Seeking a Place to Live for 2 Months

[jamescmarch]

I am an American, male, 62 years old visiting Chengdu on a tourist visa to learn some Mandarin Chinese (absolute beginner). I will be there for two months, September 15th to November 11th. I am looking for a place to live. Other than a hotel, are there other options? Short-term apartment rentals? Should I just arrive, stay for a week at a hotel, and start looking (my usual way of doing this)? Any suggestions are most appreciated. Thank you 🙂

[FlorisImmers]

Hi James,

I’m Floris, a while back I did exactly the same thing and now I live here. Ever heard of Airbnb? It’s an online platform for renting apartments short term. I have an apartment available in the Northwest of the city, close to the Panda research centre and the Zoo. Other tourist place places can be easily reached by metro. Let me know if you are interested.

If u have wechat you can add me: florisimmers

[Charlie]

Airbnb is a great option. Definitely check that out.

[Jessy]

hello, James,if you wanna stay in Chengdu just 2 months,maybe i can help you to find a short-term apartment to rent.may i know your request,like where do you want to stay,and what furniture you need,so i can help you find it before you come to chengdu.

[Tracey]

Yeah, same here, I also have a spare room in my apartment that you’re welcome to use if you don’t come right and if you need a place to crash while you’re looking for something. Just got here myself, 3 weeks ago. It helps to have a better idea of where you’ll be doing your lessons (if that’s what you’re doing?) so that you know where you want to stay.

I don’t know about airbnb, never tried it but have heard good things, but “couchsurfing” is also an option 🙂 Most places you rent cost a lot for the initial setup – wouldn’t be worth it for 2 months even though the rent itself is fairly low.

Oh, there are also a few hostel/backpacker type places. One I’ve visited is “Hello Chengdu Youth Hostel” which had a great vibe. I didn’t see the actual rooms, just the pub area ha ha ha.

[jamescmarch]

Thank you for all the help. I did use AirBnB and am renting a studio apartment from HakkaHomes in the SoHo building, conveniently located between the American Consulate and Sichuan University.

To use AirBnB I had to get “verified”, which I did before leaving the U.S. It took a week or so to get the references, so be sure to leave enough lead time.

An advantage with AirBnB is that I get to actually see the apartment before the funds are transferred, giving me some peace of mind. I also only pay a month at a time, and it’s charged through my credit card in the U.S., so I don’t have to have the money here.

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