Buying A House In Nanning, China

[Thomas Promise]

I have to ask you pros about buying a house in Nanning? What are some of the ins and outs about doing this? If this come to pass it will be a year or so before this becomes a reality.
My wife said a decent place will cost about 4,600 per sq. meter or a little over 10 1/2 sq feet in US conversion.
The cost of living there compared to the Cincinnati Metro is about 40% less then Cincy.

My home here is free and clear. Any suggestions?

Here is cost of living link comparing cities world wide. If you on the blue light special Delhi, India is the lowest cost.

 

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+States&country2=China&city1=Cincinnati%2C+OH&city2=Nanning

Edited April 26, 2014 by Thomas Promise (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Traffic in Nanning will be pretty bad for the next year or so thanks to the subway construction, but for the 4600 per sq meter price, you'll be a pretty good ways from it

 

Cost of living, realistically, is more in line with what you'd spend living there, rather than an apples-to-apples, oranges-to-oranges comparison. But your comparison there is pretty well itemized, so that should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.

[Doug]

I have a feeling a number of us will wind up expats before it is over with.

 

If we return it will be to Changzhou, between Shanghai and Nanjing, for her to finish working for retirement. We will probably rent here, and sell her rental house.

 

Once her house is sold, we would buy either in Nanning or in Chongzuo which is about an hour out of Nanning, when she retires. Both places have family.

[Mick]

I have a feeling a number of us will wind up expats before it is over with.

 

If we return it will be to Changzhou, between Shanghai and Nanjing, for her to finish working for retirement. We will probably rent here, and sell her rental house.

 

Once her house is sold, we would buy either in Nanning or in Chongzuo which is about an hour out of Nanning, when she retires. Both places have family.

 

I know this area very well, Doug. Li's brother lives in Changzhou and bought a nice apartment there about five or six years ago. Her sister lives in Ma'anshan, which is on the river south of Nanjing. The sister owns two houses there as I recall, living in one and rents the other.

[tsap seui]

I once felt like I was going to be forced into becoming an ex-pat, that is if I was going to get to continue my bona fide relationship with Wenyan, so, in 2008 I bought my then girlfriend a home in China. It was a very easy process and in those days it was around $2,350 a m2....in Fushun. I really like our home in China. It is in among similar 7 floor buildings on the edge of the city proper. I visited Wenyan several times for one month stays from when the home was finished and the longest I lived with Wenyan there was around 3 months in 2011. At first the city life was exciting to me, but it didn't take long for me to long for a different view of the surrounding area out our windows, and, I missed seeing great expanses of the sky. I just ain't cut out for city life and so many concrete canyons filled with so many people. But that is just me, and I've never lived in a city before.

 

As well, I found China to be one of the most expensive places to buy food, houses, clothing, etc I had ever seen. I don't know how the average Chinese family can afford the prices I saw on my visits with Wenyan. I'm talking a person making yuan wise. My yankee dollars back in the 7.5 yuan to 1USD days made it very affordable. Anyone with the USD exchange rate to convert to yuan could live nicely. I feel for the average Chinese family living with those prices.

 

We realize we could live in China pretty well if we moved to China and converted just some of our US income each month, say into 50,000 yuan a month, or even into 20,000 yuan a month. Certainly much more "dollars" per month than we take in in America.....LOL But....the longer Wenyan is in America, the more she just wants to visit China. Somehow she has taken to living in a single family home, with a real view....shrug..."big sky" as she calls it. Me, I've settled in a place that doesn't have high taxes, high real estate taxes, or high prices for homes, etc, etc. Everyday is a new day and everywhere you drive is a beautiful drive....people drive out here on the weekends from Washington/Baltimore to get away from the city a few minutes. I find the lure to go live on 50,000 yuan a month just doesn't have the luster it used to have for me, especially now that the choice is mine to make. LOL

 

Thomas, I'd say go give it a real try, for an extended amount of time before you do anything definite as far as pulling up all of your stakes and making the big move. That is the best way to find out how you really like a place, live in it for an extended time, at least long enough for the excitement of the newness to wear off.

 

Buying a home in China is real simple.

 

Good luck on your adventure....China is exciting

 

tsap seui

 

I'm only talking from my viewpoint. There is nothing wrong with highrises, lots of neighbors, and city life.