Job Discussion Forums

[MozartFloyd]

Anybody worked and lived in Dalian? I have a potential, new Uni offer there and I'm curious about the winters in Dalian? What's the city like ... is it touristy, lots of foreigners ... how's the climate overall, the beaches, cost of living.... Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[JamesD]

[jimpellow]

Never even been there, but since only one helpful response, let me add a few tidbits shared by some former coworkers who had spent a lot of time there.

1. Winters are supposedly not very pleasant, but many shopping areas and such are built underground to minimize exposure.

2. The women are famous for their beauty. This is through Chinese eyes, though, where things like height are prized. The women seem to act accordingly "chou mei"- full of themselves about it.

3. A ton of Koreans seeking native teachers for themselves and their children. Not hard to have more side work than you could possibly do.

[MozartFloyd]

Thanks for the commentary. It's very beneficial and I appreciate it.

I could start a new thread, but first maybe I'll give it a go here. I now have three options to teach in 3 different universities in 3 different cities in China. Seems once I opened the door on transferring to a different school, the opportunities happened.

I'm curious what others think on these three cities: Dalian, Rongcheng (Weihai) Shandong, or Xiamen? If you could pick from these three cities, where would you go and why? Basically the contracts are the same: decent apartment, work-load, salary, etc. It's the usual Uni contract at top pay and 16 hours teaching. They're all coastal cities but I don't know much about them outside what I've read. Never been there.

The schools are basically similar, so the real question in my mind becomes where do I want to live. I do have a preference for second tier cities with available countryside to explore. I cycle a lot and in my current city I can ride into the mountains and escape the city in a matter of minutes. I'm guessing Dalian isn't good for this, other than following the coast.

Any input is helpful.

[jimpellow]

Well as for Weihai, I have spent some time there and was not very impressed. At least it is not terribly far from Qingdao. Once again overloaded with Koreans so lots of side work (and very few foreign teachers) but you don't mention that as being of great importance. The area didn't strike me as offering a lot for cycling. Sort of yucky sprawl as is typical of Eastern China.

Never been to Xiamen but I would expect similar sprawl though it does have some good natural attractions nearby and the city is somewhat progressive they say in terms of outlawing car horns and the island offshore bans traffic. Considering the weather there I would think the best choice for a cycler.