[alanlm143]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Alan and I am from Malaysia. Next Month, I will be relocating to Shanghai and probably need some favour from anyone in this forum to make my relocation journey smoother.

Well, Lets gives a short intro of myself. I am a Mid-twenties IT-Consultant working in MNC IT firm. Recently, my request to relocate to Shanghai for a Manager's position comes true and currently having some difficulties on a couple of areas.

1)I have two dogs. (Maltese and English Cocker Spaniel). Both of them born in Australia when I was staying in Sydney. (Now, we are in Malaysia) * I spent 6 years studying and working in sydney after I graduate*. Now, I am planning to move them to Shanghai but got to know that since Feb 2006, Shanghai Authorities had impose a law to have all pet goes under quarantine for 7 days. THAT IS MY PROBLEM!!! I don't think I can trust the Chinese quarantine facility and they might end up suffering really badly after staying in the "prison alike" facilities. I can't leave my dogs in those kind of condition. Does anyone here has any experience on putting your pets in the shanghai quarantine facility?

2)I don't get an expat package, but my salary is acceptable. ~22kRMB per month (take home pay), after deducting all the taxes. I am looking for an apartment to rent (~60square meter). My budget is around RMB3.5k per month, does anyone know any dog friendly area? I would prefer not to stay in the city, although I know my office based at PUDONG. Maybe 20mins Metro train ride is acceptable to me. Any recommendation?

I hope someone here can assist in any way. Thanks in advance.

[Hokuto]

If you're going to be working in Pudong, I recommend living somewhere along Metro lines 4 or 2 in Pudong. Do you know exactly where you will be working? They are currently building the interchange station for 2/4 in Pudong (there is one for 2/3/4 in Puxi, but further away than you want to be), so knowing where you will be working will help you more.

I'm not as familiar with Pudong as Puxi, so unless others have information here, I'd recommend asking around ShanghaiExpat. I know that there are many Pudong dwellers there.

As for your dogs, you can find more information on the quarantine (or links to pages on the quarantine) in this thread.

[Hokuto]

Originally Posted by me

As for your dogs, you can find more information on the quarantine (or links to pages on the quarantine) in this thread.

That link should be to this thread.

[alanlm143]

Hi there.

Thanks for the reply. My main office is in Hua Hai Zhong Ru. My client is DBS bank, just behind the Shanghai TV Tower.

I Hope this information helps.

Thanks.

[Hokuto]

Great! DBS Bank's office is basically at the Lujiazhui stop on Line 2, and the main office is at either the South Huangpi Rd stop or the South Shanxi Rd stop on Line 1. (See Urban Rail's Shanghai Metro map.) Knowing that, I would gear toward an apartment on the Pudong side of Line 2, somewhere between the Lujiazhui stop and the Century Park stop. (Line 2/4's Dongfang Rd stop would be great, too, but it's still under construction.)

[alanlm143]

Hi Hokuto,

I preferred not to stay in Pudong (or City area). I don't go out much and normally don't enjoy city living. Moreover, I think with my budget (~3k RMB) a month, It will be hard to get a 2br apartment. Any recommedation on a nice and quite neigbhourhood.? I don't mind to do abit of travelling. thanks for your kind reply.

[Hokuto]

Well, Pudong is technically not the city -- thus why the dog license fee there is so low! (1000 rather than 2000 within the city limits.) Pudong is also less dense than anywhere else you could be living, including Hongqiao/Gubei (IMHO). To live in the aforementioned Hongqiao/Gubei, one would have to brave hours of traffic without the convenience of the metro -- only buses, taxis, and drivers of new cars driver far too fast. As a dweller of Shanghai proper, I find Pudong to have more of a suburban feeling, at least as much of one as you will be able to get in within the Shanghai district. The roads there are straighter. The apartments there are larger. The sidewalks aren't three inches wide. It's quieter. There are green things that aren't confined to a public park or gated housing complex. It's really what you want.

If you do not look into expat housing, then you will find apartments at reasonable prices. I have never lived in expat housing, nor would I want too -- too froufrou, expensive, and out of the way. 2BR apartments are the norm in Shanghai and can be reasonable if you look in the right places. Where I used to live (Hongkou) and am living now (Putuo), rents ranged from 1500-3500 for the low to mid range 2BR apartments; if I were wanting the froufrou high rise building in a popular complex I would easily be paying more.

But if you're really set on not living there, the next place that I could recommend would be Yangpu District south of the university area. The housing there will be considerably cheaper, but the roads will of course be smaller and the traffic will be worse. However, it's quieter than most other areas of the city. I also have a fondness for Hongkou District (west of Yangpu and my old hood), but I think that it will be too congested for your tastes. However, they do have the best of everything in Shanghai aside from the traffic. Both would not be all that convenient as far as the metro goes (you could catch line 4 to Pudong and then take a bus, or lines 3/4 to the Railway Station and then switch to line 1 and then switch again to line 2 at People's Square), and both would still be in the city, but in a quieter area.

[edit] I should note that there are places outside of the city that aren't very city-like, but they are near impossible to get to unless you wish to live in Minhang, conveniently located almost as far from your future office as Hongqiao/Gubei, though on the line 5 subway. It's an awful place to be, IMHO, though certainly cheap; however I'm quite biased against it as even with a map I get lost in that area. You simply are not going to find a place that's 20 minutes from the office that is not "city" like save in Pudong or the upper reaches of Yangpu/Hongkou/Zhabei (though even Zhabei's cutting it close).

[Hokuto]

doublepost.

[Hokuto]

Hello again!

Don't know if you're still checking this thread, but I was talking aloud over this with a former Shanghai denizen this past weekend in HK and I realized that something akin to the area where I live right now -- on the northern bank of Suzhou Creek -- might be a bit of what you're looking for. They've been working on a creekside walking path that will be good for walking dogs (the area that's by my complex is already complete and full of pet owners) and N Kaixuan Rd, which is mainly pedestrian in our area, is also full of dog-walkers. It's a quieter area outside of holidays (fireworks!) as it's set apart from N Zhongshan Rd by the subway (which I don't hear), and considerably cheaper than other areas. I didn't think of it originally because it is further from your office than you'd like to be (probably 30-45mins of train commute, though you could almost always get a seat on Line 2 if you take the slightly longer method).

Anyway, the area is Putuo and the street along the river is W Guangfu Rd, close to the Zhenping Rd Line 3/4 stop.

[alanlm143]

Hi HuKuto,

Thanks for your post. Yes, I am still exploring around for a good neigbourhood to stay when I arrived in Shanghai. The place that you mentioned sounds cool. "Nothern bank of Shuzhou Creek". Can i know what is the name of the place? I thought you are living i n(Putou), although I don't have any idea where it is.

My friend will try to rent a 1 bed room apartment for me before I arrrived in SH, so that I can get a proper place to stay. BTW, do you work in the city central as well? Pudong / Puxi? 30/45mins sounds ok to me, I will certainly check it out when I am there.

Do you have dogs too? Mind sharing what are your experience of having dogs in SH.

Thanks.