Sometimes, times like now, I feel like a bouncing ball, a rolling stone, or just a gypsy. I don't think I've lived in one place for more than 8 months in the past 3 years. 1 month was the shortest time I stayed in an apartment.
So, we are moving back to Shanghai. We've found a nice small apartment in a nice compound in the city centre. It costs more for less, but it's a hot and hip part of Shanghai. And I do like my nightlife and hate commuting.
The reasons for moving back to Shanghai are these:
1) the Beijing business idea of starting a CG lighting class fell through, because of lack of student interest. It looked good on paper but the reality was that Chinese students wouldn't pay that much for a lighting course. Also, the animation company wouldn't give me any lighting supervising work, which might have kept us in Beijing.
2) we just don't like Beijing quite as much as Shanghai, although it's a close call. Shanghai just beats Beijing out when it comes to nightlife, public transportation, larger foreign population and other smaller reasons. The only thing I like more about Beijing is the weather. Shanghai is significantly more rainy, and when it's not raining it's humid.
3) Tuya can study here and she has many more friends here. I can potentially find English teaching work here while I look for more lucrative work. The semester was about to start at Tongji University where Tuya studied before, so the timing was right. Also, she can get a longer visa (about 6 months) instead of having to leave the country every 30 days, like she had to in Beijing.
I will be sad to leave my friends in Beijing and our lovely apartment but the positive aspects of moving to Shanghai won us over. I will now be searching for work and looking up old friends. I've already bumped into a few and the staff of my favourite bars seem to remember me.
I will also post some photos of the new apartment when we get settled. It's a bit of a shock to move from a 2 bed, 2 bath, 120 square meter apartment to a 1 bed, 1 bath, 75 square meter place. But on the positive side, it should cost less to cool and heat. The location is great (most of my favourite hang-outs are within walking distance) and the apartment complex has a 50 meter swimming pool and small gym. So that's a plus.
