Looking to move to Zhuhai in 2020 - Accommodation advice needed.

I live in Jida on the beach. It's quite lovely. Of course,  rent is quite high, but I do love the view of Macao over the bay.

Don't take this wrong, but it's kind of a reoccurring theme that I have observed...

Most young people, especially Americans (I am also an American) tend to rely way too much on the internet for information. That is not good. Not at all. As most information on China is available on Chinese APPS, not so much on American APPS. If you want to get the best information available on the internet, then use Chinese APPS. Google is useless in China.

If you want to move to China, then move. Stay in a hostel and get your bearings, then once you make some friends, look around and explore. Use all five senses that you have, not just your eyes reading what is written on your electronic device. What looks good on the internet might have issues that are horrible.

Here is a post that I wrote about the experience that I had at my first apartment in Zhuahai. heed my advice, why don't ya.

I lived in ZH n own some property there .
There r several places u can consider

a) gongbei (拱北) – this is the area just next to macau, lots of locals who commute to work in MC stay here 。
Studios with balcony at 领秀城rent out at 2400-2700 rmb/mth , this place is quite convenient as its just directly above a mall with lots of eateries n a walmart, n decathlon sports mart below.
There’s a pool inside the main estate of 领秀城 that u can swim at in the summer

Something nicer can be found at 格力香樟 (2800-3200 rmb/mth)  or 富华里， the latter is an upmarket  mall development with a few blocks of 2 n 3 bedroom(BR)  aptmts within, a 2BR rents out at $4200
the high speed tram station to guangzhou is located here

b) xiawan-夏湾
this is a district in gongbei within walking distance to the border, its an older district but is pretty convenient n self contained, there r studios at 春泽名苑 going for 1600-2000 rmb perhaps, there is a KFC n lots of eateries below  春泽名苑 has a pool within the main estate that is opened in summer, quite a no of pretty gals in this area

u can walk or cycle to the sea side at lovers road 情侣路 from both gongbei (拱北) n xiawan夏湾.
ZH hv a city wide free bicycle loan project with lots of bike kiosks located all over, get a bike card done by registering your id n u r good to go

c) 百货公司 (bai-huo-gong-si) at 老香洲 (lao xiangzhou)
this is quite a nice development in the heartland of ZH called xiangzhou香洲.
U can access the sea from here too where u can see fishing boats being anchored
studio should be between 1700-2600 rmb/mth

d) Jida
as mentioned by vannrox, jida is a nice place too n it is favored by many locals
there is a nice park with a big lake that is opened for fishing at 白连洞 garden
the financial district is located in jida n its about 10 mins bus ride from gongbei

e) tangjia -唐家
this place is further up north n is some sort of university town with 3 univs there so if u like to mix with the univ crowd u might like it up there . it is some distance from town but is self-contained .
there is a  high speed tram station to guangzhou is located here

f) huafa shang dou-华发商都 , nanping-南屏 district
this place has about the nicest looking mall in ZH , Huafa Century City is right up there but if u r considering to stay there, than might as well stay at the aptmts near the mall
> traffic is bad esp on Friday evenings

g) dou men -斗门
this is the west part of ZH, it’s an area that is being developed ， 井岸can be pretty nice if u like living in a more traditional place with a small town feel, there is a big health spa at dou men

h) qianshan - 前山
this is located between gongbei n  nanping n has lots of metal fabrication n building material shops
think jida, gongbei,xiawan, xiangzhou would be nicer for living

i）tanzhou  - 坦洲
this is part of zhongshan but is closer to ZH so its termed as the back garden of ZH , rentals r cheaper here n it has a nice suburban feel

j）sanxiang  - 三乡
this is a pretty small town that is in zhongshan n 1 hour from ZH by bus

There r lots of real estate agencies at every street corner so just research on the places u’ll like to stay which r near your school , than just head to the real estate shops to compare prices n aptmt offerings..
U would typically need to pay 50% commission (though sometimes this can be whittled down to 30%) + 2 months rental deposit for the landlord + 1 month rent to be paid in advance = 3.5 months rent
estate maintenance charges payable = 100-300 rmb depending on aptmt size n estate type, the newer estates will cost more , pets r usually not allowed 

Overall ZH is a pretty nice n relatively laid back place to live in with honest n civil folks

Thank you for your response! I’ve now convinced my Cantonese mother in law and her husband to move there too! He’s a chef so he’ll be looking for work out there in a year or so. My wife and I will probably now move in 2 or 3 years after they settle. This will be very useful information to be working on. Thanks!

Happy to assist,  you may want to wait till the wuhan virus is controlled before moving over

take care n let me know if u hv further queries

The plan is to hand my notice in when school gets back in August, then I will be hoping to get a job in Zhuhai for 2021. In the meantime, a couple who my wife and I are good friends with have (unbeknownst to us) accepted a job at Zhuhai International School so I am in the midst of preparing an information pack for them. The information I have received here has been really useful!
Thanks again!

Hi Nice to know you, I am a HK guy living in Zhuhai, being a property specialist. If you do not mind, I can help you on this matter!

After checking further, just to let you know, the situation is good here, more safe than in HK even. We have a good control through getting a health code from the mobile, and without such code you cannot travel across province, that means, the internal control is there already, people has almost returned to normal life, schools opened, markets opened, sea food markets, restraunts  all opened! I would suggest to come earlier, as the property market in booming now, forcasting to have a big deamnd on housing once HK is opened!believe or not!


Anyway, just share my point for your ref

Hello,

Thanks for getting in touch. Should I receive a job offer, I’ll be in touch 🙂.

Thanks!

Rather than research for living areas first, I would advise you land a job first, and then work backwards from there. After all, you don't want to spend two hours on the bus every day.

I know where the jobs are. There’s only really one place I’d work: Zhuhai International School. They house their teachers nearby so this is all moot. Really moot as I just accepted a job in Kuala Lumpur instead!

Any one could share information where do expats in Zhuhai hangout?
I've been here for 2 months , only met 1 expat who was on a business trip from another city .
I've visited London bar , but it was eeerily empty .
Any expats wechat groups ?
Any thing happening for Halloween ?
Thanks