Apartment Hunting

We hit the pavement with our Canadian colleagues for the next couple of weeks.  When our individual efforts didn’t pay off, we engaged a local realtor to help us find what we were looking for.  And what we were looking for was pretty specific.  It had to be in a specific complex and have a specific size.  

One apartment after another was turned down for various reasons.  Too small; too old; in bad repair, etc.  Our precious daughters had shared a room for many years, and our oldest was especially keen to have her own space “for the first time ever” (her words).  Finally, we came upon a suitable apartment that was in area we needed it to be.  Unfortunately, the landlord was asking too much.

We were reluctant to give up, as we could see she really wanted us to be her renters.  Her son was in Washington, D.C. for work and she was confident we would take good care of her property.  There was a good bit of common ground.

Dinner with our Landlord (left of Gracy) and her husband and son

At this point, we engaged the help of our Singaporean colleague Karen.  She grew up speaking both English and Mandarin Chinese fluently and is a fabulous negotiator in her own right.  After about thirty minutes of lively banter she had talked them down an additional 800 RMB per month (about $150 USD).  

We moved in on October 1st, just over a month after our arrival.  We were finally able to stop living out of suitcases!  With this foundational piece in place, we could now turn our attention to several storms that had begun brewing months prior to our arrival.  

One thing we have learned about living overseas.  Though many of the days may feel ordinary, the overall instability of living abroad means there is never a dull moment!