So, by Wednesday we had reduced our living options in Dalian, China, to two choices: a new two-bedroom plus study apartment at Shama Luxe and an enormous four-bedroom seaside townhouse.  On Wednesday morning we asked to see the townhouse again, because we knew it had some serious problems that would need repair.  We needed to determine how many issues there were and to get a sense of how responsive the landlord would be.

One issue we knew about was mold.  There were two spots in the second floor ceiling where leaks had obviously occured in the past.  The agent assured us these would be fixed. We asked ourselves what would happen if a big leak occured again.  Turns out the landlord does not live in Dalian. We worried that the landlord would be slow to respond. Every tenancy issue we would have would be taken to our agent, who would then work with the landlord.  The contract would say that the landlord had 7 days to repair.  Not good.

We listed out several other issues and then I decided to investigate one of my biggest concerns.  Both bathrooms had the kind of shower that is installed as a complete unit. The one in the master bedroom looked especially small. It was a fancy spa shower with nozzles all over.  So I decided to step into it to see if my overweight American body would fit.  First I struggled with the crappy door that was hard to open.  Once inside, the shower was small, but I could survive.  But then I couldn't get the crappy door open to get out.

Jimmy says the sight of me trying to open the crappy shower door was the deciding factor for him.

But I was still game, so I went to test the shower in the second bathroom. The door fell off. Decision made.

Below you can see a view from the 5th floor of the the Shama Luxe.  Our view will probably be a similar one from the 9th floor, or possibly a view toward the sea.