New Apartment vs Old Apartment

OK, OK, it really does look the same but it's not.  There is new lighting in the ceiling, and the window dressing is different, there are wooden floors instead of wall to wall carpet, kitchen wine storage changed and counter changed.  I don't dislike it but I don't love it enough to have to change apartments.  The worst part for me -  when we were on the 28th floor I could see the sky, on the 17th floor I only see the middle portion of various buildings - yuck!  The management tried to soothe me by telling me that I now had 2 balconies.  I looked at her with a sense of wonder.  The Chinese use their balconies for storage, hanging laundry and they usually enclose it as well so that it becomes more valuable space - a room.  Here at our building we are forbidden to enclose our balcony, in addition, the air quality in Shanghai is pretty bad so there are relatively few days a year when you can sit out and enjoy the outdoors. Plus now on both balconies I see the middle of the next building where as on my one balcony on the 28th floor I could see the sky!  We were "forced out" but we will be able to return to the 28th floor in October after they do the silly renovations to our place.

Old apartment with green walls, new apartment with beige walls.

The moving was terrible - I began at 5:00am and stopped at 4:15pm and unfortunately was not completely done. It's not that I had a lot of crap (as my loving husband calls it) but I wanted to move it, put it away and be organized right away.  So no dumping boxes, each one unpacked and carefully put away in a new apartment with different and LESS storage space. I know, looking at the pictures you would think the storage is exactly the same.  Oh well it's done now and we are all moved in.  I am sure I will grow to love this apartment and then be bummed I have to move all over again back to 28........or maybe not.