Oh Yeah, It’s Really Happening

I’m really a Beijing resident. I even got a little piece of paper from the local police station saying so. (Okay, it says I’m a temporary resident, but that’s all foreigners really can be here.) I’m here. I’ve got a great apartment. I’ve got an Internet connection. What more do I need?

How about a bathtub? And a separate shower? Central Air Conditioning? Hot water freely flowing from all the faucets, even in the kitchen? A laminate floor? An oven? A washing machine that also dries AND is capable of washing with hot water? A couch so comfortable you can actually sit on it for more than five minutes? A green landscaped garden space downstairs complete with indoor and outdoor pool? Yup, all the things I missed in my Linyi apartment. And I’ve got them now. I’m living big. I don’t mean to brag. I’m actually overwhelmed just a little.

This move doesn’t feel nearly as radical as, say, a move to Saudi Arabia. I’ve been in Beijing before. I know the culture, the language (some of it, anyway), the routines of Chinese life. Still, this is an adjustment. Beijing is so different from Linyi in so many ways. It won’t be a difficult adjustment, but I feel the bubbling of mini-culture shock nonetheless.

For one thing, my new apartment complex is crawling with other expats. (My landlady said the ratio of Chinese to expats is 70%-30%, but I read elsewhere it’s more like 50-50.) It is so bewildering to see kids riding bicycles and rollerblading around the garden area shouting out in English to each other. I can’t stop staring.

We’re living in the border area between Dongzhimen and Sanlitun, areas in the eastern part of Beijing very popular among expats. There are western restaurants, cafés and import food stores around every corner. I just don’t know what to think of it all. Don’t get me wrong, I’m planning on a cheese run later this morning, but I feel just a little bit weary of becoming too accustomed to the easy pickings of Beijing expat life. (Not to mention the expense of the imports!)

I had the help of a local Beijing friend in my apartment search. She contacted real estate agents and accompanied me on visits. Being a frugal person, she wanted me to see a full range of apartments, and we started off at several less-expensive old-style brick walk-ups. These are the buildings that have been in Beijing for decades, where you can find older residents in the courtyards sitting on stools and chairs chatting or playing cards. The buildings have a lot of personality (think meat products and undergarments hanging out the windows) and after living in a similar xiao qu (neighborhood complex) in Linyi, albeit newer, I was very open-minded about these places. I think it would have been fun to live in an older apartment that I could fix up and make my own. Alas, I was too romantic. The apartments I saw were dark, small and oddly decorated. The bathrooms were generally the size of a card table, complete with sink, shower and toilet. As much as I thought I was accustomed to living native style, these apartments did not speak to me.

Our first year in China we lived in a hotel room. The last three years have been spent in an apartment devoid of personality and creature comforts. To be honest, I feel a bit like a university student, just getting by. When I stepped into the apartment that is now mine, I knew my “university” days were over. And I knew there was no going back. I could not let this apartment get away. The DH and I put in an offer right away. It was just so comfortable, so neat and modern, so convenient to where we wanted to live. And did you see that list of amenities above!?

So welcome to Global Gal’s China Adventure Version 3.0 – The Grown Up Years.

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Tagged as: apartment, Beijing, Daily Life, Moving