I wanted to keep costs low, so I decided to rent an apartment and hire a Chinese woman to cook and clean. Have you ever considered doing such a thing? You said you always stay at the Fengyuan, and staying in a concrete room with a bare light bulb is "illegal", but I would be living in a legitimate place, whatever that means.
I'm not certain whether there are any regulations not allowing foreigners to rent, and whether renting is done by yearly contract only. My friend had a huge 2 bedroom in Zhengzhou for 2000 RMB/month ($250 US), so I figure it would be even cheaper in Dengfeng. Plus, I've seen that they've been building some newer, townhome-like buildings in Dengfeng, I plan to check it out.
What do you think?
There does not seem to be any regulations anymore, or at least they're not enforced, about allowing foreigners to rent apartments. Hey, in Beijing, they're encouraging foreigners to buy apartments. Remember, we're in a rapidly evolving capitalistic economy over here. If you've got the cash, you've got what you want.
But, even though it is much less expensive than a hotel (the schools are the cheapest, but not as comfy), an apartment can be a nightmare. Don't expect elevators to the fifth floor for one, few if any apartments in Dengfeng have elevators. Also, don't expect hot water, not all apartments have hot water heaters, which, by the way, tend to be small electric thingies that hang over the bathtub. Don't expect peace and quiet at night, the roads, if your apartment overlooks one, can be quite noisy all night, and with the incredible construction going on here in Dengfeng, (they work from 6AM to midnight, regularly), getting sleep can be difficult if your apartment resides next to a construction site.
The apartment that you rent might not be furnished. Though furniture is not expensive, from my experience, local Chinese beds tend to be bamboo slats. Pretty hard and uncomfortable. Chinese mattresses seem to be also fairly hard and uncomfortable. The beds at the FengYuan seem to be much better.
Chinese apartments seem to have more filth associated with them, both inside and out. Keep that in mind also.
I'm not certain whether there are any regulations not allowing foreigners to rent, and whether renting is done by yearly contract only. My friend had a huge 2 bedroom in Zhengzhou for 2000 RMB/month ($250 US), so I figure it would be even cheaper in Dengfeng. Plus, I've seen that they've been building some newer, townhome-like buildings in Dengfeng, I plan to check it out.
What do you think?
There does not seem to be any regulations anymore, or at least they're not enforced, about allowing foreigners to rent apartments. Hey, in Beijing, they're encouraging foreigners to buy apartments. Remember, we're in a rapidly evolving capitalistic economy over here. If you've got the cash, you've got what you want.
But, even though it is much less expensive than a hotel (the schools are the cheapest, but not as comfy), an apartment can be a nightmare. Don't expect elevators to the fifth floor for one, few if any apartments in Dengfeng have elevators. Also, don't expect hot water, not all apartments have hot water heaters, which, by the way, tend to be small electric thingies that hang over the bathtub. Don't expect peace and quiet at night, the roads, if your apartment overlooks one, can be quite noisy all night, and with the incredible construction going on here in Dengfeng, (they work from 6AM to midnight, regularly), getting sleep can be difficult if your apartment resides next to a construction site.
The apartment that you rent might not be furnished. Though furniture is not expensive, from my experience, local Chinese beds tend to be bamboo slats. Pretty hard and uncomfortable. Chinese mattresses seem to be also fairly hard and uncomfortable. The beds at the FengYuan seem to be much better.
Chinese apartments seem to have more filth associated with them, both inside and out. Keep that in mind also.
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