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HunanForeignGuy
Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Posts: 989
Location: Shanghai, PRC
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 Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 1:05 am Post subject: Indeed |
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| bearcanada wrote: |
Tuneintokyo;
You'll get different advice from different people. But ifyou want 'Western' attitudes and amenities, go to Shanghai or Kunming. Salaries and income potential are much higher in Shanghai and you absolutely do not have to 'live like a dog' in order to save money. That's crazy advice; I save 20,000+ a month in Shanghai, and I'm not the only one.
I disagree with Anda that friendliness is something you must earn in the smaller centers but doesn't exist in the larger ones. My experience has been very much the opposite. In Shanghai, I am almost overdosed with friendliness; traffic wardens stop cars so I can cross the street; when I bargain on purchases I normally do better than my Chinese friends because the shopkeepers are nicer to foreigners.
I read stories about Shanghai being polluted but I don't know where the pollution is. The air seems cleaner to me than any large cities in NA or Europe. All told, it's a good place to live and work.
Kunming is lovely but salaries are lower and competition may be stronger for fewer opportunities. The permanent spring climate attracts a different kind of person than other large cities.
The other Western choice is Hong Kong - absolutely one of the finest and most exciting cities in the world. Housing is extravagantly expensive, though. You can't go there without thought and planning.....
Hope this helps.
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This post is really on the mark. I only take exception with the Hong Kong part. I actually find that it is a beautiful city with some of the rudest people that I have ever met -- with more attitude than Philadelphia and there ain't no city in the US with more attitude than Phillie.
The poster is on the mark about Shanghai. It's got verve, excitement, money, splash, lots of recent history, mystique -- it flows, just flows. I am a New York guy and well, the first time I was in Shanghai, I said to myself "this is a real world-class city".
It's a great place to work and to make money. And I agree with the previous poster -- I have found the people world-class denizens -- progressive, forward-thinking. If you have a chance to really make it in Shanghai, try it.
Kunming is also great but they are complete opposites except for the friendliness of the inhabitants of each. Yunnan is great and laid back -- Shanghai is the 21st century up-and-running.
Hong Kong, well, for me, Hong Kong is what the French call a "postiche". |
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eslstudies
Joined: 17 Dec 2006
Posts: 1061
Location: East of Aden
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 1:27 am Post subject: |
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| bearcanada wrote: |
I read stories about Shanghai being polluted but I don't know where the pollution is.
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Bear's Shanghai advice is mostly on the money, so to speak. However, I'd have to disagree with the above quotation. I lived on the outskirts, where the air was relatively clean. Each Sunday morning I drove into the city centre, and could see the brown/green/yellow pall hanging over the place. In fact, most of the time I couldn't make out any of the landmark structures until within a few kilometres of them. And this is over three years!
As for the Huangpu, its a chemical milkshake.
Shanghai is clearly what most Westerners would regard as perfect for them though. Even [especially?] people who have never lived there wax eloquent, as you can see on this thread. But in reality, a few districts aside, its much like most large Chinese cities, with each neighborhood being largely self-contained: fine by me, but disappointing for those who expect Nanjing Road and Maoming Lu on their doorstep. |
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Mister Al
Joined: 28 Jun 2004
Posts: 840
Location: In there
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| Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:58 am Post subject: |
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| In order of preference, and from my experience, I'd recommend Suzhou, Xiamen and Guangzhou. |
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PyRoT
Joined: 01 Jan 2008
Posts: 42
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| Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 9:52 am Post subject: |
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I notice no-one has mentioned Beijing. As I am considering staying in China after a few years back home in Aus, should I really come back to Shanghai in a few years? Or some other place?
Why is Beijing such a bad place? Relative to the other cities of course... |
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Lorean
Joined: 21 Dec 2006
Posts: 476
Location: Beijing
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| Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 2:16 pm Post subject: |
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| PyRoT wrote: |
I notice no-one has mentioned Beijing. As I am considering staying in China after a few years back home in Aus, should I really come back to Shanghai in a few years? Or some other place?
Why is Beijing such a bad place? Relative to the other cities of course... |
dirty, dirty, dirty
traffic jams every 2 hours
polluted, polluted, polluted
poor public transportation
hordes of uncivilized migrant workers
higher cost of living
dry weather |
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arioch36
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 3589
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| Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 3:28 pm Post subject: |
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Lorean
| Quote: |
| hordes of uncivilized migrant workers |
A sterotype I take eception to, being from henan. In reality, many of the groups, such as the woodpeckers, who go around Beijing trying to make it more civilized, say the native Beijing people are the hardest to persuade to be nicer. True, the migrants, who live in crammed housing, two to a small bed, no showers, and terrible working conditions, tend to be smellier and dirtier. Not sure why.
beijing is okay if you can find a decent neighborhood with decent affordable housing that is somewhere close to where you work 
Some of the unis I could tolerate. |
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