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Forums > Living in Kunming > Housing

Unless you have paid tax in Kunming for 12 months you cannot get a mortgage. New regulation. Affects Chinese nationals as well.

If you already own one property in China, you cannot buy a second property in Kunming, unless you have a Kunming HuKou (Household ID, for Chinese nationals). Even with cash. New regulation.

If you already own 2 or more properties in China, you cannot buy in Kunming, even with cash. New regulation

Unless you have been resident in China for 12 months, you cannot buy property. Old regulation.

Regards real estate agents, things work differently to how they do back home. People who have property go to their local real estate agent, and this can be really local. Often 10 agents will have the same prop in the window, but only one will have the keys. There can be as many as 30 independent real estate agents in one small area.

Best way to find property is to go to the neighbourhoods where you think you could live. Have a good walk around to get a feel for the place, and look at buildings you might like to live in.

Look at local agents windows. There will always be at least one that looks more professional, possibly part of a chain. Hit these first. If you can, find an interpreter that you can trust not to try and act like an agent and try to get a commission.

Deposits vary, usually 2 months rent. You may also be expected to stump up the first 3 months rent in advance, but not always. The agent may expect a finders fee of one months rent (you pay), but this is easily negotiated down.

If you are looking to rent higher end accommodation or a house, there is a shortage of this type of property in Kunming. We tried to find 'middle class' prop of over 150m around Green Lake a few month ago. There were only 2 apartments available. We also looked for houses in the Dianchi area, only about 6, and only two were suitable.

There is a lot of empty prop around Kunming, but most of it not decorated (no kitchen, no bathroom), and of the little that is decorated many are unfurnished.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Recruiting in Kunming

There is a higher calibre of potential staff in Kunming than most other tier two/three cities.

I have a theory that most people with 'get up and go' head for the big cities to earn big money, and escape from poor environments.
However, Kunming is a very desirable location with a nice culture and good future prospects. This, I believe, is why kunming can hold on to its talent pool.

I don't know what business sector you are in, but presently Kunming's economy is mainly built on horticulture, agriculture, and trading with ASEAN countries. I believe 50% of all fresh produce imported into China comes via Yunnan. And all trade through Kunming is growing.

Beijing will offer :
-a higher number of hungry graduates to choose from
-more business potential
-higher costs
-more competition
-a less stable workforce (job hoppers are common)
-a bureaucracy that is possible more supportive of Rep Offices.

I am no expert, but these are just a few observations.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Looking for list of decent private schools in KM to work at

Regards the move to Anning.

These things tend to happen later, rather than sooner. In my last university job the imminent move to the new campus took 2 years. And even then they moved in with no computers of furniture. Ho-hum!.

I hear good things about Henderson, from a Chinese ex-employee.
I don't know what the full time rate is for expats. But for Chinese teachers it is (if I remember) 4800rmb/m. That is good money for local teachers.
The only downside is that you would be expected to work at several campuses, this requires travel. But then other people might value the diversity.

Henderson is however a language training school, not a public sector school.

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This isn't a rant. It is said with a little sadness.

This development is good for Kungfu, but perhaps not so good for Buddhism. Anyone who has visited the main Shaolin Temple will have experienced Kung Fu Incorporated. Including the Kung Fu cabaret, Cirque de Soleil rip off, blatant commercialism, and overpricing. The only thing missing are the harlots and moneychangers. Call me cynical, but many Chinese visitors I have spoken to are also saddened and disappointed (with a capital D) by the culture.

Many temples are now attracting money from many sources, and the need for commercialism is not as strong as it used to be. Those temples that have not already died, seem to be more stable than before, many are renovating.

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@ James,
This is sadly the result of unrestrained capitalism.

There is nothing new under the sun. A book was recommended to me, Upton Sinclaire's 'The Jungle' about the meat industry in Chicago in 1905. Not just tainted meat, but other fake foods, tainted milk (sound familiar), exploitation of factory workers (Fox... anyone?), crime, trafficking, drugs, etc.
The jungle was a protest book, and shares common flaws with other protest books, but the parallels with life in modern China are uncanny.

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Ref. shit brew.
That is more to do with the processing, and not so much the bean.
There is a reasonable variety of different 'flavours'/roasts of Arabica beans available. Some of it really good.
Nestle seem to specialise in instant coffee. The top one is Gold Blend which is not very hard to find, probably too dear for local tastes, but a damned sight better than UCC's offerings IMHO.

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A reasonable choice of lumber that has improved over time. Fancy hardwoods like walnut, and mahogany are in abundance. There are some plywood and rubber-wood boards available. There are also some kiln dried imported softwoods and merbao available. Some of the lumber is very green, so look for the kiln dried if you need stable timbers.

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Echo everything said by others.
Breakfast great and the serve from 8am. Most other places say 9am and they still are not ready.
Sandwiches are cheap 22-32, and really packed full of filling. We got some sandwiches for a day out, the only mistake I made was ordering two, as this was too much. These are seriously good sangars, and they are wrapped in alu foil.

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In fairness to Metro, they are a wholesalers, and not really a supermarket. Hence the need for a card, which can be got around.

They have improved in the year I have been away. They now carry a more consistent range of imported foodstuffs and they also seem to have sorted out the mported milk supply.

They have a wider range of electrical appliances now, there is a coice of more than one toast. There is also a better range of seasonal non foods, like clothes, shoes, garden furniture and camping gear.