Job Discussion Forums

[leretif9]

Hi to everyone:

I'm a native speaker of English (U.S.) with a BA in English from a U.S. university and an ESL Cert. from Oxford Seminars.

I want to get work teaching ESL in China, for at least a year, and at wages sufficient to save enough to go back to South America and travel while living frugally for a solid year.

Can those who know from actual lived experience give me insights about Shenzhen, Kunming & Xiamen, as cities to live in? Good points, bad points? I don't at this point know even one word of Chinese.

Thanks for your insights here.

[Simon in Suzhou]

Shenzhen generally has the highest wages of these cities, although individual jobs vary. Shenzhen is Hong Kong lite (wannabe). Modern, sprawling glass and steel with lots of westernized shopping malls, traffic, and a fair amount of pollution. Not much historical charm. People from all over China come here to work. Most cosmopolitan. Good night life options and a good regional travel hub with HK right next door.

Kunming is a charming smaller city. Clean air, historical charm. Boasts that it is springtime year-round (well, umm), but nice weather. Socially, it is the quietest of these cities and by far the most isolated. Good travel options within the same province.

Xiamen is a lovely tourist city on the coast. So cleaner air, decent beach. Lots of good restaurants and food options. A bit of a chinese bohemian vibe. A very nice place to live if you don't have to deal with the tourist buses and crowds on a daily basis. If so, it's not so great.

[leretif9]

Thanks for your insights here.

[teenoso]

I don't think you would go wrong with any of these cities; Shenzhen is a big very modern city , so you will use the metro a lot to get around. It has an 'expat', business vibe, with prices and facilities to match. It could be a struggle if you need to find your own place to live on a esl teacher's wage..

Xiamen and Kunming are much more traditional cities. Downtown Xiamen is over-run with tour buses and tourists from other parts of China, but as the other poster said, if you live on campus you may not notice this on a daily basis. Although I think the main Xiamen Uni campus is itself a tourist photo spot.
Kunming has a reputation as a backpackers' refuge, for travellers stopping off to earn money from the rest of SE Asia, so the job market is probably competitive, and wages won't be high.