As the temps soared to 40C again, instead of being miserable sitting in air conditioning and having little to no human contact, why not spend it with an apartment broker and try to find a permanent place to live here in Suzhou?! All-in-all we looked at twelve different apartments in four different neighborhoods (Ligongdi, Xinghai Square, Dongfangzhimen, and Times Square). The apartments ranged from average to expensive and also broken-in to brand new. It is interesting as the three brand new apartments we visited had no furniture in them and for two of the three I would have some say on what type is purchased. Looking at barren apartments does make it a bit harder to get a good feel for how large or small a place is.
Out of the twelve places there are three great contenders, all within my budget. Each place is in a different neighborhood, each are differently priced (but within 1000rmb of each other), and each have a different commute to work commitment. At this point I’ve not made up my mind but I am leaning towards one unit. See if you can figure out which one and later this week when I sign a lease I’ll let you know which it is! 🙂
The descriptions of the places listed below are in the order in which they were viewed. I thought I took a lot of pictures of the first place, but either I didn’t or the camera on my phone didn’t capture the images I thought it did. (This has happened before, usually my fault when it does.) All places had central heating and air conditioning, so I will only call out some differences in that regard as needed.
If you’re just looking for pictures of the places and don’t care for the commentary, click the links below:
Suzhou Center
The first place is brand new and in Xinghai Square/Dongfangzhimen area. It’s located right next to the brand new W Hotel (whose opening date slipped to September from October), and is pretty close to the subway line 1 entrance. The building is called the Suzhou Center and is really nice. The unit I saw was a one bedroom, one bath with a galley-style kitchen, no current furnishings, an amazing bathroom (with a view), and a view-to-kill living room. The downside is that it’s a pretty small unit, listed at 88sqm (square meters, about 950 sq ft) but felt more like 37sqm (400 sq ft). There is no door to where the bedroom would be, but that won’t matter much as it’s just me living in the place. It would be a tight squeeze for having guests over and there is no room for a dining table. The view is amazing, did I mention that yet? The livingroom has a great view of “the big pants building” and the north part of Jinji Lake. The commute to work will be just about an hour each way and I could take either one or two busses or the subway (and transfer twice). There’s a second unit for rent in this building for slightly less money per month, has a slightly less good view (more city, no lake), no furniture yet, and is exactly the same size. So if I choose to go with this apartment, I have two similar ones to potentially live in if my first choice is no longer available. I believe the unit with the pictures is from the 41st floor and the other unit is on the 16th floor.
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The Summit
There were two units I looked at in this Xinghai Square neighborhood building, and while they were both good and comfortable, the one on the higher floor (28th) was a corner unit and when you look at the master bedroom with two walls of windows, you can understand why I like that unit more. The Summit is the lowest priced of the three units I’m writing about and it’s also the oldest building. That said, the unit felt really modern and nice on the inside, had a huge kitchen, and comfortable furniture. This unit is also the furthest from work (55-70 minutes each way), but where that lacks in daily productivity it gains as being about one block away from The Camel Sports Bar — one of the expat bars in Suzhou that I enjoy going to, and right next to The Camel is El Luchedor — a pretty good Mexican restaurant that keeps three different types of hot sauce on each table (score!). The master bathroom in this unit has a similar amazing view from it as the one in Suzhou Center. There is a separate guest bathroom. Plenty of storage space.
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Harmony City
Harmony City is the apartment building that has the mall below it that I really like in Times Square neighborhood. In fact, after apartment shopping today I had a late brunch at a place in the mall called Miss Pancake. It was cheap and really good! (I had a delicious omelette with french toast, potatoes, and bottomless cup of coffee for 56rmb — about $8.30.) The unit was nice, has a huge kitchen quite similar to the one at The Summit, and was also a two bedroom unit. Sadly it has only one bathroom which felt pretty tight, especially with the tub/shower combo. The dining table was a nice touch. The commute from work to Harmony City is the shortest out of all the places I looked at; about 25-30 minutes on the 156 bus and no connections or transfers needed. That bus route, however, is pretty busy the few times I was on it during rush hour. Oddly, the master bedroom does not have a closet but the guest bedroom does. This place has the least amount of built-in storage space out of all three units and is likely I’d need to buy a dresser or two for clothes.
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So tell me, what do you think? (Submit a comment…) Which unit of the three would you select if you were a bachelor like me and all the units are well within your allowed budget?
They all seem very livable, Richie; however, I’m liking the Summit over the other choices. It seems really roomy and having 2 bedrooms with separate baths will make you the ideal host for family or friends to visit. That might actually be a ‘con’, but it’s better to have the space than not have it when you do have visitors. I also like having the washing machine hidden in the unit as opposed to some shared one outside the unit (or sitting out in the open space of the unit). The extra storage will come in handy as you start to accumulate new stuff. You can always get a larger TV, so that’s solvable. And being near your favorite hangouts makes it easier to stumble home after a hard day at the office or whatever 😁. Anyway, that’s my 2 cents worth. Enjoy your adventure.
If I move to the Summit it’ll be close to a repeat of when I moved to Seattle and got crazy good at darts; The Camel sports bar next door has four soft tip darts boards — exactly the type I play on when in Seattle or at tournaments!
I should also say I was keen on getting a two bedroom place so I can have friends or family visit and we all would have a bed. It’s one pain point I still loathe when I visit my folks for Christmas the same time my sister and her family are there; I get stuck in the den sleeping on a couch!
I’m voting for Summitt!!! Hate the longer commute for you (It’s my work hell as well) but it sounds like a great place and next to things you’ve found you like. I think, if it were me, I’d be happiest there. Can’t wait to read what you decide!!!
I have early morning conf calls most the week (7am and some 6am ones mixed in) so I might be missing the bulk of the morning rush from one side of town to the other. Having a place to put my laptop and a cup of hot tea while on these calls is important!