Apartment Hunting...

... is kind of like treasure hunting. Cap'n Miffy's favorite pastime! [Not.]

The view from a rundown apartment.

Damn I made this place look way too good, haha.

Today I spent the entire afternoon with a real estate agent walking around Xuhui (徐匯區, Concession areas). He managed to show me 5 places, ranging from 3,600 to 5,600 RMB, from 30 to 70 sq. meters, from shitty to shittier kitchens/bathrooms. I haven't fallen in love yet, but it's okay since I'm not desperate to move in yet. Either the place is too small (and thus too expensive for its size) or the furniture looks like it belongs to my grandma. Actually no, my grandma has better taste than most of the wtf that I've seen so far. 

Unfortunately all the awesome places that have a nice outdoor sitting area and tasteful furnishings are well over $1,000 USD, which sounds really cheap to New Yorkers... but you have to remember that this is China and I'm being paid a China salary now while having student loans. An extra $500+ USD a month adds up to an additional $6,000 USD/year! Imagine all the a-yis [ 阿姨, maids ] I could hire!!! I could seriously buy an indentured servant with that extra dough. And a few round trip tickets back home. :) 

Anyways, I'll need to check out more places to get a better gauge of the market. I may decide to shell out for a nice place, but I would like to make sure I get my money's worth. More hunting tomorrow!