Shanghai District - Minhang - good or bad?

Just to bump and update an old thread, I lived and worked in Minhang for 3 years. Xinzhuang is, as Raoul says, very well connected transport wise, and has a lot of new, relatively upmarket housing. Several of the teachers at my Uni lived there, and we visited frequently. Also, the light rail connects to the more distant reaches of a huge local government area, which is essentialy what Minhang is.
Further out, close to the river bend, you are close to rural China, just a 5 mao ferry ride away. I lived on the city side of the river, and loved the small city feel of the area. It was interesting and vibrant, and prices were nothing like more upmarket areas of Shanghai.
The mildly prestigious Jiaotong Daxue is also in this area, with all the perks of good cheap food, CDs/DVDs, music instrument stores etc.

Bumpity:

Xinzuang (and Minhang) continues to improve. There's a new mall in the middle of town that promises to have a Carl's Junior soon (please please please!). The not-so-new Sky Mall continues to fill out with a rather nice collection of stores and restaurants. I think there's Disney English, English First, Longman, and one other ESL school in there all bumping elbows.

There's a VERY nice library/ community center that's opened up. Construction has started on the new metro station to replace the current structure and to integrate a new subway line. Line #22 I think.

There was a bar that was opened up near the station, just to the north near the AMWAY. Run by a nice enough Singaporean fellow who tried to run a bar that catered to both expats and Chinese all the while trying to dodge local regs put in place to prevent bars of any type in that area.

East of central XZ off Linhua south road there's another mall with some interesting architecture and the largest Starbucks I've been to. Aside from that the mall is unremarkable and at present looks like a commercial failure. Perhaps in another 2 years when the area around it is built out things will get better there.

The 5 mao ferry ride across the river is quite pleasant. If you buy round trip in advance (they give you a plastic token) you get a slight discount. The far side of the river is somewhat rural in appearance. Keep heading south of the river and it starts getting modern again VERY fast.

There's a metro line being under construction that will connect line 5 to the beach area down in Jinshan.

If you like to party Western style you'll probably find this area a big disappointment.
Plenty of Chinese in the area have money to spend, and lots of places are opening up for them to spend it in without paying much mind to a bunch of car-less foreigners.

Let's see what someone has to say about the area in 2013.

Just to bump and update an old thread, I lived and worked in Minhang for 3 years. Xinzhuang is, as Raoul says, very well connected transport wise, and has a lot of new, relatively upmarket housing. Several of the teachers at my Uni lived there, and we visited frequently. Also, the light rail connects to the more distant reaches of a huge local government area, which is essentialy what Minhang is.

Yes, the Xinzhuang metro station is the connection point between line 1 (North-South through the center, including both the main & South railway stations) and line 5, out to Southern suburbia. Since it is the end of line 1, your chances of getting a seat are better than at other stops.

Further out, close to the river bend, you are close to rural China, just a 5 mao ferry ride away. I lived on the city side of the river, and loved the small city feel of the area. It was interesting and vibrant, and prices were nothing like more upmarket areas of Shanghai.
The mildly prestigious Jiaotong Daxue is also in this area, with all the perks of good cheap food, CDs/DVDs, music instrument stores etc.

I live out there, working at Jiao Da. This area has much cheaper housing. I have a large two bedroom, quite nice, for 2600. Before renting it, I looked in the Xinzhuang area because that would be much more convenient for going downtown. Prices were much higher. The cheapest I saw was a small two bedroom at 2800; the other extreme was a gorgeous one bedroom place at 4200.

I'll be visiting the old stamping ground in January, so I'll be interested to see the changes. We were right by the river, not far from the ferry.

The Carl's Junior in Xinzhuang is now open for business.
From appearances it looks like they are learning from mistakes made in the previous locations. This one has oodles of open seating and for those of you into the HFCS flavored beverages the fountains are self-serve.

I can't speak to the conditions in Xinzhuang back in 2008, but nowadays Xinzhuang is a very nice place to live. I'm right by the metro, a huge mall that has everything, a park, and a library. Everything I want within walking distance and it's quiet at night. You're kind of far removed from the nightlife, but that's not a priority for me. Even if you do wanna go out, it's maybe 40-60 min subway into town. Then a 100 kuai (at the very most) cab ride home. If you split the cab with a few friends that's no problem. I've been here for a year now and love, it, although I plan to move a little closer to the center after Spring Festival, because my roommates insist on being able to party more. If I had it my way I would stay out here another year, no question. 

I can't speak to the conditions in Xinzhuang back in 2008, but nowadays Xinzhuang is a very nice place to live. I'm right by the metro, a huge mall that has everything, a park, and a library. Everything I want within walking distance and it's quiet at night. You're kind of far removed from the nightlife, but that's not a priority for me. Even if you do wanna go out, it's maybe 40-60 min subway into town. Then a 100 kuai (at the very most) cab ride home. If you split the cab with a few friends that's no problem. I've been here for a year now and love, it, although I plan to move a little closer to the center after Spring Festival, because my roommates insist on being able to party more. If I had it my way I would stay out here another year, no question. 

There are places to party in Minhang/Songjiang. Some places even have proper dance floors.









Might want to bring your own music and headphones though.

The Carl's Junior in Xinzhuang is now open for business.

Where is it exactly? I've wandered about the main Xinzhuang shopping center (the one with Carrefour) and gone by the other big one (new buildings a couple of blocks South of the metro station) on a bus peering intently at the shopping center's signs, but I have so far failed completely to find it.