Job Discussion Forums

[Interloper]

Hello, I am late 20's male living in the USA. I have decided to work in China teaching ESL and am trying to decide between two positions. I have never been to China but I have traveled in other countries before and am an immigrant myself (when I was 10 years old though). One is at the Nanjing College of Information Technology and the other is at the Jiangxi Institute of Technology in Nanchang. The offers are almost the same in salary and provision of accommodations and round trip ticket etc. I am getting out of a high stress job at a very fast paced city and trying to make a decision on which way to go. (I have another offer in each of these cities as well so I want to focus on the difference in the cities). I really enjoy meeting new people and would love to meet Chinese as well as expats. I also would really like to learn Mandarin. On that point, I've already determined that both Nanjing and Nanchang have good dialects for learning Mandarin. A few questions if someone could help out that knows:

1. Any pros or cons in living in a big city vs. a small city? Is the pollution worse in Nanjing than Nanchang? Are people much nicer/friendlier in smaller cities vs. bigger cities in China? Is it easier to learn Mandarin in a smaller city b/c I assume in Nanjing many signs will be in English and many will speak English? Is the pace of life very fast/hectic in Nanjing and are many people very obsessed with flashyness/fancy cars etc. or is that the same in any city in China? I do not get bored easily at all, but are there things to do in Nanchang and is it possible to find expats? Are the expats friendly in both cities? Which city has more beautiful nature scenery etc.? Are people more or less materialistic in either place?

That's a lot of stuff, but if anyone can answer any of these questions or just provide any comments about your own experience in either of these cities and/or at these universities or generally in a big chinese city vs smaller one, that would be great. Thanks!

[quanxie]

I did 10 months in Nanchang when I first came here... The city is much like all provincial capitals here, crowded, noisy and smog ridden... The government is forcing all the colleges to move from the city proper to the burbs.... I personally dislike the suburban life (esp. the Chinese burbs) but, maybe you will enjoy the remoteness... I have never been to Nanjing but it too is a provincial capital and thus the stereotype applies...

As to Putonghua studies I think most places use it in public places with non-locals but, prefer to speak their local dialect among friends...

good luck and welcome to china

[GeminiTiger]

Welcome..

I lived in Jiangxi province, I found that Nanchang had all the basic requirements of a provincial capital. McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut. Haha.. er.. anyways, I didn't find/see much of old china in Nanchang, just like.. boring.. that's my feeling. Jiangxi is however a beautiful natural province with generally low pollution compared to other capitals and other provinces. Nanchang certainly has less foreigners and that actually is a good thing, sometimes.

My choice this year though.. I'm headed to Nanjing on Monday to take a new job at a local University.. I think culturally is going to be quite a bit better off and it's close to Shanghai and other points of interest. I doubt the air will be as good as Jiangxi, but I'll deal it.


Nanjing tour 916,000 hits on google.
Nanchang tour 154,000 hits on google.

I would also say I'm roughly six times more interested in Nanjing..

Also, read this http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?p=680712#680712

pss, Nanchang = 4 mill, Nanjing = 6 mill, not really a big-vs-small story.