A Vast Improvement

Last week I get a note on my desk at work saying that the administration wanted to talk to me about my apartment. Dubious as that sounded, it turned out to be good news; a new place had become available! Due to some confusing apartment shuffling of the staff members at our school for mundane reasons, I was offered to move into a much swankier building than the one in which I had been living. The only catch was that it was a little bit pricier per month for both the utilities and administrative fees than what I had been paying. (While the schools here cover your rent, all utilities and building ‘maintenance fees’ are your own responsibility). The total cost of my bills had been around 25 000 won per month but that would about double at my new place. I still have to get adjusted to the high cost of electricity here in Korea as I am used to my energy bills being extremely low. In fact, the monthly amount I am used to paying is among the lowest in the world considering that Montreal is the headquarters of the world’s largest hydroelectric producing company. In an effort to be a good human as well as save money, then, I am now taking much more conscious actions toward saving energy than I ever have before. (That is to say, my power bill last month shocked me considering how tiny my place was).

Wasteful energy practices, aside, then, 300 bucks more a year is definitely worth it to get out of that stanky-ass funhouse I was calling home.

The Charmant, as my new building is endearingly named, is a cross between a luxury high-rise and a Bentham-esque panopticon because of the way it is laid out. It is a large right-angle triangle with each apartment facing outward but overlooking a peaceful inner courtyard. There is also easy roof access which allows a gorgeous view of the town and a full-time snoozing security guard on alert in the front foyer for reasons yet to be determined considering how safe everything is here.

As for the apartment itself, it is not a studio like my last place was, but rather has a full 3 separate rooms including a full bathroom. I say “full” implying not that it has a tub as one would find in the decadent west, but rather that it has a shower that offers a hands-free, stick-to-the-wall humane cleaning experience. It’s on the 9th floor of the building and has an automatic motion-sensor light in the front hall which makes me feel like a robot is silently welcoming me home. (It kind of is). I’ve got a couch and a real-sized table and chair this time, as well as an extra bed in the front room in case I want to play host to passing couchsurfers.

The view from my bedroom window.

With respect to locale, I am still just a short jaunt away from my school. In fact, I only moved about 500m down the road from my old place. If you look at the satellite image of my old apartment in my post about such you can easily point out the triangle I call home not too far from my old pad. See it? It’s the triangle.

Perhaps the funniest and simultaneously most disconcerting thing about my new place is its fire escape. With little or no extant fire safety coding for the buildings here, none of the apartments in my building have balconies or fire escapes. Rather, there is simply a large, well-fastened eyelet screwed into the wall near the window with the words “simple descending life line” written above it.

No stairs.
No rope.
Just an eyelet.





I am yet to pick up a rope that reaches a full 9 stories but I suppose in a pinch my Ethernet cord will let me at least peer into my downstairs neighbours’ place shortly before my toasty demise.

Fire hazards aside, this place is frickin’ awesome. If my last place was quirky but totally liveable, this one is pure paradise.

The view from the roof 1 (Notice the beautiful cherry blossoms).

The view from the roof 2 (Notice the beautiful smog).

Sorry if you fell asleep this week. I had received a lot of requests about getting a rundown of my new place and it’s hard to make an apartment sound exciting if it doesn’t smell like sewage or have comic book wallpaper. I promise next time I will get into much less mundane matters. Cheers until then.