Job Discussion Forums

[jamesmollo]

you will allways be a laowai, regardless if you know the language and can get your head around the culture....

heading home in a year...

[mr bedtime]

The deal with China is that if you are an outgoing person, white, not very fat, not very short (if male), not brutally ugly, and hold a passport from English speaking countries, finding work generally won't be a problem at all (march-november).

If that does not digust you to the point of giving up, press on.

The short term situation?
Rent between 500-2000 rmb/month (500 does not mean bad, I split a nice 1500rmb 3 br with 2 friends.)

The worst pay I ever got in China was 100 rmb per hour.

My pay has averaged about 150 rmb/ hour (180 high end/120 lower).
And I have never lived in a first tier city.
I ride an e-bike in a flat, well planned city, so tranport is very cheap and quick.

I do not agree about the foxy birds, but if you are from UK/Ireland/OZ then yes, birds here are very foxy. But everywhere has some foxy birds, and in China your chances with them skyrocket.

The long term financial benefits are pretty bad, as already said.
The cultural situation is not great-music, art, writing etc.
9,000-15,000/month not likely to be enough to let you save much for back home, due to the rmb being so weak.

Healthcare is garbage, because hospitals are crowded and disorganized, and the doctors have really 19th century attitudes-plus "face" doesn't mix well with science.

And like in most countries, you can never become a local.

Life here is often more expensive than people say it is.
Some things are quite expensive (like gym membership, meat).

People never stop trying to rip you off. But way less so than say Africa or central America (no disrespect to those places), and they are not aggressive about it. They are often just testing you to see if you know the real price. If you treat it is a game...

Upsides

A real genuine Chinese friend is a loving, loyal friend for life.

There are teaching jobs outside of Unis and schools.

As you live here, you get better at saving.

There are a lot things changing, most of my friends are Chinese and don't give a shit about face, nationalism, or appearing rich, they are not uptight or cheating, and would never call anyone "laowai".

Tibetans are really nice and tend to be very honest too.

A lot of foreigners do well opening small shops, cafes etc.

[Teatime of Soul]

[Zero]