Apartment Hunting

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I have spent the week getting acquainted with Tianjin and TEDA (Tianjin Economic Development Area). Can you believe we have been here 4 weeks already!

On Monday the guide took me to several apartments, some were incredible and some were not so good. I am guessing she took me to the two extremes so that I would want to choose the more expensive apartments. There were some "bachelor pads" and it looked as if the guys were not planning to really go anywhere. Would you all believe the price range is $3800USD to $1250USD. And these were just the ones I liked. I about fell out of my seat when I saw how expensive apartments can get. We have met a couple of expats (foreign workers) who complained about the price of apartments. They said because companies pay the bill and are willing, they can overcharge. This pretty evident. They offered several recommendations on what they thought was fairly priced. Since I don't know what the company is going to pay, I guess I will wait.

I have been to about every shopping mall and grocery store in the area. "Stella", my guide, is doing a nice job. I think she is new to this job. She follows the itinerary and does not seem to know TEDA very well.

BTW: TEDA is the business district where Dave's office is located. Tianjin is the major city which is about 45 minutes away by car.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday is spent touring Tianjin downtown. By Chinese standards it is a large city but smaller than Beijing. There are about 9 million people in the area.

I found out about the two bars where the expats hangout and luckily there is one in TEDA called Hank's Bar and Grill. The one in Tianjin is called the Upper Deck.

Today (Thursday) I was taken to the Health Clinic that services expats. The clinic manager Marian King was very nice and very helpful. I have to admit is was nice to be able to speak English with someone and it was her first language. Come to find out she is from South Africa. We were discussing what vaccinations we had and would need. I mentioned Dave and I had been to Namibia on safari and had some of what she recommended. We spent about 10 minutes just talking about Africa. That gave me a boost of energy.

Dave is Shanghai today and tomorrow. He will be home by tomorrow night. Saturday is our 17th wedding anniversary. I think I decided what I want for a present. Sorry Dave but it is spending the evening talking with people whose first language is English.

We are enjoying ourselves, and I look forward to learning a new language and culture. However, as a dear friend Pam told me and from my time in Mexico, sometimes you just need a break.

Pictures later....

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