I've now been in my new apartment and settling in ok after all the hassle of finding it and arranging the move. The landlady is actually quite nice and she gets her adult son to speak to me on the phone in english. Her elderly mother lives with her. 






 
My neighbour is also a korean high school english teacher, but not sure where. She lives with her husband and small baby. 

 
 

























 




I noticed on the tv I wasnt getting the same channels I had in my previous apartment as they were now blocked. I asked how much it would be to add BBC Entertainment, and two news channels for BBC World and CCTV China English World News. 

After checking she told me to add the two news channels would be 3000w ($2.50). I asked what about BBC Entertainment which is what I really wanted. I'm not sure what she was explaining about packages but she said for 16,000w ($15) I would get all three so I said ok 

Turns out they unlocked all english channels as now I'm getting
NHK Japan / NHK Premium
CNN USA / CNN International
Eurosport
Discovery Channel / Discovery World
History Channel
National Geographic / Natl Geo Wild / Natl Geo Adventure
Animal Planet 
and many other english channels

I'm not sure if its just for my apartment or the entire building as I'm the only one paying for these. I'm getting more channels for less money then I would pay for Rogers back home. 

 
 























 


 




I was also told garbage pickup is tues, thurs, and sunday, and that there is a red bin for food waste. I have to pay $2 for food pickup. At first I wasnt sure if that was each time as that would be $24/month but then they told me it was a one time charge for the month. We're also an upscale neighbourhood as we have a real garbage truck instead of an old lady pushing a cart. 

 
 






Also the other landlady that first turned me down is in the building facing mine. We've seen each other a few times now. After just staring I decided to say hello one day to show no hard feelings as maybe she didnt want to rent to a foreigner so I didnt want to give a bad impression. 

She wanted to know where my apartment was, how much, and how much key money. I showed her I'm in the building where she is parking her car. Maybe the two landlords know each other. She waves hello to me now when she see's me. 

 

There's also something alive in the vent for the boiler. I can hear something moving at night. I tried banging the pipe and looking from the outside but its blocked with a cap so not sure how something is small enough to crawl in. It cant get out from the inside though.

Originally I didnt want a ground floor flat as less privacy and breezes, and sewer smells from the drains. There is a slight smell like rotting meat but it might go down when the weather cools and I'll use drain cleaner. 

Also I discovered a roof terrace at the top with some nice views. I back onto a garden which is rare in korea and I can see birds sitting in the trees from my windows. There is also a morning rooster though I'm not sure where from?

 
 
 























 

 
 


Its been two weeks now and I'm yet to see any rent money from the school which was due the day I moved in. I payed the first months rent out of my own pocket ($450)

Part of the delay is there is a new principal, vice principal, and admin person, so that is causing delay with all the other changes. Also they are saying they need the principals signature to approve the payment. 

This better not be a problem every month as often they are away at training sessions, so I'll have to keep enough rent money stored to pay myself if the school does not pay again on time.