Expiring Lease: Where to live for the next year?

In China it’s quite common for people to move around apartments after their one year lease expires. With inexpensive labor, it’s easy to move your belongings to a new neighborhood full of unexplored activities. It also provides renters with more negotiating power. You really have to be smart about what you get covered in the lease – far moreso than in the US. With our lease expiring in March, we have been looking around to find a place with more storage, different living environment, or better rent. The reality is that we love our apartment and location, but were curious what else is available in the slowing Shanghai housing market.
We really wanted to live in an old mansion that was split into several apartments. We had looked at one when we first moved to China. It was a gorgeous old French mansion. The problem was that the renovations were being finished and the place looked more like an easter egg than a 1930s home. They wouldn’t let us paint, so we opted for the place we live now. Despite our efforts to find a similar place, we had no luck. We looked at a few old mansions but the apartments were small or not in the condition we wanted.
We also looked at several Lane Houses. These are like multi-story condos with 2 side neighbors. Most of these were built in the ‘30s-50s and have been remodeled and updated. There are usually at least 5 floors – each one about half a flight up stairs with 1 or 2 rooms. We saw many beautiful ones, though they weren’t so practical….too big for 2 people and too cumbersome with all the flights for visitors.
We also looked at a few apartments – but nothing as nice as we have now. We even looked in our building, one floor up. The renters had just moved out of an end unit (there are 3 apartments on each floor). The layout was a bit odd, and we were shocked at how torn up the place looked. So in the end, we are signing a new lease in our current apartment with about a 15% decrease in cost. We also negotiated a few things – like increased shelving/storage, cleaning of area carpets, buffing of floors, some extra pieces of furniture, air filter renewal, etc. It is actually good for us as our neighborhood has an increasing amount of new, hip places as well as the diversity of western comforts and Chinese charm.

Chinese Antique Hunting

Many of our friends are returning to the US this summer. As they start their preparations for the move home, we’ve noticed a common theme: they’re all having furniture made.
We decided to spend a weekend day investigating this "furniture making" craze. We started with Chinese antiques, including new antiques which are basically custom made but look like the old style. We got a bit distracted as it was rather fun looking at all the Chinese styled furniture – dreaming up ideas for shoe cabinets, garden furniture, dressers, etc. Four stores later, we made our way to a store which we’d heard so much about: Elm Workshop. They use Chinese Elm, American Oak, and (recycled) Burmese teak to make any of your favorite wooden furniture. Imagine catalogs upon catalogs of famous brand name furniture: stickley, pottery barn, etc. They can reproduce any of that in the stain you want. We spent a lot of time looking at photos from our California home,trying to identify what we want made. We have to admit – after less than 9 months in the house, we had forgotten a lot about what we needed. We still have some homework to doon where and what to make, but are excited by the prospect of coming home with some well designed custom pieces! :)