Going to Ikea on a Sunday
A few days ago I mentioned that I had some exciting news. Well, I am sorry to disappoint you but it is not that we are getting married or that I am pregnant! It is a slightly less exciting news: C. bought an apartment in Suzhou.
Until now we had been living in a rented apartment. I have stayed there for almost 3 years and I love the place: it is in a new district but close to the city center, there is a subway stop nearby, many bus lines, and a lot of green areas. And just beside the Suzhou Pants building! However that is more of a disadvantage, as a huge new complex is being built there (including what will be the world’s third highest building. Yep, in Suzhou!) so everything is dusty and noisy. A few months ago we were convinced that there was a secret sweatshop sewing clothes in our basement, as we heard noises like sewing machines, Toc toc toc toc, all the time. We couldn’t find anything and in the end I guessed it was the noise of the construction works digging in the ground and being transmitted through the sewers.
Our new apartment is in the same district but a little further to the east, on the other side of Jinji Lake. Our neighbours next door will be our friends Pan Pan, Hua Hua and their crazy husky Wukong. Currently Hua Hua is studying her masters degree in Chengdu and I am working in Shanghai from Monday to Friday so the guys are very excited thinking about their single guys’ nights of fast food and videogames.
Last Sunday we went to the Ikea store in Wuxi because we needed to buy a sofa and a wardrobe for our new home. I had been to the Wuxi Ikea store several times and it always was kind of empty (compared to the Ikea stores in Shanghai which are always crowded) so I was very surprised when I saw that it was full of people. We wanted to eat in their restaurant but the line was very long so we went to the mall next door. It was also crowded over there but at least we could find a restaurant with an empty table.
I forgot to mention that C.’s mom also came with us. She was very busy trying all the sofas on display and also examining all of the cute plush animal toys. In the end we chose the most comfortable sofa we could find even though it does not have a chaise lounge part, as I wanted in the beginning.
Then we headed for the bedroom displays to get the biggest wardrobe we could find. At first C. intended to assemble it himself but I remembered Timo‘s experience and advised him against doing it and just hiring someone instead. Our new stuff already arrived to our apartment and was assembled today. We are moving this weekend!
But a post about going to Ikea in China would not be complete without a few pictures of people sleeping in the display beds, sofas or other places. I have never been to Ikea outside of China so I thought this was normal, but apparently it is not and it just happens here! So enjoy our local speciality:
“Uhm, I will try this children’s bed…”
There was also a kid under the black coat.
This does not look very comfortable!
Thank you for mentioning me :)
The Ikea wardrobe is a real monster and I hope I dont have to assemble something like that for a looong long time to come!
It is really crazy to see these pictures from Chinese Ikea. I mean here in Europe only sit on the sofas or are in the bed simply to try it out but in China…appears like a second home to them!
I remember there was a post where you actually wrote about the wardrobe but I can’t find it! If you pass me the link I will update it :D
Here you go http://crazychinesefamily.com/2014/10/19/ikea-madness/
Never ever again this wardrobe!
I don’t know about China, but where I am, the progression route is like this: buy car -> buy house -> get married -> have kids. If it is the same, then we know what to expect for the next big news :D
Well, the layout of IKEA Wuxi seems identical to IKEA Kuala Lumpur, but I guess that’s the only thing identical. If you try sleeping on a bed in IKEA Malaysia, one of the staff will materialize out of thin air in no time. It happens every time!
Haha the progression route is more or less the same in China but I am not Chinese so it doesn’t count! I would still get married (some time in the future) even if there was no car or house :P
Oh my gosh congratulations! Buying an apartment is a big deal, you guys must be so jazzed! I am excited that you will be close to where my family is moving in January. Maybe we can meet up in person sometime ☺
Thanks! Well, now more than jazzed I am exhausted as I spent all day packing and tonight we will bring part of the boxes to the new apartment. And the rest tomorrow!
Yes, we can definitely meet when you are around here! :)
Ji, ji, se quedan dormidos en cualquier lao!
Tres años ya en Suzhou!!! Si parece que fue ayer cuando llegaste.
Mi grillo la ha palmao esta noche de frío… rip.
Ooooh, pobrecito :(
Si! En febrero hará tres años que llegue a Suzhou! Cómo pasa el tiempo…
Tienes vacaciones de Navidad? Te vienes a Yunnan? También viene Satoka al fin.
Tía, qué fuerte, ¿tú conocías el imperio de los enanos en Kunming? 小矮人帝国
No… En Boracay también hay un restaurante llamado El Hobbit donde todos los camareros son enanos…
No tengo vacaciones :(
Comprendo sra! Pues he estado mirando lo de los permisos a Tibet, igual no es tan caro ni tan difícil.
I can’t say I’ve ever seen someone sleeping in IKEA in Canada or Japan! Good luck with your new place. :)
thanks! In China it is actually very hard going to Ikea and NOT seeing someone sleeping :D
Woww that’s so exciting! Congratulations on your new home :)
Haha, IKEA in China is hilarious, the people in your pics look so comfy :P
Thanks!
Asian people can fall asleep so easily, and practically anywhere!
The kid crashed in the cart pic is crazy funny! :-)
But wowza on the flat purchase front. We’ve been sorta kinda somewhat toying with the idea for years in Mumbai but…
– Prices are INSANE for what you get – “cheap” is 1/2 million USD for a dilapidated 1 bedroom with somewhat dodgy paperwork (ie you may not ACTUALLY be buying the flat just the use of it!)
– Only flats on the outskirts of the city are someone manageable.. and the MR won’t consider anything other than being a “Bandra bugger” (area where we currently live and slang for guys that have and always will be from here)
So anyone that makes that giant leap to ‘ownership’ inspires extreme envy! ;-)
Just enjoy and happy IKEA shopping (oh yeah – have lil jealous green monsters for that option too – still not available in India – frustrating as cheaper and better made than what is available here!)
House prices are also insane in China! Specially in Beijing and Shanghai. Suzhou is a little bit better, but still way more expensive than Spain…
In Shanghai, a new apartment in the city center can be sold for around 9000 USD/sqm. The old apartments are not that much cheaper, I have seen the ads on the realty offices, 82 sqm in an old compound for almost 700,000 USD. And Chinese people keep buying!!
Well.. chances are that 700k today will be worth double in a few years!
Unless the property bubble bursts…
Unlikely…. :-)
@the last picture: We once did the same thing with our baby boy (but that was Ikea in Austria). We made sure to put some blankets in the shopping cart so he won’t be uncomfortable. The infant’s car seat didn’t fit and we didn’t want to carry him with baby, which is super heavy (the combination of car seat + baby).
I like that people actually sleep in those beds. Ikea is just huge and I always get tired at one point.
Oh, and congrats on finding a flat. That’s really exciting. Renting the same place for 3 years is pretty rare in China.
Thanks! And yes, I was very lucky with the apartment I rented, apart from everything I mentioned the landlady is really nice.
A baby makes more sense, as he can fit in the cart. But this girl is too big, hahaha.
I like sitting in the sofas and chairs in IKEA but sleeping is too much for me! I can’t fall asleep with so many people looking at me :D
Wow! Congrats on the new apartment!! It is indeed exciting news, It is always awesome to have a place to call your own! I hope your house-hunting experience wasn’t as long as ours was.
My husband and I have purchased several items from Ikea as well and he always puts them together himself. I offer every time but in all honesty, I am saying to myself ‘Please say no! Please say no!’ :)
I’m not fond of buying a flat/house in China, because of the limited time you can actually own it. But renting is a pain in the ass, at least in Spain: because the place is not actually yours you can’t do major changes and adapt it to your actual requirements, and some agencies&owners are so lame. Do you have any interesting experiences or tips about renting a flat in China?
Oh, I have 2 friends in Barcelona, they live next-door in the same building, and when one of them organizes a party you can actually leave the doors open and change flats to keep partying (soft party I mean: 1 room for playing Sing Starts, 1 room for playing Pictionary, 1 room for chilling out…).
Haha the open doors party sounds great, we will do that… but in the summer, now it is too cold :D
I have been quite lucky with my rented apartments so I don’t have any weird stories… But finding a good apartment can be difficult, Chinese tenants leave everything dirty and dilapidated. And with dirty I don’t mean dusty but “kitchen with 2 inches of grease” and “toilet that has never been cleaned in 10 years”.
I think the limited time is a relative thing, when the 70 years pass (if the house still stands), for sure you won’t lose the property, you will just probably need to pay some new tax and that’s all. Otherwise there would be a bloody revolution in China…
I went to IKEA in the England last week and didn’t see anyone sleeping here with my own eyes, but my British friend was talking about previous visits where she had seen people sleeping in the beds. I have been to IKEAs in the Netherlands, Japan and the States and I have never seen it myself, but I can understand those pretend bedrooms look very inviting to tired IKEA visitors.
Sleeping on the beds is the best way to check their quality before buying them :D
For a split second I just read it as “I’m pregnant” lol :p there are so many babies popping up these days haha :o but congrats! That’s a really big deal! :D
Congratulations, Marta!!!!! That is super, super exciting!! :D
Once you arrange your new house and unpack, promise to post some photos! Suzhou is a lovely place and good on C for buying property–very good investment ;)
Haha IKEA in China is an experience like no other! It’s soooooooooo crowded!! I also heard that many Chinese people go there for dates (?!?!), I mean, the coffee and food is pretty cheap ;)
My first reverse culture shock was going to IKEA here in the USA… there was no one in it. I missed seeing people sleep in the beds and watch TV on the couch. Felt kind of empty and desolate.
Congrats congrats again!
Yes, I will post pictures once everything is ready :D We are still missing some furniture and the previous owner still has some things there (he is our friend so no worries).
I don’t know if people still go on dates to Ikea but a few years ago I read there was free coffee in Ikea Shanghai store if you had the Ikea Family card. Well they had to cancel that promotion because all the retired people in Shanghai were going there every day for the free coffee and spent all day sitting and chatting in the Ikea restaurant!
I wish I could randomly take a nap in IKEA. The woman in the second image seems like she is totally into her nap. I haven’t seen anyone do that in America…the most I see people do is sit down. My boyfriend says they like trying out the beds, but then he saw the photos. He bursted out laughing.
You can go to an Ikea store the next time you visit China! It is quite an adventure :D
No wedding plans yet? Phew! I still have a chance! ;)
Wow, I’m so impressed they can sleep there! I would if I could… I get so stressed when there’s a lot of people there. I would never go on a Sunday in Japan… not unless I wanted to spend the whole day there! But if I could take a nap sometime… maybe I’ll check out an IKEA in China sometime. :D
I don’t think I would be able to sleep with so many people staring at me haha.
My visit to Beijing IKEA (many times) was a hilarious event. People sleeping in the beds or eating on the sofas. I loved it. I still tell my Aussie friends about it.
The worst thing is that I have never been to an Ikea outside of China, so I thought that was normal!!
Ha ha. This is definitely not the norm.