Teaching in China...?

[ChTTay]

...but where did you these apparent gems? What area of Beijing?

I'm sure no one on here will use the information to track you down and accost you in the street! :-)

My company HQ is in shijingshan which i think is considered quite a low cost area of Beijing. There aren't many foreigners around and quite a lot of people give you the old once over. Only strange when compared to ZhongGuanCUn/Wudaokou. You can get a real nice place for 3500 there but you are almost as far west on line 1 as you can be.

[Roze]

Ask the lowest paid workers at your place of employment where they live. Teachers ask your T A. That is if you are prepared to have them for neighbours. People earning less than 3000 a month all live somewhere. They may live with half a dozen relatives in their apartment but YOU don't have to.

As you say, another alternative is to move further out. The public transport here is excellent but you might have to get up earlier and join the sardines packed into the bus or train every morning.

Life doesn't always present us with everything on a plate, sometimes you have to go out and catch your own dinner.

[gato]

But where is your place? Your fellow Beijingers are curious.

[Roze]

Sorry people,

Lessons in security; Number 1:

Now children, NEVER, NEVER tell strangers on the internet where you live no matter how nice they may seem.

[Lu]

We're not asking for an address, we're asking for a general neighbourhood. Wudaokou, Dongqu, Shuangjing, a nearby metro stop, something like that. Or your previous neighbourhood, if you managed to pay as little there.

One of my colleagues, whose salary was about four times less than mine, lived across the corner from me, but she had one room in a shared apartment and I had a two-bedroom apartment to myself. Of course the lower-paid people live somewhere, but they generally get what they pay for.

[roddy]

So basically, Roze, you know something we don't know, and that's all you're telling us. Which is fine, but if you follow that link I posted you'll find people willingly sharing genuinely useful information with the community. 

[ChTTay]

Yes, this isn't turning out to be very helpful.

I don't really understand the point about shared housing. Are you saying I should find a shared house and try rent it just for myself? Wouldn't that just end up costing more?

And yes, the neighbourhood means nothing. I live in Shijingshan. You think you can track me down with that knowledge? I live near Ba Bao Shan. Am i now in danger?

[Roze]

I think this has gone far enough. Nobody knows who they are talking to on the internet and I don't care for some of your attitudes. Your site is now blocked.

[roddy]

Are you sure? I can still access it. 

[ChTTay]

Weird outcome.

Kind of sad I will never know where those apartments are though.

[imron]

The public transport here is excellent but you might have to get up earlier and join the sardines packed into the bus or train every morning.

I am more than willing to pay a premium not to have to do this.  When I lived in Beijing, I was a 5 minute walk from where I worked and was paying ~2500 a month for a 2 bedroom apartment within the 2nd ring road (just by Dongzhimen).  That being said, it was an older apartment and also quite run down, that didn't bother me, but I can understand why people might pay a premium for something a little nicer.

 

So yes, cheap apartments exist, but there are always tradeoffs to make.  If you want to live with 5 other people, and don't mind concrete floors and travelling an hour each way in sardine-like conditions you can get a place for a few hundred RMB a month.

[ChTTay]

Yeah, i had two choices of apartment. Live 5 minutes from the subway or 20 minutes. 5 minutes cost me an extra 500 a month but well worth it. Especially on those cold early mornings/late nights.

[Korat28]

Thanks everyone for the awesome replies!!  Sorry about my late reply!

[Korat28]

ChTTay, the 4000 housing allowance is paid as the salary, they don't furnish any apartments for the employee.  I am willing to live in a modest apartment. I need only the basics; A quiet clean place which has A/C and a heater.  It's just me, so I don't need anything big with awesome views or that.  I'd like to save money on an apartment, but not live in the ghetto, lol.  If I could get a decent studio or 1 BR, that'd be good enough!