Job Discussion Forums

[Menino80]

I have a potential job offer there. I am a big fan of China and Chinese culture, and coming from two years in Korea, I think I know what to expect from the "Asian" style of communication and management. I found that I spent too much time in Korea hanging out with foreigners, mainly because I didn't care that much for Korean culture and made little effort to get to know the language, mostly because I was studying Mandarin. I found individual Koreans to be good people but I never made it past the expat phase over there, something I'm looking to avoid in Shenzhen.

I read a lot about China and Chinese history and I've been studying Mandarin for the last two years to a point where I don't need to use English to get around in China, even though I am far from 'fluent'.

I've heard that the Chinese nightlife culture is different from the Korean--very few go out to bars, and I'm not a big nightclub person either. I'm not a huge partier but I do enjoy being out and meeting people. That being said, what do some of you think about Shenzhen? Thanks

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

you need go no farther than the search function. it works.

search on the job related forum using "shenzhen" as a keyword. look for a thread entitled "Shenzhen."

[karlkram]

shenzhen not really like the rest of china it sadly lacks in culture of any real variety since it is a city less then 30 years old....generally you have to be on your guard against petty theft more then any place else in china....dongzhirmen in particular...but if wine woman and song are your thing this is the place to be...

[karlkram]

shenzhen not really like the rest of china it sadly lacks in culture of any real variety since it is a city less then 30 years old....generally you have to be on your guard against petty theft more then any place else in china....dongzhirmen in particular...but if wine woman and song are your thing this is the place to be...

[powerrose]

Hey, I sent you a PM about Shenzhen.

[Menino80]

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[Zero]

If you want a deeper cultural experience, something vastly different than Korea, probably you should work in a city other than Shenzhen. Few people are from Shenzhen. They are there for work. The expat scene is very expat-y. I doubt there is much personal satisfaction to be had there. In my view you should choose a second- or third-tier city with a more "local" flavor. Maybe Dalian, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi, something like that.

[bradley]

I'm happy in Shenzhen. Many people are............

[powerrose]

I'm also happy in Shenzhen. I might even say I "enjoy personal satisfaction"

[Laurence]

I was going to list some good and bad points, but then I thought that we might not agree on what is good and what is bad

so here are some 'pointers' about Shenzhen

- muggy air
- close to HK (good for international flights and shopping for any kind of books or electronics that you might need)
- no old buildings
- lots of tall, new buildings
- it's only a few decades old, so nobody is really 'from' there. There are lots of people from Hunan and Guangdong, of course.
- affluent (plenty of malls and consumer indulgences)
- there's an art/design hub called OCT Loft, which hosts a variety of modern exhibitions and performances
- the metro, in its present state, does not cover the city extensively, which means you might want to learn when the traffic jams occur
- large expat community, with a nightlife scene to cater for it

In fact,
given the glossy spoils on offer in SZ,
it sounds to me like you might give in to temptation and be drawn into the expat lifestyle that you are running away from..


but hey, what are you gonna do?

go pitch up in the boonies just for kicks?

[Menino80]

[Zero]

[Menino80]

[dakelei]

If you are interested in "China," Shenzhen is not the place to go. It simply isn't China. Sure it's full of Chinese people and all but it is far from a "typical" Chinese city.