Apartment Hunting 5865 miles away.

Having somewhere to live is always helpful. My school provides me with an allowance for my rent and utilities and an agent to help make everything happen. The allowance seems reasonable from what I can tell, however some staff supplement their allowance to live somewhere a little larger.

Initially there is one major question to consider and that is which side of the Lake to live on. East v's West. The Western side of the Lake Suzhou is the original redevelopment of Suzhou and so the buildings are a little older than those on the East and it is considered to be more of the downtown area and more Chinese. The Eastern side is far more Westernised, quieter, closer to work and with a larger expat population.

My new school gave me a buddy and there are another couple of colleagues who have been helpful and emailed to answer questions. From the 4 colleagues who have been emailing me they are very much split in their opinion as to which side of the lake to live on. Some prefer the West as they like the fact that it is closer to all the hustle and bustle and the older part of town. However the Eastern side being closer to work seems like the better option for us as it is likely I will spend a lot of time there and with having free access to the swimming pool at school that is an added bonus. The East apparently has big wide leafy streets and a multitude of parks so you don't feel like you are in a city and with our dog coming with us being near so many parks will be perfect.

I have a lovely relocation agent called Rachel who sends the loveliest emails. There are the occasional moments where she slips into "Chinglish" but I can forgive her that. I loved the day when she signed an email with "waiting for my good news" and she continually tells me "you are so sweet". I've never been convinced that I am that sweet that you can tell via email, but I'll take it! I probably shouldn't joke about her "Chinglish" as I don't speak any Mandarin whatsoever and will be relying heavily on as many apps as I can download onto my phone, along with my fabulous Wordless Travel Book that I talked about in a previous post.

So, Rachel who thinks I'm "sweet" has emailed to tell me that she has found our apartment. Interesting that it is the only apartment she is offering me. No pictures of the interior until the end of June and no list of chattels. Sounds great doesn't it? To be fair it is apparently identical to the apartment of one of the teachers I have been talking to, just 2 floors lower, the 13th floor. Superstitions around the 13th floor are quite amusing. Personally I don't mind at all. Having a dog does restrict us and it also means we may potentially have to make a decision prior to arriving so that we can organise Bella's plane ticket.

The lovely Rachel did manage to take some photos outside of the apartment building she believes is perfect for us and the surrounding area so we at least have some geographical notions as to what it might be like. We haven't lived in an apartment complex like this before so it will certainly be interesting.

Another colleague I met while at the Search Associates job fair in Melbourne is obviously going through a similar scenario, however she has 2 beautiful daughters and so she needs to ensure that they are living in a good area for children. It is really good having met at least one person who will be going through the same things at the same time so that we can compare notes over a glass of wine, virtual or otherwise. It is really worth making contact with a few people who are about to take the plunge into international teaching as they can really relate to your situation.

Decisions will just have to wait for a little while.