Perplexed by my recent silence dear readers? No, I haven't given up typing my inane dribble for the masses, rather both Linda and myself have been overly-occupied in our recent change of apartments.

Yes, we have left Chunder Loo (aptly monickered after a night out with Robbie & several forms of spirits, with Linda finding yours truly passed out on the couch in a state of semi-undress). We had a great time at our Changde Lu apartment. It was perhaps the best place for a 'fresh off the boat' expat couple looking to get a feel for Shanghai life. We were living right on the heart of the Shanghainese doorstep - low rise tenaments crammed full of life, laughter, hocking & spitting, astonished looks and cries of 'Lowai' each day, Shanghai-@ss smells, etc etc. We were starting to groan how far away it was from transportation lines, to get to the shops, the loud early-morning exercise routine from the High School across the road - it all sucked. These were minor inconveniences. However, over the course of our year there, we saw this community disappear. The pace of relentless development encroaching north from Nanjing Xi Lu and Beijing Xi Lu brought about the destruction of the neighbourhood. As we were leaving, almost 2X half city blocks were in the process of demolition. It appears that some of these areas might be zoned for a new Metro line stop, As for the other areas we've seen ear-marked for removal (big red banners with white writing proceed the destruction), we're not too sure what they will be replaced by, but we are sure that with new developments like One Park Avenue in the area, any replacement will be much more upmarket than the original. When we first took up residence in our Changde Lu apartment, we were situated directly across the road from a construction site. 24 hours a day pneumatic-tool anything made our life misery for almost 3 months. Seeing another upcoming round of construction was the last straw for me in particular. It was time to move.

So baah to development. Ironically, we've now moved to a new, much-larger apartment in a 'traditional' expat compound. It comes complete with Sat. TV (drool), tennis court, great positioning to Jiangsu Lu Metro Station & Hymall on Zhenning Lu. Its very plush, and pretty much a HUGE bargain considering what we inspected for the price.

So, my romantic allusions regarding the impact of my lifestyle choices in Shanghai have been left shattered. In part, we have both attributed to the unrelenting development process in down-town Shanghai. But now at least, we have Satellite TV to dull the pain.

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