What do you do in Busan, if you dont mind me asking?
I work for a trading company. I travel to the US about 3-5 times a year (twice to Va.) and to other countries another 5-6 times a year. Few places bore me like DC. Of all the cities in North America I find Vancouver to be the most liveable with a walking downtown and a lot of international feel to it. I like Seattle and Portland even though they can be pretty dull for nightlife too but the restaurants are great even if you can’t get a good pizza or gyro. Anchorage was the best little big city I’ve ever visited, Miami Beach is a good city too, I like the Cuban area of South Beach for nightlife and pretty girls. Houston was the worst place I’ve ever been next to New Orleans (be there in a couple of weeks unfortunately). I was actually in New Orleans 3 months after Katrina and I thought the hurricane had made an improvement. At least the crime was down. Boston is preferable to New York if only because beer doesn’t cost $10 a bottle but I like both cities. Other than that I find most of America to be bland and overly cookie cutter like in the uniformity; little identical boxes and plastic food everywhere.
Among the international cities I’ve been to I recommend Brussels for food and beer, Vigo for leisure and relaxation, Paris because now there are hardly any French people left there, Qingdao for Chinese beach scene and yachting, Siem Reap for sight-seeing, Khaosiung as one of Asia’s best kept secrets, and Fukuoka for weekend partying.
Cities to avoid like the plague are any place in India with a population over 100,000, Bangkok (get in get out to an island ASAP), Manila (same as Bangkok), Vladivostok (1,000,000 unhappy Russians), Kobe (they had an earthquake and rebuilt but forgot to put any fun back in the city), Hong Kong (too much FILTH – Failed In London Try Hong Kong), Phnom Penh (pedophile heaven), and Beijing (the pollution and backwardness compared to Shanghai will shock you).
Any other cities don’t get a special mention for being particularly horrible or recommendable.
source: 39 yo Washington DC native & has lived in Busan for 12 years here at http://www.igoo.com/Lounge/showthread.php?t=49752&page=2&pp=15
More on the same thread…
I’d have to agree on the city improving…I was here many years ago on a visit, but didn’t think much of it. This most recent “tour of duty”, I spent a bit of time in Seoul, Daejeon and then finally Ulsan before I made the move to Busan. I didn’t realize all the good that this city has and that it’s just constantly improving. It has a lot of the good things of a bigger city, but a small town feel in a lot of ways. A decent college district, great beaches, the film festival, the transporation getting better like WinWin says, a decent number of great looking women, housing prices (can’t believe they are this low), lots of hiking, close to many other larger Korean cities, proximity to lots of islands & Japan (Fukuoka), cost of living…sheeze, I could burn your eyes out with a longer list.
source: 35 year old Seattleite, lived in Busan for close to a year here at http://www.igoo.com/Lounge/showthread.php?t=49752&page=3&pp=15
What’s the best place to live in Busan, when you consider these factors:
1. subway access
2. shopping
3. close to the beach
4. clean air
5. relatively flat (no climbing mountains everywhere to get around)
Anyone got any experience in this area?
Pretty much any area has subway access, I’d say the most important factor there is the location of your apartment within the area. I mean within Dayeon for example, I could be really close to the subway or 15-20 minutes walk away.
I’m cheap so I did most of my shopping in Nampo-Dong. Do you really need to live close to shopping areas? I’d say that’s as much a detriment as an asset, as it would make spending money too easy. Kyungsung-Pukyong area is pretty good for shopping too.
Gwangali is a nice beach and from most places in Busan it’s a slightly shorter ride to get there. It’s also just 5 stops away from Haeundae.
For clean air I’d suggest someplace in the north of the city closest to the mountains, like Nopo-dong, but then you’d be much further away from some of the areas you seem most interested in visiting. But PNU would be close by. Nopo Dong seemed like the nice place whenever I visited, compared to my own neighborhood. Family at home turned up their noses when they saw photos of my own neighborhood here.
As for mountains being in the way, I’ve never ever come across a situation in which I had to scale some pesky mountain inconveniently in my path to get someplace. And if there was, I’d just use the subway.
source: from the Living in Busan section here http://www.koreabridge.com/forums/index.htm
More from the same forum…
Hi, I’m an English teacher located near Seoul and my husband and I are looking for a new position in Busan. I hear it’s very nice and the beaches are great. Does anyone have recommendations of the best areas to live and work in?
A: Generally, anything in Dongnae or north; or in the Haeundae area is more affluent. Anything near the Nakdong river is a bit less affluent with the exception of the Hwamyeong dong area which is getting a bit of cash in it’s belt.
There are a LOT of foreigners in Haeundae in an area called Dalmaji hill but really foreigners are located everywhere.
Lastly, I’d suggest you stay away from the area that is along subway Line ONE:….in the LOW NUMBERS! I live at stop 107 and I feel I’m RIGHT on the cusp of interesting stuff.
Nampodong is just down the road and seomyeon ain’t THAT far in a car but there aren’t many foreigners around and anything past where I live, the taxis can get pretty dear.
It’s a nice town though. I’m sure you’ll like it.
And even more….
I’m also looking at moving to Busan around April and have been looking into a good place to teach and live. A position I’m considering right now is located in Guseo, with the apartment near PNU. I’ve heard its a pretty nice area and many foreigners, but none of the opinions I received were from people who actually spent much time there. If anyone on here lives, or has lived, in this area of town then I’d really like to hear your opinion of this area. Thanks!
I’m living in Guseo-dong right now, and it’s a mixed blessing. On one hand, it’s really near PNU. On the other hand, there’s absolutely NOTHING to do here and I think it’s a pretty terrible part of town. I’ve been miserable my entire time here because I can’t get a moment’s fresh air or go to a park or anything. There aren’t any sidewalks here, so I’m forced constantly to step over puke patches on the shoulder of the road, only to get nearly run over by taxis 5+ times a day. I don’t even get any sunlight because there’s another building wedged so close to my window. And my apartment building locks roof access, so there’s just literally NOWHERE I can go to just enjoy being outside.
Versus Haeundae. When I’m there, I just feel so relaxed because there are sidewalks and I can smell the ocean and there just seems like there’s a lot more space there. It’s more expensive, but it might be worth it for decent air and sunlight.
Another person chimes in…
I lived in Churye (which is in Sasang-gu) for many years. The area is blighted both culturally and architecturally, the people generally are decent blue collar folk, the bars suck, and the shopping (Home Plus) is average at best. It isn’t too far from Seomyeon, but the other “fun” parts of town are relatively far away. The best thing I can say about Sasang is that its proximity to subway, bus, and airport make it relatively easy to get the flock out of there. If you do get stuck there, just try not to live too close to either the dog slaughterhouses, the prison, or the open sewer otherwise known as the Hakjang River.
Another opinion about where to live in Busan…
I think the decision of where to live really depends on what your into. PNU has a good selection of western restauraunts, popular foreigner bars,and some good shopping. The other night life spot is Kyoungsung University area …its a good spot since its a couple of subways stops from Gwanali beach and is also mid way (subway 20 min) between Haeundae and down town Seomyeon. The UN cementary/park/ mueseum is near there too – in Deayeon-dong. Haeundae is awesome lots of shopping and restaurants, the beach is great- Songjong beach is close too … as for the lack of parks thats just Busan in general… but mountain ranges criss cross the city so it shouldn’t be more than a short subway ride to get some where.
A few more thoughts…
I echo the positives with Haeundae and the busy areas of PNU and Kyungsan Univ. I like where I’m at, but I’ve only been here for about 6 months.
I live in Oncheon-jang. It’s the place with all the hot springs. We have one that’s suppose to be the biggest in all of Asia, if not the whole world. I think it’s called Nongshim because of the hotel next to it being called Nongshim Hotel. I’ve been there once. It’s HUGE.
I like my place because of my building for the most part. My building — SK Hubsky — is connected to the subway, for one, has a Homeplus at the base of our building, a hospital, a movie theatre (CJV) , VIPS, and other businesses populating the building(s) right and left as I write. We’re a 10 minute walk to PNU & all the great things about that. It takes me 15-20 mins to get to Seomyung — the heart of the busy-ness of downtown. I’m a 1/2 hour away from a couple different branches I work work for in Busanjin and Kwangan and about 45 mins away via subway from Haeundae.
I think it’s relatively central. Maybe Seomyun would be even moreso of a central location if I knew what was available further south beyond the train station (Pusan Station).
Anyway, my 2 cents about Oncheon-jang.
