Moving to Shenzhen

wellcome to shenzhen,
yes,in shenzhen if you rent an apartment from the agency, you need pay them 50% of one month rent,
you can live in OCT in futian, there is a nice area with nice club for swimming,tennis, and there is a park with many trees,grass, the important things is there is a big wallmart and another marketing for shopping food etcs, and nearby the subway station, very convenient, also very safe, the house over there is not very expensive,
if you are interested in share house with a easy going chinese girl you can contact me, coz the contract of my apartment will be end soon,I am also looking for roommate too, as I think if I share apartment with couples will be more safe than a single for me too,
you can reach me by msn: hanqingoodmood@hotmail.com
Thank you
Sunny
m

oh, by the way, the OCT is called Hua qiao cheng, most beautifull safe area in shenzhen,
also many foreigns living there,
there are many restaurants all over there,
and if you wanna go to shekou for dinning or bar something, it's very nearby, take a taxi need 10 mins, take bus need 20mins,
take subway to Luohu(nearby HK) for shopping needs 15 mins,

50% is normal, you can just pay for 50%, there is no law for it right now.

what does pros and cons mean ?

Pros & Cons... Mmmm, I think there are far too many clubs bars in Sekou, it's ok for going out, but not the best to live in. Plus, you don't get underground in Sekou, I think the underground furthest reaches End of OCT.

Oct is beautiful place, quiet, trees, bird all that sorta stuff. you get a massive wal mart in Oct, lots restaurant and easy access and etc. But it's more expensive than anywhere else in Shenzhen, and the whole place is designed like a "theme park", sometimes it can be a bit teki. It all depends on where you are going to work, I lived in both, and prefer OCT.

and some suggestions for you, if you only stay shenzhen for 1 month, it's difficult to rent an apartment. Here you have to rent at least half year or one year. and for half year, probably you have to pay one month rental as comission,the owner won't pay the half month rental comission , coz the renting period is too short.

Shekou undoubtedly has more foreign residents; the SZDaily recently reported that expats paid 10% of the income tax in the Shekou area. Shekou also the highest concentration of international schools, and more in the way of grocery shopping and so on.

As an expat enclave, it is more concentrated than the spread-out Futian community. But it's also tougher to reach, unless you have a car: 10-15 km from the end of the Metro.

There are more and more services available in Futian's expanding CBD, near the Exhibition Center: malls, five-star hotels, western-style restaurants. But it's more of a taxi-and-Metro neighborhood; Shekou residents seem to walk more. (OCT, mentioned above, is also good for walking; but this is in Nanshan, not, as mentioned, Futian.)

I myself live in Futian, and love it. But Shekou is great, too.

I recommend that you contact Dial-an-Angel (you can Google it), a realty and relocation agency run by an Australian, if you decide to live in Shekou. Too bad they don't reach out into other parts of the city.

As another advisor wrote above, much depends on where you'll be working. It also depends on what your wife will be doing; if she stays at home, Shekou has a good group, the Shekou International Women's Club.

This sort of question is always tough to answer without all the facts; I hope it's helpful.

-James

Quote: but this is in Nanshan, not, as mentioned, Futian.

Surprise surpise, OCT is actually in Futian, the deviding line between Futian and Nanshan is actually Baishizhou, which is also the end of OCT.

johnny yeung
Hi, Dear friend,
There are a lot of choices to be stayed in Shenzhen. The
rental charge is about RMB 800 for a small appartment and
RMB 2000-3000 for a 2 rooms unit all depends on locations.
If you get appartment through a rental agent, you will have
to pay 50% of a month's rental charge as well as the owner.
If you don't mind to use a bit of time to search for direct
contact owners via advertistment then you could save such
agent charge. Should you need further help in such, please
feel free contact my sell : 13602554589

Have a nice trip to Shenzhen

Sorry to disagree, but I'm looking at several maps that show Qiaochengdong (East OCT Road) as the eastern border of Nanshan.

Has something changed?

I see that OCT is in Shehe Jiedao (Subdistrict) on numerous Chinese maps.

Would you agree that Happy Valley, Window of the World, and Splendid China are in OCT? Here's something from a Nanshan government page:

http://www.szns.gov.cn/main_en/generalinfo/
"Nanshan is abundant in tourism resources and welcomes more than 11 million visitors every year. After many years' development, diversified tourist attractions integrating theme parks, urban view, historical relics, resorts, ecological sight seeing etc. have been established. The Window of the World, Splendid China and Happy Valley represent the top theme parks in China..."

Can you cite some sources?

On this very website, I see:

http://www.shenzhenparty.com/category/metro_station/line1/huaqiaochengov...
"OCT LOFT F1-105A - Hua Qiao Cheng, Nanshan, SHENZHEN – CHINA "

On the Sundan company homepage:

http://www.sundan.com/b2c/cn/eng/default.htm
"OCT's C-Mall Plaza, Sheng Nan Road, Nanshan District, Shenzhen."

Asia Time's Magazine's hotel site:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/others/china-hotel-shenzhen.html
"Novotel Bauhinia Hotel
East Qiaocheng Road, Huaqiaocheng, Nanshan District"

Soufun Real Estate:
http://world.soufun.com/english/news/1093747.htm
"Manhattan Kids Club
Website: http://www.manhattankidsclub.com/
1)OCT
Add:Overseas Chinese Town Nanshan District Shenzhen"

If you can show me that there has been some redistricting, I would be happy to change the maps on my page.

Surprise, Surprise.

Thanks.

Thanks for all the info guys.

We have decided to live in Shekou to be near the sea.

I will be working next to mix-c in luohu. Does anyone know the best bus to take from Shekou to there?

I would also be interested in finding a car and driver to take me to and from work 5 days a week, does anyone have any idea of prices for this or a reliable driving company?

Wow that is a long trip to make each day1 K204 would be the best bet for a bus. A driver will charge you between 50-70 each way for the trip depending on his car, and how often you use him
[Wowzers Batman]
scott@shenzhenparty.com

Thanks, Where would I get the K204 from?

Do you know any reliable drivers/companies I could talk to?

Cheers,

Terry.

Hi Johnny, are you an agent?

What is your email address please?

Thanks,

Terry,

I think the K204 stops just near seaworld. but im not sure as i have only caught it a few times.
I dont know any reliable drivers sorry.
A good english speaking real estate agent is realestate.emily@gmail.com

[Wowzers Batman]
scott@shenzhenparty.com

Hi.

As I mentioned earlier, Dial-an-Angel is a rental agency run by an Australian expat and his wife. Their office is in Shekou.

K204 is undoubtedly the fastest bus. It stops at 海上世界 (hai shang she jie) the Seaworld Plaza, and at the other end 深圳书城 (shen zhen shu cheng) Book City in Luohu, right near the Mixc. 23 stops between, and fairly direct (some bus routes are convoluted).

As for drivers: Several have advertised here on Shenzhen Party's classifieds recently. And you can always check with your company.

also as not so fast buses go there is the 113 and 70, these both stop at windows of the world so u can change to the MTR but the 113 will continue onto louohu also.
[Wowzers Batman]
scott@shenzhenparty.com

thanks!

Whether to live in Futian or Shekou depends on what you want for a Shenzhen experience. If you want to attempt to mirror a western lifestyle, live in Shekou. Shekou has most of the international schools and the SOS medical clinic too. If you want to be on the subway, live in Futian. There are areas of Futian much newer and nicer than Shekou, and they'll be convenient to Hong Kong too. Many Koreans live in Futian. The nicer malls, shopping and eating areas are in Futian. I agree with James' comments.

wow....its a long way from shekou...might as well stay in louhu as it is also near Hk....louhu has nice place to shop and eat...being near to other expats is not a big deal....its the long journey to and fro from work EVERYDAY!!!that you have to consider. MIXC city is a big shopping mall with a skating rink and there is also a super market where you can find lots of imported stuff and also other malls like the King Glory and other shopping areas....sooner or later you will regret staying in shekou becoz of the distance travelling...Usually people who stay in shekou are people who works in Nanshan or in shekou itself...anyway the choice is still yours...cheerio

wow....its a long way from shekou...might as well stay in louhu as it is also near Hk....louhu has nice place to shop and eat...being near to other expats is not a big deal....its the long journey to and fro from work EVERYDAY!!!that you have to consider. MIXC city is a big shopping mall with a skating rink and there is also a super market where you can find lots of imported stuff and also other malls like the King Glory and other shopping areas....sooner or later you will regret staying in shekou becoz of the distance travelling...Usually people who stay in shekou are people who works in Nanshan or in shekou itself...anyway the choice is still yours...cheerio