Housing and Relocation

Orientation
First of all you need to make clear where in the city you would like to live. In Hankou in the North of Wuhan you will find some nice apartments, lots of new high-rise, lots of restaurants and bars. It is close to the hotels, the business area and the airport. Wuchang, where you can find the East Lake is a much nicer area to live as there are less buildings, more green and the air is fresher. In Wuchang you will find a lot of foreign students and teachers. To get from Wuchang to Hankou is not always very convenient. In Hanyang is a large French community as the Citroen Joint Venture is located in the Development Zone of Hanyang. There are some nice villa's near the airport and along some of the lakes in Wuchang. The prices are a little higher, but still acceptable. The villa's are normally big, Western style and very safe. Also a lot of apartment complex have 24 hour security through video camera's and security guards. 

Appearance
Some new apartments look very nice, but the outside does not say much about the inside of the apartment. You will also need to take into consideration that for a new apartment building you might not be the only one moving. It could very well be possible that a few months after you have moved in, your neighbours start their decorations. This might cause a lot of nuisance. An old and poor looking building might have some very nicely decorated and well taken care of apartments on the inside. Don't judge too soon, always take some time to have a good look around and ask your landlord some questions.

Intermediary
When you want to find an apartment you can ask a friend to help you or you can contact a housing agent. Please note that a housing agent will ask a service charge, normally a month's rent, but they can safe a lot of time for you. Please note that most of the agents don't speak any English.

First look
When you make your first appointment to look at an apartment, please prepare some things in advance. It is always useful to bring a measuring rod, pen and paper and maybe your camera. You can make some measures to check the actual size of the apartment and take some pictures to remember the apartment more clearly. When you look at the apartment also pay good attention to the neighborhood. Check if there is any change they will start building right in front of your window or if your neighbours still need to do the renovations of their apartment. See if there is parking space, can you park your car or your bicycle, is it easy to take a taxi. Is there an elevator in the apartment? How about security? Is there a gym, restaurant or any other facility in the building? 

Facilities
When you enter the apartment check the facilities such as good air conditioning, enough power supply, the power of the water, any leakage, damages in the walls, ceiling or floor. How is the isolation, how is the glass in the windows. 

Service
Discuss with the landlord what to do in case of problems in the house such as leakage, something broken etc. Also discuss if the rent is included furniture? Most of the time the apartment rent is included furniture, but everything is negotiable. You can even discuss new furniture or perhaps a new bathroom. For foreigners a kitchen and bathroom are the most important in the house, they need to be big and clean. In the Chinese culture this is different and they can look pretty horrible sometimes. Do remember but a good cleaning sometimes already can create a miracle.

Payment
Finally you need to discuss the payment, will you pay every month or every three months? Normally a deposit of three months rent is asked for. In China the rent normally is paid cash. In some cases you can ask a 'fapiao' a receipt, but then you probably need to pay more. 

Ayi
In Asia it is very common for foreigners to have an Ayi in the house. Ayi actually means auntie. You can call a woman of your mother's generation Ayi. An Ayi is also a housekeeper. When you look for an Ayi it is important to find somebody reliable. You can ask a friend to help you introduce somebody. This way it will not be easy for them to cheat on you or be careless of your belongings.