Job Discussion Forums

[travelinbri]

If you could work in Yangshuop, surrounded by beauty, or in Kunming, closer to great places such as Dali, Lijiang, and the Gorge, would you take the prettier but more secluded location, or the more urban but better located position? Just curious for some advice...

[Roger]

I think you should buy a LONELY PLANET travel guide to help you make up your mind!
Your choice is purely subjective. BOth Kunming and Yangshuo have some cosmopolitan qualities, and both are more or less set in a nice area. I don't know what "Gorge" you referred to when you asked about Kunming's closeness to "Lijiang, Dali and 'the Orge". The "Tiger Gorge" near Zhongdian, now renamed "Shangrila"?
I don't think the scenery 400 to 1000 kms away from Kunming can sustain you morally if you don't like your job, your students or the distance to your home country! What I mean is Kunming is not exactly a beauty, though not an eye sore either; you will be more preoccupied with discharging your duties than with enjoying yourself out of town! Do you like its climate (temperate year round)?
Yangshuo on the other hand has most of the scenery right on the doorstep of the town. The town itself is rather dirty in certain places, yet it is quaint and attractive to most travellers. It is a lot hotter there in summer, which might drive you mad if you can't stand subtropical summers!
What's more, there is a constant big trickle of new jobseekers as Yangshuo is one of very few places inside China that beckon travellers to actually holiday and relax there! It has a very Kathmandu-esque assortment of cafes, guesthouses and entertainment programme, and many travellers stay put for months!

[travelinbri]

I have done the mandatory reading in the LP and Frommers, and they both sound good for different reasons as you (and I above) pretty much described, but I have still never been there. I am Aisa now, and being far from "my home country" is not gonna be the problem, and I have been a certified teacher, both states side, and then overseas, for a number of years, so I feel comfortable with the description of my duties (obviously working conditions and coworkers I dont know totally yet).
I am just trying to figure out if, all thigns considerd, Yangshuo or Kunming is a better base of operations to work in and learn abotu Asia. I gues sit boils down to what you said, which kinda paraphrases what I said. Is it better to be in Kuming, in Yunnan, which sure seems like the neatest province in China, or in Yangshuo, one of the neatest towns in China...

Excuse my excessive use of the word neat.

In the meantime I have never been to either, so all I preently have to go on are guide books and opinions of other travellers...

thanks

-TBri

[Maltezer]

I worked in Guangxi Province for 3 years and loved spending weekends in Yangshuo - a fantastic place to chill out. When I was last there 2 years ago they were re-doing Western St and building a big bowling alley at the end of it furthest away from the river. I don't know what it's like now but I wouldn't go back in a hurry. It's a great base to get to Sanjiang in the very north of Guangxi.

Now, Yunnan ... wax lyrical ... if I wasn't in Yunnan Province, I probably wouldn't be in China. Kunming is small, very friendly, lots of universities and schools looking for teachers, fabulous diversity in ethnic groups throughout the province, good weather (26C the last few days for example). Just a really nice place to be. I have travelled extensively in Yunnan and there is little better than the Spring Festival in the south or in the border areas to the west, or trips to the north anytime from September after the rainy season (July and August in Kunming and south).

Kunming has a lot of 'western' type cafes and bars, similar to Yangshuo, and the Western Hills are but a short bus trip out of town for a bit of countryside. As I said in my post yesterday (I think), Dali is only 5 hours by express bus and if you want to look out of the window, the scenery is quite nice on the way. Lijiang is 2 hours from Dali by bus. You can easily make a weekend (Fri pm, Sat, return Sunday) trip to Dali.

[gerard]

I have heard that these places are tough to find work because of the close proximity to Vietnam and the cooooooooool climate. But you can't listen to everything you hear. Kunming sounds good to me.

[travelinbri]

Thanks, good advice.

[whitjohn]

I live in Kunming and I love it! To me the air quality and year round temps are the bonus. It's just the right size place for me as I came from Alice Springs in Oz and Chattanooga in Tennessee. Both are smallish compared to great metros.