| "Green, not noisy, not too over-developed and close to the center?" You forgot cheap :-) Seriously, as in every city housing presents a tradeoff, and it depends on what you like. If you are looking for a typical suburban area (i.e. green, not noisy, not too over-developed) you will not be close to the center. If you like old houses with character, however, the former French concession (Luwan and parts of Xuhui district) have some beautiful and not very noisy areas, and they are close to the center. Hongkou and Jingan have some nice areas too. The tradeoff is that they are expensive - not only in Chinese terms, but international terms. Note that according to the new laws, foreigners may not buy property until they have lived in China for a year, although I understand that it's possible to get around this somehow. |
Old Houses in Shanghai - Part III