Lots of Advice Needed

Hello! I am moving to Busan in November and the news for my family came rather unexpectantly. My spouse was offered a job opportunity he could not refuse so we have ten weeks to put it all together. I was hoping to get some help with some general questions about housing. He spent about 6 months in the area five years ago but its my first time to Korea. We have lived in Japan for his job and Beijing for mine and are very excited to see what Busan has to offer. Here are my questions. Please feel free to answer some of them or all of them. I will take whatever help I can get.

1. What is the typical rent and key deposit for a foreigner in Busan? We have a baby on the way so are really shooting for a two bedroom if possible. We are in the late 20s early 30s age group and enjoy a more quiet life. 

2. How trustworthy are the leasing agencies? In Japan we were very happy with our agency and really felt they represented us. In China (and the US) I have felt scammed and pressured to rush into housing that was maybe a bit more than I wanted to pay or fancier than I needed.

3. I don't need to live near the beach or all the other foreigners but I would like to live near a park and obviously by the subway so I can get out and get some exercise until this baby comes and I can go back to work. Husband will work in Gimhae. All the blogs and websites seem to indicate that foreigners typically live in Haeundae which appears to be almost an hour away. I'd prefer to live somewhere closer but are the nicer areas heading anywhere in that direction typically out of most folks' price range? A friend recommended the Seomyon area but did not indicate why. Any other recommendations?

4. When in Asia, I do teach English by profession. All ages but I have found I prefer the college age or adult professionals. Is there a particular part of town where side gigs would be easier to snag without having to travel so far?

Thank you so much all for reading this and taking the time to help. I am so looking forward to getting there and discovering so much! Appreciate it!

Amber

 

Re: Lots of Advice Needed

1. this varies greatly on age of apartment, area and size. For a two bed I would budget 10mil key money and 5mil a month but its a very loose suggestion.

 

2. they only really find you a place and forget about you. your relationship will be with your landlord and their honesty varies greatly (mine have all been lovely but ive heard stories)

3. gimhae isnt really busan but a town on the outskirts. a lot of it is quite rural but it is developing quickly. there are mountains, parks and rivers to walk around though. it is quite peaceful there. public transport is frequent into busan.

4. english teaching jobs are everywhere. if you need a certain location then it may be a matter of time to find one but you will.

 

Re: Lots of Advice Needed

This is off the top of my head but I think you can find a decent two or three bedroom apartment for 10,000,000 - 30,000,000 won deposit and 700,000 to 1,200,000 per month.

New buildings are significantly more than older ones.  Location and distance to subway stations affect price as well.  

If you have a Korean friend you can do some research online.  Zigbang and Dabang are two websites/apps that have made searching for small aparments easier, though they specialize in small apartments near subway stations.  What you are looking for would probably be called a "Three room" on the website - a combined living room / kitchen plus two bedrooms.