In 2007, I traveled to Xiamen, China for the first time. Although I had traveled to China for a number of times, this was my first trip to Xiamen.
I liked Xiamen immediately.
I had also been thinking of retiring to somewhere out in the country-side but still near to modern amenities for quite some time. I wasn’t sure where. Maybe Malaysia. Maybe Thailand. But I found what I wanted in Xiamen instead.
By coincidence, I visited a housing development out in Changtai, Xiamen. It had what I wanted. A modern apartment out in the countryside. But modern amenities within the development. And a short 40 minutes drive to Xiamen city.
I bought an apartment immediately. Photos that I showed friends gained a lot of interest. I decided to post that information out in the internet. Within a couple of years, we had over 150 people from all over the world on our mailing list. A number of readers even traveled to Xiamen to check out the development for themselves.
We have readers from USA, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand and Malaysia eager to know more. Frankly, I am a little surprised that Caucasian and USA/Canadian Chinese formed the largest interest group.
If you are curious, this is the original website where it all started..
Too many people were asking me questions. Usually the same questions. The large mailing list got bulky and unwieldy. I had to reply to questions individually. I had a new job. Too many things and too little time.
Hence, this social network was born. To facilitate all information, data, pictures, video into one place. Where one reply will reach everyone. Where readers can share their expertise, experience and information; not just for Xiamen but for everyone looking for, discussing or sharing information for ‘leisurely retirement’. Hey, you may be in your 30s and 40s now but retirement is but certain in a matter of time and if you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.
And I hope those in their 50s and 60s will find this social network useful as well.
And it’s also cool to start a social network. Web 2.0, you know. Shows that ‘to-be-retirees’ do know a thing or two about the internet and are just as much ‘plugged-in’ as all the youngsters running around with their iPods and PDAs!
Active members can also start their own blog, share photos and videos, chat online and share data; all within this same social network. All the latest web and social network stuff. That’s what retirement should be. Retire. Leisure, Plug-in.
Outside of China
Fly to Xiamen International airport. There are direct flights from Singapore, Penang, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok and many other international airports.
Within China
Fly, take a train or long distance bus to Xiamen. There are direct road, air and rail links to/from Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Airport to Xiamen city
Unlike many other airports in China, the distance between Xiamen airport and the town is only a short 20 minutes or more. In fact, you are within Xiamen city once you leave the airport.
There is a tourism office at the airport where you can pick up tourist brochures. You can also ask for cheap or promotion hotel offers. The ladies manning the desk are polite and helpful. Alternatively, there are 2 computers with URL links to hotel websites that you can surf yourself.
Taxis are available easily and run by meter. It will help to have your destination written in Chinese as taxi drivers speak little or no English.
Train or long distance bus station to Xiamen
The train and bus stations are within Xiamen city. Once you are out of the station, take a taxi to your hotel or to the developer’s office. There are 2 main long distance bus stations; one of which is located in Hubin Nan Lu (Hubin South Road) itself.
Recommendations for accommodation
Xiamen city is not very big but it does help to decide beforehand where to stay. There are big international brand names hotels like Sheraton, Marco Polo, Crowne Plaza and others. You can also opt for cheap but clean simple hotels like Days-Inn, 8-Flag and other local hotel chains.
I recommend that you stay at Hubin Nan Lu which has various simple hotels as well as a couple of good 4-star hotels. I normally stay at 8-Flag (220RMB) if I am on budget or the Jinyan hotel(580RMB) if I am in a more generous mood.
Getting the contact
The developer office is within walking distance if you stay at Hubin Nan Lu; otherwise, it is a short taxi drive away as it is considered pretty downtown area. Before going, please call Ms Ren, who is my sales person. She can advise you on the route to her office depending on which hotel you stay.
Please email me before arriving in Xiamen so that I can provide her mobile number. I do not want her mobile number on the open internet here. (Note that she and her colleagues do not speak English. You will need to speak some Mandarin or have a friend who does before you can communicate effectively).
Note that shuttle service to the development will leave at 8am sharp each morning. Try to be there early so that you can catch a free ride. Otherwise, the provincial bus station is also within walking distance if you are staying in Hubin Nan Lu. Buses leave regularly (1/2hr) and you can catch a bus for less than 20RMB. The traveling time is about 45minutes in moderate traffic.
Once you are at the development, Ms Ren will arrange a conducted tour. You can also talk pricing with her. In total, this should last about 1-2 hours. (Note: There is no business obligations involved here. You can stop discussion anytime if you think the price or the compound is not right for you. On the other hand, if you are really keen, please ask all the questions you need at this point. I am not employed by them and will not be able to advise you on actual transaction requirements short of my own personal experience.)
You can have your breakfast or lunch there as they have a nice cafe at the club house. You can then choose to walk around on your own within the compound or even outside the compound. Just a short 10 minutes away and you can do activities such as water rafting, horse riding, air gliding, rock climbing and gun shooting.
You can take a bus from here back to Xiamen. Or you can go back to the development and catch the 4:30pm shuttle back to Xiamen. (It is best that you pre-arrange with Ms Ren if you intend to catch the shuttle).
Have a good holiday!
Regardless if you are just visiting Xiamen or seriously interested in the same RV compound, I wish you all the best. I am sure you will enjoy XIamen and I urge that you try their food, hotspring and foot reflexology to complete your holiday.
You’ll find yourself spending lesser to enjoy more than in any other parts of the world or even in China itself. You’ll also like the better air, less chaotic traffic, better retail service and generally polite people that you can find in Xiamen compared to many other parts of China.
Most importantly, I hope that you will write back in this forum so that future readers will benefit from your experience!
http://retire-in-xiamen.ning.com/forum/topics/faq-visiting-changtai-xiamen
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Account of a Singaporean couple retiring in Xiamen, China
| http://www.chinese-culture.net/html/retire_in_xiamen.html
The final process went very well, thank you very much! I arrived in Xiamen on 31 June 2008, Saturday morning. As usual, I boarded the shuttle bus to the new apartment. Together with me were another 20-30 excited new owners – though most of them chose to drive – being residents of Xiamen itself. Breakfast were served to us on arrival, how thoughtful, and the entire paperwork process to establish ownership took a quick 20 minutes. In twenty minutes, I was holding the keys to my new apartment in Xiamen, China! It was now time to inspect the apartment. I was impressed that the clubhouse was recently renovated. Landscaping and greenery were very well-done throughout the entire development. Shared amenities such as tennis courts, cafe, gym, children playground, grocery store were operational. The swimming pool was also ready but not operational as it seem that the filtration system was not yet working. All in, pretty satisfactory.
View from front porch of apartment. The exterior of the apartment block looks good. Glass lifts. Impressive lobby. And now… for the final moment of truth… unlocking the apartment. The fantastic view from the balcony remains. The apartment interior deco was as what was promised in the brochures. All the air-conditioner, fridge, oven, LCD TV and furniture were in place as promised. Except that the some renovation finishing were poor by international standards, there were paint marks and there were renovation debris still in nooks and corners. Poor finishing mar an otherwise almost flawless project. I was adamant that they changed the entire balcony wooden platform as the cutting was uneven and the base dirty and uncleaned. To my surprise, they agreed to do so. The developer was also surprised that I spent an hour or more inspecting every nook and corner. Most other owners spent a quick 10 minutes inspecting their new apartments and went away happy. Not me. I just did some renovation work in my current house and hence were able to tell what and where had gone wrong.
I spent the next two days inspecting the apartment. I stayed in Xiamen but took the shuttle every morning to inspect the improvement work. I was glad to see that most of my requests were taken care of. Some requests, such as re-running of air-conditioner pipes and change of glass panels were not accepted, and I had to live with it, this being the acceptable standard in China. All in, a satisfactory exercise. I ventured to buy a new apartment in the suburbs of Xiamen two years ago and I am glad to see it come to fruition smoothly. The entire development has taken on a life of it’s own and I see yet even more villas and condominiums being built. Apparently, this project has struck a chord with many people about the need for a green and healthy lifestyle and hence, continue to enjoy healthy sales. The developer also told me that they were just granted approval to build a 5-star hotel, an indoor heated swimming pool, and a golf-course within this development. Owners and residents will also be able to enjoy these new amenities. Was this apartment worth my time, money and effort? I should certainly think so. Coming from an expensive country like Singapore, paying about US$45K for a fully furnished 81sqm apartment in a fenced and serviced community-living compound is certainly worthy. In fact, coming from a congested city, just to have the fresh air and fabulous view from the bedroom and living hall was worth the money in itself! If you are interested in this project for either holiday, leisure, investment or retirement purposes, do get in touch with me at this email: cheong_@_chinese-culture.net and I’ll help as much as I can. (Drop the two _. This is to prevent spam getting through) Oh yes, just in case you thought this trip was all work and no play, check out this fabulous hotspring spa, Riyuegu Hotspring Spa, nearby that we spent a fabulous time. You can read more about it at my wife’s blog. |
Why did I buy this apartment? Singapore is an island state located in South East Asia. The pace if life here is hectic and cost of living is high. There is also no social or medical security when we retire. Hence, many of us are looking towards a slower, healthier pace of life after retirement and where cost of living is also lower so as to stretch our savings. Many have chosen to go to Australia or Thailand. Most Singaporeans are Chinese by ancestry and some of us can even trace our ancestry to Fujian, the province where Xiamen is located. If you have similar plans, or wish to live in China with English speaking Singaporeans, we welcome you to join our group! Chronology of Events:
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awesome yeessss!!
Hm, I am ok with this but nonetheless not absolutely confident, hence i am gonna research even more.
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