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boomerexpat
Joined: 15 Apr 2012
Posts: 135
Location: Mexico
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 Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 6:30 am Post subject: Wuxi school and offer feedback appreciated |
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Does anyone know anything about: Jiangnan U North American College,Wuxi?
If accommodation and airfare is provided, how well can you live on 6K per month in Wuxi? Breakeven if frugal, live comfortably, or save a little money? I'm 58 so don't want to live like a student but don't need an opulent lifestyle either.
Mix of eating out and eating in. Mix of Chinese and International food. I care about the quality/health implications of my food sources so won't be going for street stalls or the cheapest. E.g., like meat with no hormones, etc. Also, want to have enough cash to take monthly trips to someplace else and to hang out around town a couple times a week with others, although doesn't have to be a fancy place.
Thanks |
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kungfuman
Joined: 31 May 2012
Posts: 1749
Location: In My Own Private Idaho
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| Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:43 am Post subject: |
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It's a sub-school located inside Jiangnan University.
6k insist much no matter how you live.
The school is outside the city center. A bus cost about 33 cents usd but takes 45 minutes or more and is often very crowded. There is a new subway line but it won't be open for another year or more. A taxi cost about $6 or 40 rmb
There are some supermarkets located several miles away, such as an Auchan ( 5 stars), Carrefour ( 3 stars). RT mart ( 5 stars) that are serviced by a bus line or only about 15 minutes by bicycle.
Some people like Jiangnan some people hate it. I can put you in touch with both groups.
Depends what you are looking for in life.
BUT 6k is on the low end.
Apartments are ok (if you get a new one).
Check out this www site . This guy Dave ( a true stand-up guy!) has worked there for many years and has an email address on the site somewhere. He does NOT work for the American school though and never worked for Lambton; he works for Jiangnan directly (unless that has changed since last I saw him).
Hope this helps you buddy. |
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kungfuman
Joined: 31 May 2012
Posts: 1749
Location: In My Own Private Idaho
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boomerexpat
Joined: 15 Apr 2012
Posts: 135
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 8:34 am Post subject: |
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kungfuman
thanks for the lead. And, yeah, 6K seems like bare bones especially given Wuxi seems like a place I would want to exit for a weekend at least once a month. |
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twilothunder
Joined: 09 Dec 2011
Posts: 442
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| Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:39 am Post subject: |
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Presume you've not spent much time in China, because Wuxi is very much at the desirable end of places to live in China.
Wealthy city, famously good food, nice lake and decent parks, the people are not countryside nongmingong.
The only reason to want to leave so often would be that Nanjing, Suzhou and Shanghai are so close. |
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boomerexpat
Joined: 15 Apr 2012
Posts: 135
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:45 am Post subject: |
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| twilothunder wrote: |
Presume you've not spent much time in China, because Wuxi is very much at the desirable end of places to live in China.
Wealthy city, famously good food, nice lake and decent parks, the people are not countryside nongmingong.
The only reason to want to leave so often would be that Nanjing, Suzhou and Shanghai are so close. |
Have you lived there? If so, what would you anticipate monthly living expenses to be? |
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Brian Hugh
Joined: 07 Jan 2012
Posts: 140
Location: China
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| Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:37 am Post subject: |
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It's a gentrified city. A real sight at night when everyone has their colored lights on. It is also a factory city so it lacks a little culture. I don't remember museums or art galeries when I was there five years ago. It is probably the most changed city in China. Check out Ronnies Australian bar to meet with the expat community. Most expats are business types so that is why 6,000 is small.
It is small for a CHinese worker. Expats are all making at least 100,000 so they kind of don't want to spend too much time with you. THe local language is not putonhua but different from every where else in Jiangsu. Wuxi people live to eat. |
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twilothunder
Joined: 09 Dec 2011
Posts: 442
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| Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 4:30 am Post subject: |
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| boomerexpat wrote: |
Have you lived there? If so, what would you anticipate monthly living expenses to be? |
I have friends there and have visited regularly.
I cannot estimate that - it depends on your lifestyle. I know people who live happily in Beijing on 6000rmb/month, I personally wouldn't though. |
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rogerwilco
Joined: 10 Jun 2010
Posts: 1549
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| Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 4:36 am Post subject: |
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| kungfuman wrote: |
The school is outside the city center. A bus cost about 33 cents usd but takes 45 minutes or more and is often very crowded. There is a new subway line but it won't be open for another year or more. A taxi cost about $6 or 40 rmb
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I believe that more attention should be paid to the fact that the school is located so far outside the city.
In the past I have worked at schools located that far outside a city, and it is not fun spending hours on a bus just to go meet friends, shopping, go to good restaurants, etc.
If you decide to stay in the city past 9 or 10pm you might find it impossible to find a bus home, and difficult to find a taxi willing to travel that far outside the city. |
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kungfuman
Joined: 31 May 2012
Posts: 1749
Location: In My Own Private Idaho
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| Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Brian Hugh wrote: |
| Check out Ronnies Australian bar. |
Ronnies closed. Still not sure why. But if you like bars they opened a new Bar Street across form the new Niko Hotel ( close to Nanchang Market Place).
And they have the Blue bar which is a staple of Wuxi for a long time.
I never had a problem getting a taxi to take me to Jiangnan university at night. Unless it is raining.
They also opened a new Ikea in Wuxi. ( WHOOPIEE!)
Also check out www.wuxilife.com for more info on Wuxi. |
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Miles Smiles
Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1294
Location: Heebee Jeebee
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| Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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I checked out Jiangnan. Some teachers work directly for the university while others work for Lambdon. I was pretty put off by the Lambdon part. It's a Canadian program in every sense of the word (my impression).
Hours range from 20-25 hours per week.
I was sent pics of the newer FT apartments. They're very nice, and the big apartment building is new. It houses about 45 FTs, according to the info I got. (Can't all be western. Must be a lot of Chinese, Russian, and german teachers teaching subjects other than English).
For the hours, pay, and location, I'd pass. Wuxi is a huge, sprawling city with dozens of suburbs and little to attract a western teacher. I corresponded with both a teacher who worked directly for the university (I think it was the filmmaker, Dave) and another guy who worked for Lambdon. The guy who worked for lambdon said that he felt pretty alienated there and was heading to Shanghai for a less sedate life. The other guy was happy as a clam.
My opinion. |
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kungfuman
Joined: 31 May 2012
Posts: 1749
Location: In My Own Private Idaho
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:44 am Post subject: |
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| Dave is a pretty cool an da laid back guy. He was a producer on the Kung Fu series with David Carriden a long time ago and has been at Jiangnan for ages. |
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boomerexpat
Joined: 15 Apr 2012
Posts: 135
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 11:02 am Post subject: |
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| Miles Smiles wrote: |
It's a Canadian program in every sense of the word (my impression).
For the hours, pay, and location, I'd pass. Wuxi is a huge, sprawling city with dozens of suburbs and little to attract a western teacher. I corresponded with both a teacher who worked directly for the university (I think it was the filmmaker, Dave) and another guy who worked for Lambdon. The guy who worked for lambdon said that he felt pretty alienated there and was heading to Shanghai for a less sedate life. The other guy was happy as a clam.
My opinion. |
Thanks for the feedback. I'm not familiar with Canadian programs. Why no love?
Pics I see of Wuxi look enticing but another thing that holds me back is the pollution of the water supply. A few years back, Chinese did as Chinese tend to do - looked at the local reservoir and thought "what a great place to put factories that have toxic drainage!"
so, they ringed the city's reservoir with factories and the city's drinking water not surprisingly contained all kinds of nasty things. An environmental activist exposed it and the government tossed him in jail for 3 years for spreading disharmony. The government claimed they cleaned it up but when he got out he said it was still going on. |
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twilothunder
Joined: 09 Dec 2011
Posts: 442
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 11:36 am Post subject: |
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| boomerexpat wrote: |
Thanks for the feedback. I'm not familiar with Canadian programs. Why no love?
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Because the absolute dregs of students of rich parents end up on those programs.
Rich parents + excellent student = Aim for Tsinghua/Beida
Rich parents + good student without the hoped for Gao Kao results = Good British (A-Levels) or American program
Rich parents + average student = Bad British (NCC) or American program
Rich parents + bad student who wants to emigrate = Australian program
Rich parents + terrible attitude, learning difficulties, computer game habit, attendance problems = Canadian program |
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lemak
Joined: 19 Nov 2011
Posts: 368
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 5:30 am Post subject: |
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| boomerexpat wrote: |
| "what a great place to put factories that have toxic drainage!" |
That could almost be China's unofficial slogan. Not likely you're going to be bathing in crystal clear glacial water anywhere you live in China however.
Whether because the lake turned green, or whether because 10 years ago the city had a rep for being a hideous, polluted craphole the local government invested a huge amount of money in making the city pretty and a desirable enough place to live.
And by Chinese standards it is green, clean, very little spitting or trash. Easy rail access to some cool neighboring cities like Suzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing etc.
Don't worry about Jiangnan being out in the sticks. while it's a bus ride or 5 buck or so taxi ride from downtown to the main gate it's still in a residential area. Walking distance to street food, bars, restaurants, a decent sized supermarket (Vanguard), KFC, Pizza Hut etc.
If you're into outdoors type stuff the lake and wetlands park next to the school are quite nice.
It's proabably not the best place for young and single, but if you're older and not looking to party it up every night there's a pretty sizeable foreign teacher and student community in the area who are adequate enough for social contact, and loads of English speaking Chinese around who are generally helpful and interested in hanging out.
I know quite a few teachers who work for Lambton College at Jiangnan and the opinions range from loving it to "can't wait to leave - they work and pay us worse than dogs". I think the catch with many of these joint programs is that they run on western syllabuses (syllabi??), so have huge expectations that you'll put in a workload similar to that which you'd put in at home....a lot of pointless paperwork...but are only willing to pay a Chinese salary. A lot of foreign teachers end up a little disgruntled.
I currently live in Wuxi, don't work for Jiangnan or Lambton, but my wife studies there, so may be able to help some more with further questions. Feel free to PM if it's anything more private. |
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