Settling In 87outside of city centre can be as little as US$ 400 a month,
while newly developed modern compounds in the city centre
can cost US$ 1,500 monthly and up. These prices are relative
to which city you are living in, for example, Beijing is clearly
more expensive than Wuhan.
There are a few critical things to look for when inspecting
a non-serviced apartment. The obvious are to check water
pressure and whether there is adequate electricity flow to
run multiple appliances. The less obvious is the amount of
noise around the apartment: Is there a wet market that sets
up outside at 4:00 am every day? Is the place close to noisy
rush hour traffic? Is it next to a school that blares its exercise
music at 7:00 am every day?
Next is to check the ventilation in the kitchen. Most
vents are shared between apartments. If done poorly, your
apartment will end up being at the exhaust end, and you can
smell your neighbour frying fish (or other strong smelling
food) every evening.
The third is to look at construction activity nearby. Even a
person with the steadiest nerves in the world can be reduced
to blithering mush after two weeks of non-stop drilling or
pounding which has left them sleepless for nights on end.
Construction sites are a major source of noise pollution. Check if there are
any near your apartment.