Apartment hunting in Seoul has been an….experience. I had done a lot of research online, and asked to see some properties with two different realtors.
They were seriously different realtors. From one that was recommended on an ex-pats site and didn't even bother to reply to my emails regularly, to another who couldn't do enough to help.
It's obviously important to find an English speaking realtor, or take a Korean with you to avoid nasty surprises down the line. The rental system in Korea is very different from the UK.
Online viewing had narrowed it down to an area that seemed to have a lot of facilities, and was near to 3 subway stops. The most important thing is it had a coffee shop and a police station at ground level. Essential if you get into a fight over the last blueberry muffin.
The apartment we favoured turned out to be the one we actually liked the least. Two big bedrooms had been transformed into one big bedroom and two small ones courtesy of a stud wall. My son was less than impressed but the cats would have had their own bedroom.
The one I liked best in the area had great views with floor to ceiling windows, but was too pricey.
Apartments are very expensive in Seoul if you choose the central areas such as Yongsan, Gangnam, Hannam, Itaewon etc, but then it takes an age to travel in if you go further out.
With a school bus route to consider and my study at Konkuk University, it narrowed our options.
After seeing quite a few places with no real connection, I asked the realtor if we could have a look at a small apartment in Hannam Dong I hadn't considered before.
All I knew about Hannam is that some Korean pop stars live there and it has a lot of Embassies. I had avoided Itaewon and Hannam initially after being told by a realtor that a lot of expats live there.
What is the point of living in another country if you are just going to stick to your own little corner of Britain? If I wanted fish and chips, clipped vowels and football I’d stay in my own country.
With the closest ‘facility’ being an overpriced donut shop, my hopes were not high. I like a nice donut, but I can get 5 from the Co-op for a pound, and to be honest these posh ones have less flavour and cost five pounds each. Like a lot of things in Seoul they seem to be designed to be photographed and instagrammed rather than eaten.
On the third floor of a 7 storey block we found our apartment. The minute we walked in I smiled. It was a modern style apartment in shades of white and grey, and we loved it straight away.
Despite the view being the side of an overpass rather than the expansive city views of the other apartments, it seemed more homely. We signed a contract a few hours later.
Now the hard stuff begins. Do you know how many websites have incomprehensible stuff about furniture buying online? We need some furniture to be delivered, and will be renting appliances like the fridge and washing machine from the realtor. It’s like being a student again. Haven't even got a microwave.
It’s a whole new world of trash separation colour coding and trying not to annoy the neighbours by doing Irish Dancing at 3am whilst wearing steel capped boots. I’m up for a challenge…