Job Discussion Forums

alonzo9772 · Joined: 23 Sep 2016 Posts: 55

I have had successful interviews with First Leap. The recruiter for the company, Carissa, has offered me to work in either Beijing, Nanjing, or Chongqing. I am already eliminating Beijing because of how overly-crowded and expensive it is. I would only accept a job in Beijing if the monthly salary were to be 20,000 yuan or more.

In Nanjing, the salary would be 14,000 with a 3,000 housing allowance.

In Chongqing, the salary would be 14,000 with a 4,000 housing allowance.

Which city has the less severe winters and has the most enjoyable night life? Those two factors are the most important to me.

thechangling · Joined: 11 Apr 2013 Posts: 276

I'm in Wuhan and my guess according to what my students have told me is that Chongqing has a better climate than Wuhan (not as cold in the winter) but there are more expats living in Nanjing because of it being relatively close to Shanghai and several other nearby cities such as Suzhou which have a lot of expats also.
Personally I'd go to Chongqing because the air pollution is possibly worse in Nanjing and the food maybe more interesting in Chongqing. I like exploring though and can put up with not going to bars or seeing other expats much maybe cos I'm in my late 40's. Hope this is somewhat helpful.

CNexpatesl · Joined: 27 May 2015 Posts: 194

Chongqing is way more polluted than Nanjing. NJ is known for its lush greenery.

Mixal · Joined: 08 Apr 2015 Posts: 80

I wasn't aware that First Leap offers accommodation allowance. My friend who worked for the Beijing branch didn't have much good to say.

CQ is warmer in winter than NJ, but it's also very foggy and more polluted overall... If this is your first time in this part of the world, NJ makes it easier to adapt. CQ is more exotic and has plenty of natural attractions nearby.

jimpellow · Joined: 12 Oct 2007 Posts: 913

Yes, First Leap does not have a great reputation. If I were you, I would at least attempt to google information and reviews on the two branch schools (franchises?) that you are considering. One may be a much better place for employment than the other.

I personally find Nanjing one of the best large cities in China.

Chonqqing is also less expensive than Nanjing I believe. You may find the people there more "real" too.

In addition, I will "borrow" a quote from a blog; "Chongqing has the hottest women in China. The interesting thing is why: why are the hottest women in China living in one of the hottest, sweatiest most crowded example of social stratification, gangster government and rag tag modernization in all of China?"

rocket man · Joined: 19 Dec 2015 Posts: 110 Location: Raleigh NC USA

I've been in Nanjing around 6 weeks now and like it a lot, lots of expats, plenty to do and yes the first thing that jumped out at me when I first got here was how green the city is, large leafy trees even downtown. Transport is decent and cheap, last nite took a taxi from the 1912 district to my apt out in Xialan (sp??,NE part of city near the end of line 2) and it only cost 54RMB and it was an 18KM trip, in Seoul that trip is double maybe triple that.

Shanghai is close, 70 min to 2 hours max on the bullet train. Whats funny is after being in Shanghai this week for a couple of days Nanjing with a population of over 8 million feels absolutely provincal

alonzo9772 · Joined: 23 Sep 2016 Posts: 55

It sounds like people prefer Nanjing. Is 3,000 yuan a month enough to pay for a good apartment in Nanjing? I was siding more with living in Chongqing because of the extra housing allowance, but I am now reading comments about the bad pollution in the city.

Osiry · Joined: 19 Mar 2015 Posts: 84 Location: Nanjing

I lived in Nanjing for 6 months. I quite liked it. Living the the central city (across the road from Zujianglu station) was around 3000 yuan per month for a 40 square meter studio apartment. This was in a good well built building though. If you go a little out of the central city you can get a big 3 bedroom for not too much more.
In terms of the night life, there are some really good expat bars. There's one called Brewsells at the south end of Shanghai Lu. There's a good nightclub area called 1912, but it's not really my thing so I only went a couple of times when I felt like a big night out.
I liked it so much that I'm moving back at the beginning of feb next year.