The woodwork was painted yesterday. I didn't feel like going all the way to Uijeongbu to choose a colour, so I had simply told Sejin: ivory. I figured anything is an improvement over the bright blue that it was. He took photos today and it does look better. Clean.
The wallpaper arrived today. It's a heavy box. I hope I made the right decision. As I said before, either a really good idea, or a really bad one. We'll do that on Wednesday.
Grace still enjoying the sitting position. Tonight she sat in the centre of our bed for a good 10 minutes just staring at us. No smiling. It was kind of weird. Her posture was sort of gorilla-like and she looked territorial as well. Sejin took some good pictures of it.
Today I had one of those guests that doesn't 'get' when to leave. A dear Korean friend of mine who is 7 months pregnant. She's really lovely, but I think she must be bored. She arrived before 2:00. Around 6:00 I started hinting that we had to start getting Grace in the bath and ready for bed, but at 8:00 she was still here. Sometimes it's difficult to explain to people without kids about the importance of the nighttime ritual. It's especially important for Grace since I've had problems with getting her down at night at a reasonable hour. She's pretty sensitive about sleep. Now that she's going down again between 7 and 8:30 (this took work!), I'm not going to mess with that for anything. I ended up just starting the routine while she was still here and a couple times she looked kind of horrified. She said to me before she left, "Are all babies like this?" I don't know if it was in reference to Grace's resistance or the amount of work it took to get through the routine, from bathing to changing, feeding, reading and then finally putting her down. When I finally whispered to her, "Good night! Good luck with the baby!" as she headed out the door, I was exhausted and ready for my ice cream reward.
Showing posts with label housing in Korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label housing in Korea. Show all posts
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Overwhelmed
Moving is always hard, but it always feels good when it's done. Trying to keep that in mind.
This week we have a tonne of things to do, from going through our belongings and getting rid to junk to wallpapering! Yes, we are wallpapering ourselves. I'm not sure how good of an idea this is. We've ordered the wallpaper for the living room and we will attempt to put it up on Tuesday or Wednesday. If it goes smoothly, we will order more for the master bedroom. The cool thing about where we ordered our wallpaper from is that it comes in pre-cut strips. They are roughly the length of the wall, so we won't have to mess around with a big roll. They are nicely cut and have glue on them already. Luckily I took pretty good measurements last time I was there, so I was able to order the exact number of pieces. For the wall along the sofa, I chose (what looks like) a nice cherry blossom pattern. For the TV wall, a simple light beige. This could either look really good or really, really bad. I will post before and after photos.
Other than that, just trying to keep my head on straight. Grace is doing great. Today she sat on the floor by herself, back straight for about 15 minutes. I was spotting, of course, but she did incredibly well. She was turning and looking at us and playing with some blocks at the same time. What really amazes me about babies is that one day they can't do something, then the next day they surprise you be being able to do something really well, like they've known it all along. She surprised herself, I think. She sat there squealing and smiling for a while. Very cute.
Some laundry and book work to do this afternoon. Tomorrow we may head up to Uijeongbu to see how the woodwork paint looks. The painters were there today.
This week we have a tonne of things to do, from going through our belongings and getting rid to junk to wallpapering! Yes, we are wallpapering ourselves. I'm not sure how good of an idea this is. We've ordered the wallpaper for the living room and we will attempt to put it up on Tuesday or Wednesday. If it goes smoothly, we will order more for the master bedroom. The cool thing about where we ordered our wallpaper from is that it comes in pre-cut strips. They are roughly the length of the wall, so we won't have to mess around with a big roll. They are nicely cut and have glue on them already. Luckily I took pretty good measurements last time I was there, so I was able to order the exact number of pieces. For the wall along the sofa, I chose (what looks like) a nice cherry blossom pattern. For the TV wall, a simple light beige. This could either look really good or really, really bad. I will post before and after photos.
Other than that, just trying to keep my head on straight. Grace is doing great. Today she sat on the floor by herself, back straight for about 15 minutes. I was spotting, of course, but she did incredibly well. She was turning and looking at us and playing with some blocks at the same time. What really amazes me about babies is that one day they can't do something, then the next day they surprise you be being able to do something really well, like they've known it all along. She surprised herself, I think. She sat there squealing and smiling for a while. Very cute.
Some laundry and book work to do this afternoon. Tomorrow we may head up to Uijeongbu to see how the woodwork paint looks. The painters were there today.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
From Jungneungcheon to Jungrangcheon
Those are two names of streams that are really hard to Romanize!
Outside our door in Uijeongbu we will have Jungrangcheon, which is in better condition. It's been left pretty natural. There is a walking path up higher on the banks, and near the water is a cycling path. It's very quiet. I look forward to walking there. 
I went to the new place yesterday by myself to do some measuring and take notes of what needs to be done. The list is quite daunting. The place is spacious, but some things are need of fixing up. Most of the light fixtures are missing, as well as the light switch plates. The wallpaper in the master bedroom is pretty bad, and all the woodwork is painted a bright blue. We're going back to Uijeongbu tomorrow to talk to interior places to get some estimates. The owner has agreed to replace the fixtures and do the basics, but we'll have to pay for the woodwork. If it weren't this awful shade of blue I would just try to live with it, but it's unacceptable. There's a lot of work to be done. 
Jungneungcheon stream, right outside our window here in Dongdaemun-gu is pretty ugly. It's covered with an overpass, is usually nothing but a trickle, and is littered with garbage. However it is under construction, a four year project, and it's starting to look better every day. I think it is going to look something like Cheongyecheon. They've already got up a walking bridge, some wooden platforms, and some greenery. It's too bad we won't be able to enjoy it after listening to all that construction every day.
Jungneungcheon right now:
View from our window:
Outside our door in Uijeongbu we will have Jungrangcheon, which is in better condition. It's been left pretty natural. There is a walking path up higher on the banks, and near the water is a cycling path. It's very quiet. I look forward to walking there. I went to the new place yesterday by myself to do some measuring and take notes of what needs to be done. The list is quite daunting. The place is spacious, but some things are need of fixing up. Most of the light fixtures are missing, as well as the light switch plates. The wallpaper in the master bedroom is pretty bad, and all the woodwork is painted a bright blue. We're going back to Uijeongbu tomorrow to talk to interior places to get some estimates. The owner has agreed to replace the fixtures and do the basics, but we'll have to pay for the woodwork. If it weren't this awful shade of blue I would just try to live with it, but it's unacceptable. There's a lot of work to be done. Ours is the building on the left:
View from our dirty window:
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Contract signed
Well, it's official. We're moving to Uijeongbu. I know some people think I'm nuts, but for some reason I have a good feeling. A big selling point with this apartment is its location. It's a stone's throw from Mangwolsa Station and literally right next to a small river with a great walking/bicycle path. Supposedly there is a sports centre nearby with a swimming pool. It will be nice to have a quiet place to walk Grace in the nice weather without having to take any subways, buses, or taxis. We'll probably get bikes next year, and I'd like to hike the nearby mountains in the fall.
Sure, it's not Seoul, but it's not that far from Seoul. Today was my second time there and again I didn't find the ride too bad. Most of the trip is above ground, so you can see outdoors. We didn't time it, but I'd say it takes roughly 45 minutes from Dongdaemun Station to Mangwolsa Station. There are express trains during rush hour, too. So if I need to come in to Seoul for an afternoon to, say, go yarn shopping and grab some lunch, or meet some moms for coffee, it won't be too bad.
As for business, we'll see. There were plenty of kids running around the complex today toting their little hakwon backpacks. There isn't as much money in Uijeongbu as there is in Seoul, but I plan on charging what's written on our tutoring licenses from the Ministry of Education anyway. Time will tell. Mommy Cha has given me some excellent pointers on doing a home school, which I'm really grateful for. Although our trip to Canada in August is kind of bad timing (we'll miss the beginning of the semester), we'll have five weeks to spend relaxing with my family, planning our little study room, and picking up materials.
Moving day is August 1st. Before that day, the place will have to be cleaned and the woodwork and doors really need repainting (they're a crazy bright blue right now).
Wow... I can't believe it's pouring again. There was a great thunderstorm last night, and here comes another! Hello monsoon season!
Sure, it's not Seoul, but it's not that far from Seoul. Today was my second time there and again I didn't find the ride too bad. Most of the trip is above ground, so you can see outdoors. We didn't time it, but I'd say it takes roughly 45 minutes from Dongdaemun Station to Mangwolsa Station. There are express trains during rush hour, too. So if I need to come in to Seoul for an afternoon to, say, go yarn shopping and grab some lunch, or meet some moms for coffee, it won't be too bad.
As for business, we'll see. There were plenty of kids running around the complex today toting their little hakwon backpacks. There isn't as much money in Uijeongbu as there is in Seoul, but I plan on charging what's written on our tutoring licenses from the Ministry of Education anyway. Time will tell. Mommy Cha has given me some excellent pointers on doing a home school, which I'm really grateful for. Although our trip to Canada in August is kind of bad timing (we'll miss the beginning of the semester), we'll have five weeks to spend relaxing with my family, planning our little study room, and picking up materials.
Moving day is August 1st. Before that day, the place will have to be cleaned and the woodwork and doors really need repainting (they're a crazy bright blue right now).
Wow... I can't believe it's pouring again. There was a great thunderstorm last night, and here comes another! Hello monsoon season!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Uijeongbu it is
We've settled on a place. It's only the second place I've looked at, but Sejin has looked at a bunch and I trust his judgement. He says the places I didn't see were pretty crappy. I'm glad I didn't waste my time going to see them all. Here's how this place rates on my criteria:
1. Accessibility. It's about a 5 minute walk from Mangwolsa station on line one. A little far from Seoul, but I can ride line one into Dongdaemun in about 45 minutes I guess. I'm sure there are buses as well.
2. Spaciousness. It's a bit bigger than what we've got -- 32 pyeong. I'm going to miss our current bathroom though. It's so bright and modern. The one at the new place is all right. It has a small bathtub. I'll get by.
3. Environment. The air is cleaner up there -- I noticed that while riding in on the train. The surrounding mountains (Suraksan and Dobongsan, I think) are very pretty. Our building is located a 2 minute walk from a small river with a bicycle/walking path, so I'll have somewhere to walk Grace, and perhaps get some exercise myself. I may buy some rollerblades next spring, who knows. I hear there's also a swimming pool nearby.
4. Job prospects. It's a big complex with 900 units, and another huge complex right next to it, so we'll see.
Another good thing is that the owner is going to put up new wallpaper and install new flooring at his own cost. We would have had to do that ourselves at the Bucheon place.
It's kind of exciting! That was only the second time I've been to Uijeongbu in seven years! I'm kind of looking forward to getting to know a new area. I'm sure there are lots of Western restaurants and conveniences downtown near Uijeongbu Station because of the American base there.
Hopefully the deal goes through officially. Sejin goes to sign the contract and put 10% of the cheonse down on Tuesday. As I've learned in Korea, a lot can happen in that short period of time, so fingers crossed...I don't want to keep looking.
Moving day will probably be sometime in early August. We want to move as soon as possible because we go on vacation to Canada August 11. But the current tennants don't want to leave 'til August 5. Then the wallpaper and floor installation. We may be just moving in and then heading to Canada a few days later. Moving is never easy.
1. Accessibility. It's about a 5 minute walk from Mangwolsa station on line one. A little far from Seoul, but I can ride line one into Dongdaemun in about 45 minutes I guess. I'm sure there are buses as well.
2. Spaciousness. It's a bit bigger than what we've got -- 32 pyeong. I'm going to miss our current bathroom though. It's so bright and modern. The one at the new place is all right. It has a small bathtub. I'll get by.
3. Environment. The air is cleaner up there -- I noticed that while riding in on the train. The surrounding mountains (Suraksan and Dobongsan, I think) are very pretty. Our building is located a 2 minute walk from a small river with a bicycle/walking path, so I'll have somewhere to walk Grace, and perhaps get some exercise myself. I may buy some rollerblades next spring, who knows. I hear there's also a swimming pool nearby.
4. Job prospects. It's a big complex with 900 units, and another huge complex right next to it, so we'll see.
Another good thing is that the owner is going to put up new wallpaper and install new flooring at his own cost. We would have had to do that ourselves at the Bucheon place.
It's kind of exciting! That was only the second time I've been to Uijeongbu in seven years! I'm kind of looking forward to getting to know a new area. I'm sure there are lots of Western restaurants and conveniences downtown near Uijeongbu Station because of the American base there.
Hopefully the deal goes through officially. Sejin goes to sign the contract and put 10% of the cheonse down on Tuesday. As I've learned in Korea, a lot can happen in that short period of time, so fingers crossed...I don't want to keep looking.
Moving day will probably be sometime in early August. We want to move as soon as possible because we go on vacation to Canada August 11. But the current tennants don't want to leave 'til August 5. Then the wallpaper and floor installation. We may be just moving in and then heading to Canada a few days later. Moving is never easy.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Choosing a new home
This is never easy, no matter where you live or how much money you have. There are so many factors to take into consideration. Living in or near Seoul, there are even more criteria. For me in my situation, the things to consider are:
1. Accessibility. We don't drive, so it would be nice to live near a subway station and/or major bus stops
2. Spaciousness. I'm a Westerner. I like a big home.
3. Environment. It would be so nice to live near a park rather than an ongoing construction site. Also, since we don't have a car, nearby shopping, like a Homeplus or Emart, would be excellent.
4. Job prospects. We're thinking or using our tutoring licenses to start a home school. We need to be in an area with lots of families and schools for this to work.
There are other things of course, but these are the biggies. I've tried to put these criteria in order of importance to me, but it's really hard.
Yesterday we looked at a place in Bucheon, near Yeokgok Station. This place rates poorly in accessibility. You have to get out of the station, walk to the bus stop, take a maul (village) bus (about 5-10 min), get off near the complex and walk up to the complex (about 5-10 min). I could see myself just opting to stay home a lot, especially in really cold or hot weather. It's also old. The flooring and wallpaper would have to be replaced. The cupboards should be changed too, but I'm not sure that's in our budget.
The up side? It's the biggest complex in Bucheon, containing 3000 units. It's huge. It could be a goldmine for teaching opportunities. Sejin's aunt lives in this complex and says that word travels fast through such places and she's confident we could get a lot of students.
Here's another one. Sejin saw a brand new officetel near Bucheon Station. New, spacious, modern, beautiful. 5 minutes to the station, fitness centre inside, etc. Downside: location. There are not a lot of schools in the immediate area or apt complexes nearby. Not enough potential students.
This is the dilemma. It seems we just can't have everything -- you need serious money to have that. I'm afraid of taking a place in the middle of nowhere so that we can get students and end up hating living there because I feel isolated. On the other hand, we could take a nice place, like the officetel, and then find that life is inconvenient because we have to travel to find students rather than have them come to us.
When Grace wakes up we're going to Uijeongbu to look at a place Sejin likes. In a complex, and a little more accessible than the other place, near a park, but not near any shopping. Maybe we should just get a car...
1. Accessibility. We don't drive, so it would be nice to live near a subway station and/or major bus stops
2. Spaciousness. I'm a Westerner. I like a big home.
3. Environment. It would be so nice to live near a park rather than an ongoing construction site. Also, since we don't have a car, nearby shopping, like a Homeplus or Emart, would be excellent.
4. Job prospects. We're thinking or using our tutoring licenses to start a home school. We need to be in an area with lots of families and schools for this to work.
There are other things of course, but these are the biggies. I've tried to put these criteria in order of importance to me, but it's really hard.
Yesterday we looked at a place in Bucheon, near Yeokgok Station. This place rates poorly in accessibility. You have to get out of the station, walk to the bus stop, take a maul (village) bus (about 5-10 min), get off near the complex and walk up to the complex (about 5-10 min). I could see myself just opting to stay home a lot, especially in really cold or hot weather. It's also old. The flooring and wallpaper would have to be replaced. The cupboards should be changed too, but I'm not sure that's in our budget.
The up side? It's the biggest complex in Bucheon, containing 3000 units. It's huge. It could be a goldmine for teaching opportunities. Sejin's aunt lives in this complex and says that word travels fast through such places and she's confident we could get a lot of students.
Here's another one. Sejin saw a brand new officetel near Bucheon Station. New, spacious, modern, beautiful. 5 minutes to the station, fitness centre inside, etc. Downside: location. There are not a lot of schools in the immediate area or apt complexes nearby. Not enough potential students.
This is the dilemma. It seems we just can't have everything -- you need serious money to have that. I'm afraid of taking a place in the middle of nowhere so that we can get students and end up hating living there because I feel isolated. On the other hand, we could take a nice place, like the officetel, and then find that life is inconvenient because we have to travel to find students rather than have them come to us.
When Grace wakes up we're going to Uijeongbu to look at a place Sejin likes. In a complex, and a little more accessible than the other place, near a park, but not near any shopping. Maybe we should just get a car...
Monday, June 22, 2009
House hunting in land of the morning jackhammer
There has been construction going on here for the past several months. It's almost sent me over the edge a few times. These days, the super huge jackhammer truck starts doing its thing both in the morning, and around 4:00 every day, right around the time Grace needs her late afternoon nap to get her through 'til bedtime. When this nap doesn't happen, bath and bedtime aren't fun and it's harder to put her down. She finally went to sleep just now, thankfully. Hopefully she's getting used to the constant racket around here.
Speaking of bedtime, we're majorly off schedule now. I'm so disappointed. For a while now, Grace has been doing wonderfully, going to sleep around 7:00, waking around 12am and 4am to eat, and up at 7 or 8am for the day. This gives me time to do my work at night and veg out. But we took an impulsive out-of-town trip the other day to go house hunting and didn't make it back home 'til 9:30pm. Surprise, surprise, she wouldn't go down last night 'til 9:45pm. Lesson learned: get your butt back home in time for bedtime, especially with a young baby. Even one night can throw them way off.
We've been looking at places in Bucheon. Housing prices are good and many places are new. It's a 1/2 hour bus ride in to Seoul Station. Lots of schools. Parks, too. We're also going to check out Ilsan and Uijeongbu, but we're leaning towards Bucheon mainly because of location. It's so close to Seoul. The Mok-dong area is very close, too, and there are tonnes of jobs there.
Sejin has the hard part of doing the actual hunting. He will narrow down the list of potential places and I will go and view them another day. Then comes the fun part of showing up and seeing whether me being non-Korean has any affect on our negotiations. In the past, owners have expressed concern over renting to foreigners, as apparently foreigners are irresponsible and noisy. Strange, as my current Korean neighbors (beside and above and below) are incredibly noisy, coming in at all hours, slamming doors, shouting in the hallway, cleaning house at 1am, etc, etc. Whatev.
Crap, she's up!! The fun begins. The question is, do I go about bedtime routine as usual, starting around 6pm, or work down from last night's 9:45 bedtime? Hmmm.
Speaking of bedtime, we're majorly off schedule now. I'm so disappointed. For a while now, Grace has been doing wonderfully, going to sleep around 7:00, waking around 12am and 4am to eat, and up at 7 or 8am for the day. This gives me time to do my work at night and veg out. But we took an impulsive out-of-town trip the other day to go house hunting and didn't make it back home 'til 9:30pm. Surprise, surprise, she wouldn't go down last night 'til 9:45pm. Lesson learned: get your butt back home in time for bedtime, especially with a young baby. Even one night can throw them way off.
We've been looking at places in Bucheon. Housing prices are good and many places are new. It's a 1/2 hour bus ride in to Seoul Station. Lots of schools. Parks, too. We're also going to check out Ilsan and Uijeongbu, but we're leaning towards Bucheon mainly because of location. It's so close to Seoul. The Mok-dong area is very close, too, and there are tonnes of jobs there.
Sejin has the hard part of doing the actual hunting. He will narrow down the list of potential places and I will go and view them another day. Then comes the fun part of showing up and seeing whether me being non-Korean has any affect on our negotiations. In the past, owners have expressed concern over renting to foreigners, as apparently foreigners are irresponsible and noisy. Strange, as my current Korean neighbors (beside and above and below) are incredibly noisy, coming in at all hours, slamming doors, shouting in the hallway, cleaning house at 1am, etc, etc. Whatev.
Crap, she's up!! The fun begins. The question is, do I go about bedtime routine as usual, starting around 6pm, or work down from last night's 9:45 bedtime? Hmmm.
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