Getting set up for day to day life in Shenzhen

Hi,

> How easy is it to find a good apartment at a good price?

Shenzhen is getting very expensive.

You can start looking at the small adds section here and then start by looking at sites like soufun.com which offer greater choice especially in terms of pricing.

If you do not speak chinese, you can set Google Chrome Webbrowser to directly translate chinese. You normally get the idea.

Prices depend on location, size and decoration. 

If you are willing to live somewhere else than Shenzhen (will depend on what you do), there are still inexpensive areas with good connections to Shenzhen and Guangzhou by rail - send me a PM.

> Can it be done in a matter of days, or does it usually take longer?

It really depends on your requirements. The more "specific" they are the longer you will take to find something.

It is entierly poossible to find a place in a day or two and to sign the lease on the third day and move in the same day.

> What type of security deposit is required?

Normal is two month rent deposit, can be three month and first month rent to move in. You may be able to get discount if you pay quarterly, semi-annually or annually.

As an additional hint, try finding a gated community / development (often called park) with good security, petty crime is common.

> I am planning on buying a smart phone. Someone told me that buying one in Hong Kong would

> be the best choice because it would have Mandarin characters on the phone (which it wouldn't

> have if I bought it in Canada), but better prices than the mainland. Is this good advice?

It is reasonable advise. Some Phones are cheaper in HK, on the other hand Shenzhen has huge electronic markets and you can drive a hard bargain. Make sure you know what something is really worth and walk away, if neccesarry several times, if they no longer call you back to offer a better price you know you got close to their best price, but usually you can get a bit more off.

You can now get a range of china made smartphones for the local market which are very good value for money, compared to the majors.

If you want to buy Apple or Samsung HK may be a better bet, these command a premium on the mainland, but if you buy from te major shops there is no better price you can get local with bargaining.

3G services may be a problem with HK phones, I do not use them in China, in part becuase the internet is heavily censored (see wikipedia under "Great Firewall of China") and using systems to avoid such censorship (like so-called VPN services) is illegal in china (so don't for example subscribve to such a service abroad and expect to use it in china if you do not want to break local laws), often it is difficult to support VPN on mobile/android devices. You may find buying a generic phone and an ultraportable laptop more useful.

> If I buy a new phone in Hong Kong, can I get it hooked up with a service provider in a day or two?

You can buy "pay as you go" aka "prepaid" Sim cards on every street corner. Go to an official China Mobile or China Telecom Shop, streetcorner vendors may try to overcharge you.

> Once I have an apartment, how long does it take to get internet connected in my home?

Depends a little, but it normally quite quick, a few days. You can get now very high speed connections easily, however that speed is only good in china, if you go onto the real internet outside china things slow significantly. Also, access to websites deemed harmful by the chinese government is blocked. 

> Does anyone have a suggestion for an internet service provider?

Often you will have to use the provider that covers your gated community. We use China Telecom, 4MB line, personally.

You are making a big mistake even bringing up Korea, this isn't Korea. Don't make the mistake of thinking Asia, and oriental, equals sameness, so many people make that mistake.

As for finding an Apartment, why on earth would you come to China "before" you have a place to live? No offense, but that does not seem like at all the wisest move. As to how long it takes, depends. If you use an agency it can be fast, however they often charge a fee that can be as much as half of ones month rent. Also, you being a foreigner, and not having prepared or looked into the market here, you'll pay top dollar. It's unlikely you will be able to find anything a Chinese would rent, menaing something affordable. No, you will almost certainly pay the sucker foreigner price. As for sercuity deposit, it is usually one months rent, though you will have to pay 2 to 3 months up front. It could cost you a small fortune if you are not careful. There are ad's all over the net trying to get foreigners to spend 10,000 RMB and up on apartments in Shekou, total rip off by the way.

You should have taken your time and found something before hand. waiting until you come here, you are sure to pay out the nose.

Cell phones are easy, we are right next to HK. You can buy them super cheap, and it's easy to but a sim card and just pop it in. Not a problem.

As for internet, fastest connection is a relative thing. Depending on time of day you will find very download and browsing speed, and going with a popular provider won't always guarantee you the advertised speeds. as for how long, depends. Again, if you use an agent they may or may not help you with this, land,ord most likely will, seeing as he will be charging you twice what the apartment culd fetch if advertised to Chinese people. Landlord can handle it usually, though you may need someone to translate. As I said though, most who try to rent their apartments for sucker rates on an English speaking site will speak some English.

I don't care how long you have lived abroad, and havinbg lived in Korea gives you zero help, especially if we are talking about South Korea. No, you have no background or experience that has even remotely prepared you for China.

about the apartment ,you need to  make a contract,usually half of a year or one year,there's many person can help you find the aparment ,like the house agent.they can do almost everything about rent apartment for you

get internet connected is easy thing,when u finish  rent a house or apartment ,u can call the China telecom's service number,they will connected it for u very soon.

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

@Mandingo, I didn't intend to imply that I thought China would be like Korea. I know they are very different places. I have lived in several different countries and am aware of vastly different experiences. I fullly intend China to be a new experience, just like every country I have lived in. That is why I am here asking advice. I apologize if my wording gave off the wrong idea. I only brought up Korea to get an idea of the security deposit. In Korea, you have to make a key money deposit that is equal to about $10,000 USD just to get a cheap bachelor apartment with $500 rent. I wanted to know if I need to plan on making a similarly large deposit, but it seems like that is not the case.

The reason that I have not yet found an apartment is because my employer will be providing me with one month of free accomodation and assistance in finding an apartment once I arrive. I was simply asking for advice so that I know what to expect.

Just so that I can get a handle on what to expect, if I wanted to live in Futian, would I be able to find a livable one bedroom for 3500RMB/month, or should I be budgeting more?