Common sense in Mongolia: An evolving definition

Jon Hiebert | KF 17 | Mongolia

When looking for an apartment in a new city, common sense would guide you to look online, contact a realtor or network through ex-pats and friends that work and live in the area already. But common sense seems to be very relative here in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia…

“I’ll take you for a walk to some areas where you might want to live,” says Ron, a new friend of mine who wants to help us hunt for apartments.

“Sure,” I reply, thinking it would be good to get an idea of what places looked like and what they are near.

At this point, I had been in Ulaanbaatar for just 30 hours and was living in a guesthouse downtown. I had met an American Fulbright researcher, Hannah, and we were thinking of finding an apartment together.

Mongolian Parliament. No wonder this is called the “Land of the Eternal Blue Skies.”