Moving Day

We were told at the end of December that we would have to move at the end of January. We did not expect that at all. Our concerns were mostly what this new place would look like, what furniture and things are provided, how are we going to move our stuff? The last time we moved, we only moved our very few possessions and our suitcases. Now we have an apartment full of stuff and we did not want to buy any new stuff. We only have six months left on our contract. So we were full of concerns and questions, but everything turned out great! 

We got to see the new apartment before moving in and took some pictures.

The school hired a moving company for us and helped us settle our bills. The weekend before our move, the movers dropped off some boxes and crates. We were not really told how the process is. I had inklings from reading and watching blogs online but we were never really told explicitly. From my research, the movers would come in and help you back up your stuff, move it, clean your new place and unpack your stuff. In case our movers aren't going to do that, Neil and I decided to pack everything in those boxes and crates ourselves. Well, Neil did most of the packing, I did my stuff and the kitchen. hehe

Then on Friday morning, the gas people came to turn off our gas so we had no heat or hot water! We made sure to wake up super early to shower before he came. Luckily we did. That night, we had no heat so we both wore a lot of clothes to bed. At 6:00am Saturday morning, our alarm clock went off. We decided to Neil would go to the new apartment early to do some cleaning and move some stuff out of the way to make room for our furniture. I would stay at our old apartment to direct the movers what to take and what not to take. Our old apartment had a lot of accumulated furniture and most of it was not used, like those unused icons on your desktop. Since we won't have any translators I had to stay to make sure they only took things we wanted.

Neil left around 6:30am and I packed up the rest of our stuff and waited for the movers to arrive. They were right on time! A man and woman duo came in and noticed all our stuff was packed. I guess we weren't suppose to pack it ourselves oops! I tried to communicate to them what needed to be moved and were staying. I'm glad I stayed because there were some things I had to tell them twice to take or not to take. A lot of hand gestures were used haha. They were super nice! The woman repacked some of our stuff so the crates would stack on top of each other. Another man came in to help. We all kind of waited around for the crane to set up. I was very fascinated! 

This crane is pretty awesome. Rather than having to carry things out of the apartment, down the elevator and into the truck, this was all done via the balcony. Now I understand why apartments here have so many big windows and balconies. The first man brought a metal plate with a hook that hangs on to the balcony and outside. A crane is parked below the balcony and the neck extends all the way to the top. (We're on the 19th floor of a 20-floor apartment) The man would direct the crane until it's at the right height and location and then the crane's neck tilts so that leans against the metal plate. I believe there is some magnet there because it really steadies the crane's neck. There is a platform that moves up and down this crane's neck where all the crates, boxes and furniture go. It moves quick and steadily up and down so nothing falls off. So the movers job is to move our stuff onto this platform and it will be lowered down to where somebody will to move it into truck. This really decreases the amount of heavy lifting! After the crane was set up, it took less than an hour to empty our apartment and into the truck!

At one point, the woman asked if I was Vietnamese but I told her I was from Canada. She also said I'm like a kid cause I'm small size. I'm small even for Asian standards. *sighs*.

We were told that we should get some coffee for the movers. They were really nice and gave me a ride from the old apartment to the new one so I asked Neil to pick up some coffees when I arrived. He did a wonderful job and swept and cleaned the floors so we didn't have to do it later. There was a bit of a lull as we waited for the crane to be set up again but once it was and the boxes and furniture moved in, we all got busy. I didn't have to lift a finger and they moved everything to where I directed. They helped up unpack as well. The woman even helped put everything into the cupboards! And once they were done they disappeared. I didn't even know when they left. I would've loved to thank them again. 

I have packed and moved four times in the last two years and this was by far the best experience! If only all moves were this great then I wouldn't mind at all. But still the packing is still a nightmare so I'll take that back. :-P

Oh the new apartment is great! We'll be having a video up really soon!  

Second Apartment Tour (no video)

We moved into our second apartment in September. We had every intention to do a video tour but unfortunately we got too busy and never had the chance before we were told we're moving. So here's a post about our second apartment with pictures and the floor plan. 

This is a 3-bedroom apartment on the 19th floor in a very residential area. We are 15 minutes walk away from the subway station and 2 stops from our school. It takes us about 30 minutes each day to travel to work.

This is an older apartment and we had keys instead of the electronic locks. Once you go in, you're in the entrance/foyer area. It's an open plan and you can see the living room on your immediate left. On the right hand side is a door for one of the bedrooms. We changed it into a dining room because the dining table took up too much space in the living room. We hardly use this room and it's super drafty because of the enclosed balcony. We use the big closet in this room to store our winter coats, suitcases, and miscellaneous things. We put the desk in the enclosed balcony because it's where it fits. 

Further down from the living room and to the right is the kitchen area. We originally had a mini fridge so we bought a second full-size fridge instead. this cost us about 100,000 won ($100) and included delivery! This place came equipped with a microwave, a rice cooker, a blender and a french press! There were also lots of utensils and kitchen stuff left over from previous owners. So we didn't have to spend anything on that. The only things I spent money on were our pots and pans, which I prefer to get my own.  The sink is quite large and there's even a sanitizer/dryer above the sink! We only used it at the beginning because of its novelty. Most of our dishes were left in the drying rack instead. The stove only had two elements and it's detachable. 

The sliding doors lead out to another enclosed balcony space. This is where the washing machine is and the broken mini fridge. We also store our cleaning supplies, recyclables and garbage. 

There is a large bookcase that we used as our pantry for our canned/packaged/dry goods, teas and our toaster. In the bottom cupboards are my baking ingredients and supplies. On the right side of the shelves is second bedroom: the guest room. There is a big closet in there that we use to store our extra blankets and linens. We inherited three single mattress pads which we've stacked. When we have guests, we'll take them apart and it just barely fits (can't fully open the door). There's also some night stands in there for extra storage. The walls had Disney Princess decos that we've covered with a map. 

On the left side of the shelf is a door that leads to the toilet. Unlike many Korean apartments, we were blessed with an actual tub! It's great for baths and because of this, the room tend not to be too wet. 

Next to the toilet is the master bedroom. It is considerably larger than the other two bedrooms. It comfortably accommodates a double bed, a set of drawers, a large closet, and a vanity table and area. Korean beds are known to be hard but luckily the previous resident sold us their foam mattress which made the bed a million times better! (Thank you Carly!) I was super happy to have an area where I can set up my make up and get ready. This room has large windows that open out to another enclosed balcony.

The entrance to this balcony space is through the living room. It is a very good size which we use to hang our laundry because there is no dryer.

This apartment is very nice and roomy so that Neil and I don't have to bump into each other all the time. We've had many good times here watching netflix and hosting wii dance parties!