Job Discussion Forums

[wjreaves]

I"ve been following this forum for quite some time now and i just wanted to start by saying that those of you on here that post have been amazingly helpful!

I'm left now with two questions which I haven't really got answers for:

1- I will have my degree in a couple short months and am confident about landing a job in China however, my wife is only a high school graduate and there is no way I could leave her at home alone in China while I go teach. She likes to babysit or be a nanny but is it realistic for me to first land a job somewhere and then expect her to find something to occupy her time with such as this? I can't sell China to her if she's sitting at home waiting for me to finish teaching... I'm open to other ideas and suggestions as well if you have any.

2- This is somewhat related to the first question: Both my wife and I would like to live in a small village or town (small being like less than 8-10,000 people) and want something picturesque at the same time. Can you guys suggest places in China that would fulfill these requirements

*Decent teaching job for me
*Beautiful place to live, not big city
*Wife could maybe find babysitting or nanny job based on someone looking for English speaking help.

We only speak English but want to learn while we are there.

Appreciate any help you can offer and thanks again!

[Non Sequitur]

Doubt that you will find an employer who is legally able to employ a FT in a village of the size you mention.
I think you will need a larger city to accomodate both you and your wife''s employment needs. This doesn't mean no small town experience. I taught over 6 weeks in summer a few years ago in a smallish town in Liaoning prov. BUT I had a regular uni job in Dalian during term time.
I suggest get a uni or college job with accommodation and then your wife can run around local language schools and will get work for sure.
Especially if she is Caucasian, young and relates well to kids.
The language school hours will tend to be weekends and after 3pm weekdays.
Do an initial contract under this scenario and check out the other possibilities as you do so.
China is a big ask at first both culturally and phsically. Get into it by degrees and the total experience will be far more enjoyable.

[Zero]

A town of less than 8,000 to 10,000 in China is a farming village. Or it is the backwaters of the outskirts of the backwoods. As in, there may not even be a proper road. In the off chance there would be a school to employ you, there would be absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing, to do in your off hours, unless you like mahjong. Or rice paddies.

I've said this before and it wasn't taken well, but I'll say it again, hopefully in kinder language this time. Western males hold an allure to women from developing countries. Some think it's because of our dashing good looks and vibrant personalities, while others think it's our passports. You be the judge. But Asia is rough on western couples. They call Hong Kong the graveyard of expat marriages. I have no reason to think the mainland is any different, except maybe worse. Consider carefully.

[Non Sequitur]

My 'small' Liaoning town was maybe 200,000 people.

[Mister Al]

Leave your wife at home. Plenty of cute little locals only too willing to keep you warm at night.

Seriously, your wife has no chance of getting a legal job. Maybe she could help out with some voluntary work but without any language skills that would be difficult unless you are in a big city, and even then....

There are community expat groups in larger cities that keep the tai tais (wives of foreign employees) occupied to a certain extent but maybe in only half a dozen cities or so.

So back to what I said earlier..........................

[sistercream]

Just to back up what has been said before - in China, 10,000 people is a backwater village, not a town - I have worked somewhere with a population of 50,000 (a county seat) that had not a single ATM machine (as of 2008), and the nearest breakfast cereal and coffee was 16 hours away by bus. There were fewer than 10 people (including the other two foreigners in town) with whom I could communicate in English. No running water, and hole-in-the-ground toilets. OK for a summer school, but would you want to live there full time?

Particularly for a first China job, even if just coming by yourself, you should be looking for somewhere with a reasonable support base for expats - like being able to speak English out of hours and being able to find foods at least close to those you'd eat at home - read up on culture shock.

My own nomination for a small (by Chinese standards), liveable city would be Zhuhai. Good infrastructure, enough expats to find someone else to talk to if the first group you met drives you crazy, and even if your wife can't find anything to do on that side of the border she can head to Macau for the day (quite a few people commute across). Macau is also excellent for grocery shopping and restaurants.

[xi.gua]

[slareth]

Going to chime in with others here and recommend against such a low populated area. Especially since you guys can't speak Chinese at all.

Are you really interested in working here or is your main goal a quiet getaway in the country with your woman? I strongly suggest getting a taste of living in an average city in China before heading out into the boonies. Many people do not realize all they will have to give up (even in an average city) and this can put serious stress on any relationship.

Grab a Uni job somewhere and on your breaks travel to wherever you want. It will feel like a real vacation that way instead of trying to rough out life with practically zero amenities or comforts or anything remotely familiar. Likely far less headaches for you and your lady. Good luck.

[flyingscotsman]

You also need to look at the visa issue. What kind of visa will she have? If it is a tourist visa then she's going to need to exit and reneter frequently so it will be a serious issue. Are they going to give her a resident permit ?

if not then she cant stay a long time.

So as someone mentioned, look for a southern area - like Shenzhen or close to it so she can leave as needed. If not costs will add up quickly for her visa and travel.

Now I have met people with less than a college education working in China so don't always listen to people saying that a non-college grad can't work here. There are plenty of jobs for young females who like working with really young kids ( ages 2 -6) that pay decent by the hour. So if you and she are determined to stay here for xx months or whatever then make sure you are set up in a decent job.

Forget the country thing. Country jobs pay little for experience teachers and most people will go stir crazy as there is no decent shopping or decent people around - not that country people aren't decent but... The countryside of China is NOT like the countryside of a Western country.

So don't give up your dream.

The school I'm at has apartments big enough for two ( plus kids) and is in the countryside - as an example ( and NO I DON'T recommend this school to anyone...). But this city has plenty of side work available for those who has the desire.

[ooragnakkangaroo]

[wjreaves]

Thanks for all the great advice! I'm going to take it and look more for a place more in the 100,000 to 200,000 range where we can enjoy SOME comforts and yet still experience the new culture. If I'm looking for such a place, and it must be beautiful, where might I shoot for?

I guess my revised ideal location would be...

*a decent place for my wife to find a job with little kids speaking english w/o degree
*a decent place for me to locate a teaching job w/ degree
*a small expat community and a decent grocery store
*Must be a beautiful place to live

Disclaimer: I understand the frustrations with the "Can I teach without a degree" question and my goal for my wife is not to land a sweet job with no degree but rather to make a little money and enjoy her passion of encouraging little ones and loving kids.

[Non Sequitur]

I wish people would stop trying to squelch low qual/exp/age new entrants into China ESL.
To write 'the regulations say' and 'China' in the same sentence is the quintessential oxymoron.

[Zero]

To suggest that "quals" are the primary way to get ahead in the China game is also not correct. Experience may help somewhat. But here are qualities I'd say are far more relevant:

-Smooth-talking
-Good-looking in a classic laowai kind of way
-Cleancut
-Entrepreneurial-minded
-Enthusiastic for meeting and greeting, wheeling and dealing
-Tireless, willing to teach as many corporate classes, coddle as many rich kids, give enough training presentations as it takes to make a good buck

Show me a person like that, and I'll show you someone earning 25,000 RMB/month and up. It makes no nevermind that the person doesn't have respected TEFL "quals."

Master's in applied linguistics? Maybe you'll make 5,500 RMB instead of 5,000.

[CarlD26]

Okay, this is maybe a little larger than what you want, but hear me out:

You might want to give "Yangshuo" a try in Guangxi province. It has about 100,000 people permanently, but lots of tourists make it seem much larger, maybe about a million per day, but that is centered more in a few specific areas that are easy to avoid.

Please realize there is Yangshuo, the town (100,000 ppl as I said), and also, Yangshuo county (300,000 people, but a heck of a lot larger than the town), so you can easily get out in the rice paddies with literally no tourists, and take a 30 minute bike ride (or less) into the touristy areas in the center of Yangshuo for all your western needs. The best of both worlds really, as there are some remote areas in and around the county where tourists seem to miss. The best thing is, the food, I found was reasonably priced and pretty good within the town.

Plus Yangshuo county and surrounding areas are some of the most beautiful places, not only in China, but in the world, of the 20+ countries I have seen.

Why not give it a shot?

edit: There are also some pretty nice places outside of Hangzhou/Suzou that might be worth checking out. Kind of small touristy towns like "Tong li", then you can go a few km outside of those towns even, if you want.

I mean, if you want small, you kind of have to look for little villages just outside of touristy towns. Maybe something a few Km outside of Fenghuang (aka "Phoenix") in Hunan province. Hunan is probably, overall, the most beautiful province in China, and the most green. Fenghuang is touristy like Yangshou, but you can easily get into the villages outside of these tourist areas. I remember my gf and I found a very remote area of the Hunan not to far outside of FH and it was 100% real China, in her opinion, as even she was surprised by some things.

That is probably your best bet, as there are some touristy areas with a few hundred thousand tourists (can't think of places any smaller), than go a little outside of those places. Otherwise you just have to look for random backwater places that take eons to reach and from exp. that is not always fun, and can get boring fast.

One question: Can you guys bike? Then surrounding areas right outside Yangshuo/Fenghuang and those types of areas may very well be suitable.

Some of the nicer larger cities in China to consider:
Kunming
Xiamen
Guilin
Qingdao

[Non Sequitur]

Zero!
My GF reads these posts!
Now I will get 'why can't you be more like that'
Thanks a mill!