Job Discussion Forums

weigookin74 · Joined: 30 Mar 2010 Posts: 265

Unrelated, if you take a uni job, you get medical coverage? Is it a local clinic and is it substandard or is it decently ok? Do, you have to go to a big city for good care or just fly to another country? Home or nearby like Korea or something like that?

mattyko40 · Joined: 05 Aug 2014 Posts: 37 Location: Taipei

3701 W.119th · Joined: 26 Feb 2014 Posts: 386 Location: Central China

My university has a little clinic on campus, free for teachers. It's very good, I hear, for minor stuff, like chest infections or flu or broken bones or whatever. For anything serious you should head to your provincial capital, which will have a good hospital.

Although, to be fair, if I ever had a serious medical issue - anything that was in any way life-threatening - I'd be on the first flight back home.

hdeth · Joined: 20 Jan 2015 Posts: 583

My uni job had a clinic on campus that was reputedly horrible....the people basically had no training at all. They covered some of the costs for injuries but can't remember how much.

Current high school has the best insurance I've ever seen. We can go to some of the not-too-expensive international hospitals and they cover 100% of anything but dental and vision, up to a very high limit.

I've ended up having to pay for all my medical tests. They should at least pay for the one in China but my old FAO was a real piece of work.

bbbrisco · Joined: 19 Nov 2010 Posts: 5

Sorry for joining in late, but I don't check these boards very often. I taught in Nanchang (but at JUFE, not NIT) in 2012, and can perhaps offer a few suggestions.

First off, switching from Sept 1 to Oct 1 is not alarming at all - the first year students all have compulsory military training for the month of Sept, with classes starting in Oct. So likely, they just juggled the schedule to give your upper year classes (if any) to other teachers and put you down for the late starting freshmen.

My apartment at JUFE was quite decent, in a nice gated enclave that looked and felt quite secure. The construction was kinda, well, Chinese (ie half inch gaps in between patio doors), but overall a pleasant surprise.

The alleged kitchen utensils consisted of a rusty wok and various other bits and pieces I don't think anyone would ever actually use.

One surprise was the complete lack of towels - I arrived at 11pm and had to dry off with a spare bed sheet until I got to the store and bought (crappy) towels on the following day. I'd make sure you have about 1000 RMB in cash on hand, although the ATM's are easy enough to use by guessing at the Chinese or Chinglish menu options.

Finally, I thought Nanchang would be relatively warm, like South Carolina. It was brutally hot in Sept, but then got quite cold in Dec, and I hadn't brought much cold-weather gear. The classrooms are not heated, and the space heaters in the apartment left much to be desired for those of us used to central heat. I'm from Canada and I still found it kinda miserable.
I do seem to recall that 2012 was reported as being unusually cold for Nanchang, but just a heads up to be prepared. To make matters worse, I'm a XXL, so finding stuff to buy was almost impossible.

Finally, there is a legit Apple store downtown (think it was called Coodoo) and when my laptop died I was forced to buy a new Macbook Air. The price seemed about the same as what Apple charged in the US (but converted to RMB) and the service was good. Selection was a little limited, so I had to buy a cheaper 4gb/128gb model or be stuck without a laptop while waiting for a custom build to arrive. There are also many illicit Apple resellers near Bayi plaza so be careful if you decide to purchase anything over there.

Good luck! I enjoyed my time in Nanchang, and would have gone back this year but couldn't talk the school down from 20 teaching hours per week.

Edit: Oh, forgot to mention something that is likely to be of concern to someone coming with a minimal amount of cash. Seemed we were constantly hit up for ~100Y 'deposit' fees here and there in the first few weeks. Deposit for the apartment key, pre-paying for the first months electricty, fee to get your dining hall meal card, money to open a Chinese bank account (needed). Many of these were returned at the end of the year, but you should be prepared.