Sunday, March 22, 2009

Greetings From Yongin!

It's me, and I'm back in Korea, again, taking another stab at this whole teaching-English-in-Korea thing. This time I'm located in Suji, Yongin City. Like Bucheon, Yongin is another satellite city in Gyeonggi Province with close proximity to Seoul.


So, if you look at the map, the emptyspot in the middle, that's where Seoul is. There are two dots, one on Bucheon (where I used to live) and the other on Suji, Yongin (where I live now). Luckily, there's a direct bus that goes from Suji to Bucheon, and to make things even better, the stop is literally right outside my place.

Honestly, moving to Suji made me really miss Bucheon, but as the days so by, realized that there are many pros and cons to both. Few things off the top of my head:

Bucheon
  • loved being in the center of things: there were so many restaurants, stores, shops downstairs under my apartment, bus stops downstairs, police station down the street (it was just the area I lived in, not every part of Bucheon is like that)
  • everything was so convenient: 24 hour market downstairs, laundry service downstairs, PCbang next door, work was basically across the street
  • it was really busy, people always around - coming from a big city, I love having people around all the time, or that stupid soccer machine got or the crazy ahjussis yelling (I actually kind of miss that all now)
  • my apartment was more modern - built-in fridge, cabinets; they also provided microwave, kitchen supplies
  • loved running in the park
  • all my friends are there - lots of places to hang out
  • many things nearby: department stores, markets, banks, you name it
  • close to Hongdae, my favorite spot in Seoul
  • but far from other places in Seoul (especially Gangnam or Jamsil)

Suji, Yongin

  • quiet quiet quiet neighborhood, I don't hear anything at night, the walls are also not soundproof (now I live in a "villa" - group of buildings with apartment-like units, but the buildings are no more than 3 stories high)
  • convenient store 5-10 minute walk
  • supermarket 15-20 minute walk
  • about 10-15 minute walk to work (also near my work are more of the restaurants, stores, shops, post office, bus lines, etc)
  • closer to the subway station (about a 15-25 minute walk or a short bus ride)
  • there's this awesome walkway/path behind my home, great place to go running now that the weather is getting warmer - this path also goes to the subway and big supermarket type places
  • have to buy kitchen supplies, tiny fridge, smaller bathroom
  • have a little laundry area/patio - great for drying clothes!
  • making new friends here, or at least who are closeby
  • love that the bus to Bucheon is right outside my place!

Honestly, this city or at least the area I live in is a little too suburban for me. I would prefer lots of people around, big city feel. But overall, I can't complain. It's nice being back in Korea, I really love it here; I just miss family and friends back at home.

Will try to update often, haven't set up internet at my place yet, but I will soon. Next post will be about the school I work at. Until then, peace out!