Furnished vs Unfurnished: Buy Your Sleep, Not a Showroom

Field notes on Furnished vs Unfurnished — messy, usable, long enough to act on.

1. Clear landlord messages beat clever ones.
2. Pet/fee/repair promises in the chat record.
3. Test once while scoring flats coldly — not on a holiday schedule.
4. Keep proof (photos, chats, tickets) for anything with money attached.
5. Design for a WeChat repair thread energy, not brochure energy.
6. Revisit after thirty ordinary days.

Context

I used to overcomplicate Furnished vs Unfurnished. Living here forced a simpler version that still works when I'm tired.

The stumble I still see weekly: sight-unseen year leases.

The useful details show up in ordinary weather: rain, overtime, and the week you don't feel like being a high-functioning expat.

Tourists can afford chaos. Residents need defaults — one primary option, one backup, and a note with the Chinese name.

If you remember nothing else

Defaults beat novelty. Near beats famous. Dated notes beat memory.

Chengdu gets easier when routines stop feeling temporary.