The International Schools Review Forum

Shanghai: Which is the best after school life to be in for singles, for couples for famillies? Which district is the best one to live in? For example, Puxi, Pudong, or others and why do you think so?
:)

Pudong (East) and Puxi (West) refer to which side of the Huangpu river you find yourself on. As for livable districts, they are big and varied and I would say you could find comfortable neighborhoods in all the central districts but Pudong New, Huangpu,Minhang, JingAn Changning and to some extent Qingpu would be your best bets. Again several of them are quite large and you need to be more neighborhood focused.

Puxi for singles, Pudong for families. Puxi is closer to the nightlife. If you are working at SAS Puxi, obviously you choose Puxi and Pudong, you choose Pudong. But if you choose Puxi and want to change later, it is hard. And if you leave school housing at SAS, you will never get back in.

shadowjack wrote:
" And if you leave school
> housing at SAS, you will never get back in.

Not always true, but they do make it difficult. Future families have gotten back in, but I don't know of any singles being successful.

If you are destined to live in Pudong then Jinqiao is probably where you want to be. It certainly seems to be the focus of expat life on the Pudong side of the river. Concordia, Dulwich and other schools are located there, as well as the housing for SAS teachers.

Jing An district is very central and apparently is the up and coming district for expats. There is certainly a great deal going on there. The Huangpu district makes up most of the former French Concession and I think would be a great place to live. Hongkou is north of Suzhou creek, the former International Concession. It is also developing rapidly but is farther from the amenities and attractions an expat might be interested in. Minhang district is huge and this is where many ISs are located. It includes Hongqiao and Gubei, both expat heavy neighborhoods. SCIS and YCIS Puxi are both located farther east in Minhang while SAS, SSIS, the British School and the French German School are located closer to the western boundary of the district, which is currently booming (but then again where in Shanghai isn't it booming?)

Gotta love the Carrefour and the Blue Frog!

Puxi is by far a more interesting place to live, particularly the former French Concession and Jing-an. It has loads more character with art deco architecture, tree lined streets, charming cafes, and a huge variety of restaurants, bars, and live music venues. It has its own sense of place. Most of Puxi looks like the section of any other recently developed (albeit affluent looking) Chinese or even Asian city. We would never live there.

We're parents too, but we also want to have a good quality of life, and an interesting life. There are options there for kids to have a good lifestyle as well.

I concur with @SJ

Big error above. I meant "Most of Pudong looks like the section of ..."

We lived in Puxi with two kids (Minhang, just south of Hongqiao). I would not live in Pudong. Puxi is a far more interesting place to live.

I think if I were working Puxi side, I would live in Puxi. If working on the Pudong side, I would live in Pudong. The problem comes when working one side and living the other.

@seansmith

That was a big mistake.

@SJ

It matters more where you spend your time, and less where you live, unless thats all you do is work and home.

The Former French Concession is very interesting with its tree lined streets, quaint row houses, parks and numerous and ever-changing restaurants, but if you work at SAS Puxi, the British School, the French or German School, WISS, or SISS its going to be 45-60 minutes on a bus each way on a good day. Personally, that works for me but if I had kids I wouldn't subject them to that and if my kids were involved in after school sports or activities I definitely wouldn't subject them to that trip. The metro does extend out into that part of Minhang district but the station is located more for access to the new Convention Center than easy access to any of those schools, at least until they get the tunnel built in a couple of years.

Also, I have heard but don't have the data to back it up that it isn't any farther from SAS Pudong to live in the FFC than Jinqaio which is a 30-40 minute bus ride.

@Overhere

You can cut through the convention center and take the metro.

It doesn't really matter but cutting through the Convention Center doesn't make sense in any context. Shanghai has a marvelous modern subway system that is constantly growing. However, at this point in time using it to commute from downtown and the FFR to schools (SAS, BISS, SSIS, WCIS) in western Minhang district and Qingpu is not a viable option unless you have a great deal of time and patience. They are just beginning the process of building a tunnel that will probably make it possible, but tunnel completion isn't expected for several years.

> @SJ
>
> It matters more where you spend your time, and less where you live, unless
> thats all you do is work and home.

PG - try getting across Shanghai in a rainstorm, or when everybody wants to go somewhere. It's crazy bad and inconvenient. And you will pay more for taxis than you realize, with the metro getting to be a hassle if you are taking it a lot. Better to be close to work - you go there more often than anywhere else in town.