Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The New Pad

The search is over. We found a place, affordable, big, nice layout, in a great neighborhood, close to subway, close to friends, good furniture, gym in the building, nice SE view from the sun room, comfy bed, easy commute for Ace, not a nightmare for me... we're happy.

Most of what we saw in our search was about 90 sqm with 2 bedrooms, but you end up with a small living space and an extra room that you rarely use. After looking at roughly 20 places with 6 different agents, we knew almost immediately this was the one. It's about the same size, but only 1 bedroom. It suits us much better, and a big step up from our current place. We just couldn't deal with the location anymore.

The rental process was smooth and akin to purchasing a home. The agent shows you a bunch of listings, you visit a few, and choose one. They write up the contract and set up a meeting between you and the landlord so you can meet and sign it. Then you pay entirely in cash. Apparently, this is the normal way to pay for large purchases. I remember Larry told me about his experience buying a house in Beijing. They came to the closing with briefcases full of cash. They have a few professional money counters on hand to count everything. Crazy.

Anyway... here are some pictures!

The bedroom, looking out to the sun room.

Our 17th floor breakfast nook.

The southern view on a cloudy day.

The view from the front door, bedroom straight and to the right, small but functional kitchen off to the left. That wall with the TV is curved.

Looking back from the bedroom at living room and circular dining room. Lot's of round edges in this place. The amoeba couches are really comfy.

The bathroom and kitchen are both small, but clean and well laid out. Good times ahead.

~Kev

2 comments:

angel said...

Dude, your new digs look sweet!

Mike Lu said...

WOW! That's a sweet pad. What neighborhood are you in?