Worldtour in China

I've written about housing before and expressed my preference to live in my own apartment. Check my past posts for the story behind my last move. There is a wide range of housing. Because I am not at a university at the moment, and I have students, I chose to get a pretty upscale place. This shot is from my balcony window and shows the inside of the courtyard. Most complexes are large, this one is designated as a "model" complex. This is an award given to the best level. Private schools can be rated this way to as well as other things. It has nice flower beds, the bridge on the left traverses the fish pond. You can see the entrance from the street in the center. It is right off a major street, it is not as noisy as most places, so there are a lot of good things including an elevator.

Now don't get me wrong, if you come to China you will not be given a place like this to live as it is just too expensive. However if you team up with another teacher or two you wouldn't be spending that much more than you would be for a mediocre place and 1/3 the size. I rented it to draw in higher end students and to give my current students a nice place to come and study and also for me. You can find smaller places that have been remodeled for about 1000 rmb, and your average 40 - 50 square meter place will be 5-6 hundred rmb. Considering you should make 4-7 thousand rmb that is not to expensive. Right now I'm taking things a bit slower than in the past and I'm in the black so it's a good thing for me right now.

Most complexes have 1st floor businesses on the street side of the buildings. This complex has a large internet cafe on the ground floor to the left of the entrance that you see in the picture. The gamers are having their fun. On the opposite side is a small restaurant. Every thing you want or need is nearby. It's kind of nice to look back at my beginnings here and track my success at least from the housing side of things. I would say that this place is the nicest place I have ever lived in aside from Hancock Park in Hollywood. Remember I have been a starving artist most of my years. Well not starving but certainly struggling. Plus I led a rather simple more rustic life in WA. State living in a converted barn. That may give you a little insight into my past. Well tonight I'm going to have a nice meal on the sidewalk where the night market is and watch the scenery.


worldtour aka Larry Rhoe

posted by worldtour @ 5:08 PM