House Hunting Rewind

So we went house (well…apartment) hunting again!  This time we saw 8 places in 3 hours.  We saw six more in the same Liri complex, and two others were across the street.  Out of the six in Liri we loved the first one we saw (unfortunately I forgot I had my camera with) but can’t really remember what it looked like.  From what we can piece together it was the only place that we have seen here in China with a dishwasher!  The furniture had a lot of character and was also comfortable but neutral.  There were three bedrooms, but one of them was set up like an office.  We liked that there wasn’t any child furniture or decorations (many places we have seen have rooms set up for children…which I can deal with but in those places the furniture was covered in stickers…don’t they know not to stick stickers on furniture!).  It also had a nice view.

The next place we liked was about a ten min. walk from any shopping or dining (which could be a problem when our driver is off duty in the middle of the rainy season…or even now with the humidity it isn’t fun to walk long distances to find food).  What I personally loved about this place (as you can see in the pictures) is that it is brand new, no one has lived here and they were waiting for the tenant to sign the contract giving them input on the furniture selection.  The appliances and flat screen tv were still in boxes, and the bathrooms were western style (counter space, shower, toilet).  The best part about this place is that it has a wonderful view of the river and a little river park right outside.  The downside, there is no community…so far it is only two buildings…which means construction. 

After discussing our options one on one and even going through the pros and cons of the places we saw last week we decided that Location was more important than the view.  We were also told to be pushier with any changes that we want/need.  We compared this place to the Liri apartment we saw last week and we are much happier!  There is still the issue of safety netting…apparently it is so no one can climb in.