pay one month's rent to the accommodation agency, give the landlady 1000 yuan deposit (from which water, gas and electricity will be deducted in 6 months' time), pay 84 yuan for the cable TV licence for 6 months, and pay 30 yuan for the cleaning of the central hall way for 6 months. We then had the 24/7 Internet installed. We chose a 2MB connection, and the installation price was 188 yuan (it took 2 days), and we had to pay 500 yuan in advance for usage, which will cost 150 yuan a month unless we lower the speed. Then we had to make our own purchases to make the flat liveable. Gosh!!! The price of bedding in Wal-Mart is phenomenal. There must be a much, much cheaper place, but double duvets were 200 yuan. The duvet cover, fitted sheet and 2 pillowcases for the double bed were also 150 yuan or thereabouts. Heaters for all the rooms, about 100 yuan each. An air conditioner for hot and cold air 400 yuan. A minifridge with a freezer compartment for making ice - 500 yuan. A microwave with a grill function for cheese on toast - 400 yuan etc. Do not expect the cables on any household appliances to reach the ground, and buy plenty of extension leads. As for mattresses: your choices are for a tiny thin thing about 2 millimetres thick or for a huge doorstep of a mattress, rock hard, going for around 1000 yuan for a double bed. Chinese people are not into the mattress culture, and prefer to sleep on a sheet of steel...

[td36285n]

Thanks for sharing, hakkaboy. The rent does seem rather expensive, though. Yunnan Normal University gave me an information sheet, which states that a house off campus - one that comes with two rooms, one sitting room, kitchen, toilet, shower, and furniture - should cost $80 - $100/mo. Well, I guess I'll have to wait and see if their figures are accurate.

[Xiao Kui]

In this thread http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/5-how-many-characters-do-you-know534 Sui Generis says

"I lived in sujiatang (苏家唐） while I was there, and found it to be more than adequate, inexpensive (3 bedroom unfurnished 800kuai/month), and very close to YNNU where I went to school. There's a history of foreigners staying there, and so you might find landlords more accustomed to renting to outsiders. If it's close to your school (sujiatang is located on jianshelu, construction road, just north of Kunming Science and Technology Uni.), then it might be a nice place for you.

If you're rich, and don't mind living on the far north side of town, beichun is super-clean (even their rats, though numerous, are tidy) though no doubt super expensive, and plenty of westerners live there as well. Course if you're trying to learn chinese, you might not want to live around english speakers."

So maybe that helps. 800 yuan seems to be the bottom price for anything decent downtown, but you may be able to get more rooms for that price. Concerning SG´s info I only disagree with the second part because I know lots of people were getting big, new 3 bedroom apartments for 600-800 yuan in beichen (cheaper than it looks). The drawback is of course it´s far away from the school though there is a bus that goes there directly. I prefer living in more central areas, though I only have experience renting in Bai Ma Xiao Qu, where you could get 3 bedrooms, modern toilet, and wooden floors for 800 yuan a month. (2004 prices)

I´m moving back to KM in July and definitely staying in Su Jia Tang. So tired of taking the bus to school every day and there´s such great food in Wen Hua Xiang. (tired of commuting to the Bangkok Cafe

[hakkaboy]

The 800 yuan flat we have is particularly nice and particularly well located. The bathroom is very nice indeed, and so I think it worth the price, but after I bought the mini fridge I saw a slightly bigger one for 100 yuan less...

[mr.stinky]

furniture store across from yuantong temple has double mattresses for 380 (hard) or

450 (not as hard, but still, um, hard). carrefour has sheet sets (flat sheet, duvet cover and 2 pillow cases) starting at 99. not much in the way of separate sheets, better to try "war-mar" for that. free delivery. but he charges way too much for tables+chairs.

FITTED SHEETS????? WHERE????

head a little bit away from the unis, just north of xuefu lu, i'm sharing a place at 800, recently built on 2nd floor. 3br, kitchen+bath, living room, porcelain buddha. 24 hour security, gate guards, landscaping, plumbers on call. the walk to ynu or ynnu is

exactly 23 minutes. or i'm on the 65/115 to ynnu, and 92 to ynu buslines. i've seen some ads for places near kmstu a little cheaper.

looking in the rental office window this morning, there are apartments available from 500 to 1500, or for purchase, plus a couple new buildings in the complex nearing completion.

free entertainment - army next door starts reville at 6:30.

extension cords. yes. there are only 1-2 outlets per room.

[hakkaboy]

Mr Stinky, thanks for the mattress advice!!

[guillaumeowl]

Just to give a little up date on accommodation prices in Kunming as the initial post is over two years old. Prices have been going up steadily in Kunming over the last 2-3 years. If you are very lucky you might find a flat around 1000rmb near Wenlin jie, the street with all the bar and restaurant popular with foreigners. However the more common starting price in the area is around 1500rmb/month:cry:. This area is also extremely popular with Chinese people who have a bit of money, because it is very close to "green lake". In fact "green lake" area is competing with downtown for the title of the most expensive area in Kunming! The usual price for a 2 bedroom in the area is more around 2000-3000rmb/month for something decent. Price for a nice modern flat starts around 3000rmb/month.

As mentioned above Sujiatang is a good area to live, especially when you are studying chinese at Yunnan normal University, Yunnan University or even at Eastern Language College. However the prices mentioned above are out-dated. Today a bargain is 900rmb/month for an unfurnished 2 bedrooms, and it is more realistic to budget around 1100-1200 for a 2 bedrooms. Keep in mind that i some areas in Kunming you can get a nice modern flat around 1500-2000rmb.

[guillaumeowl]

If you come by Kunming, give me a shout and maybe i can help you find your way around.

[steveg]

Thanks for the update guillaumeowl, it was especially helpful.

I'm arriving in Kunming with my girlfriend in mid Feb to spend a semester at the ELC. We're giving ourselves around 10 days to scope apartments before the semester starts, hopefully this is enough time. The ELC said they would assist but I might take your offer up if we're struggling.

We'd like to get a nice furbished modern apartment, as there's two of us we can spend a bit more. Thinking around 2-2,500, which we know should put us in something nice. The crash of the AUD was unfortunate though, and it's likely to continue so we might have to revise that. Good job we aimed high originally.

Is it difficult to get a 6 month lease? Can we avoid the 1 month fee to an agent or is this standard?

I guess we will sus locations once in Kunming, I can't keep up with the district names from here.

Cheers,

Steve

[guillaumeowl]

The ELC help is really so-so. Especially just before the start of the semester. Do you know where you are going to stay when you arrive in Kunming? I can recommend a decent chinese "budget hotel" (around 150 for double room/night), the one i used when i arrived in Kunming, or you can check on elong. My girlfriend (she is chinese) have been selling her services for a few years to newcomers. She helps foreigners who have limited Chinese to find and negotiate the flat they want. If you need her help let me know.

About furnished place: keep in mind that furnished flat are very rare, and that you are always paying extra for a furnished place, yet if you are staying for only 6 months it might be more economical. You should be able to find a 6 months contract, but that might requires some arguing with some of the landlords. For anyone staying over 6 months, i would seriously advocate buying your own furniture at a market or second hand, from another foreigner living town. Furniture provided by the landlord are usually of very bad quality.

About flat for 6 months or less. If you are not a couple, you should try to find a flat share, wenlin street or gokunming.com are good places for that.

Agency fees: It is almost impossible to avoid them, almost all the landlords used agencies, and flat directly advertised on gokunming are usually ridiculously high for the local market. But if you know someone already living in Kunming ask them if they know someone living their flat soon and if they can negotiate directly with the landlord.

Does that helps?

[dagreatcheryl]

Hi!

My boyfriend and I would like to study Chinese in Kunming for three months. What are the best accomodation options for us, and which language school/uni would allow us most flexibility in terms of time schedule? The reason is that we intend to travel around the area during our stay! Is anyone able to answer my queries?

[dagreatcheryl]

Hi, I will be enrolling in Yunnan University so looking for accommodation nearby -

was wondering if anyone knows this area - i found this ad in gokunming.com and might wanna take it up?

Many thanks!

NOW AVAILABLE! Spacious, sunny and clean apartment available NOW for let in Chun Yuan Xiao Qu/Hua Yuan. 2 bedrooms, one with a large Double Bed, the other with large Bunk Bed suitable for 2 kids. This is a comfortable, clean alternative to Hotels or Guesthouses.

100 square meters, located on a high floor with fantastic views of Xi Shan and the South/South West.

Located near Yun Shan Lu/Er Huan Lu/ Jin Hua Pu Lu/Ren Min Xi Lu.

Close to No. 6 Bus Station, shopping, banking, and Chun Yuan residential area.

Furnished with cooking facilities, utensils/plates, microwave, fridge, automatic w/machine, Double bed, Bunk bed, Large 29 inch TV, DVD, large comfy sofas etc. Quality furnishings.

Elevators/Lifts/Security Door

[guillaumeowl]

Hi Dagreatchery,

First, I am not recommending Yunnan University. I keep hearing bad feedback, especially on the number of student they put in one class, up to 30. This is too many student for Language classes. Yunnan Normal univeristy is more reasonable (icis.cn), never more than 15 students in the same class. If you don't have to be in a university i would recommend a private school, Kunming Eastern Languages College, Xiaoximen campus (elcec.com). Their classes tend to be smaller, rarely above ten students and often around 6-8. Price-wise they are all charging almost the same fees. Visa-wise Eastern college tend to get you slightly longer visa, they bother to ask while the uni don't ask. No I am not a rep for eastern college, their administration is almost as bad the university and their idea of customer service is well in line with the rest of Yunnan (very bad). Eastern college and Yunnan uni tend to have more westerners while Yunnan normal uni tends to have more people coming from Thailand and Laos. Both unis are very close to each other (north/center) and Eastern college is 10 minutes away (a bit closer to the center).

Second, The flat you are looking at is in one of the area seen as "christian", a problem or not for you but good to know. The location is a bit south and a bit off the centre. You can find better location for the unis and school, especially if your budget is close to 2000rmb per month.

For everybody: My girlfriend does not help foreigners anymore to settle in Kunming. We have open a Game Café together and we are now too busy. We are in Wenlin St (136), Come to see us! I will be happy to give you the heads up about Kunming.

[TTChopper]

Hi,

I'm also going to be moving to Kunming in the near future and have been reading up on some accommodation info. I was hoping someone can clarify this for me:

Second, The flat you are looking at is in one of the area seen as "christian", a problem or not for you but good to know.

What's the significance of this?

[brenna]

well if you're a Christian hater...you might not want to move there.

kunming has several communities where foreigners reside; this would be one of them. It seems that of the foreigners living in this area, some are Christian. A lot of the businesses in this area are run by Christian families; western and chinese. Shocking; I know.

That's it.