Job Discussion Forums

[it'snotmyfault]

I'm sure a lot of people are considering jobs for this coming September, some of them out in rural god knows where!! So what are your experiences if you've lived way out in the provinces and what advice would you give to someone considering it?

I consider where I am now to be a pretty poor rural place, even though there's well over a million people, scale takes on new dimensions in China! The nearest McDonald's is a three hour train ride away though, so that classes it as rural for me

The problems have been the intense scrutiny your daily life gets, general rude behaviour, lots of staring and loud HELLLOOOO'S everywhere you go, followed by bursts of laughter if you say hello back to them. The usual stuff.
The positives, met some really nice genuine unspoilt people, students that seem really appreciative for you being there. Great scenery on your doorstep that you'd have to travel 24hrs from a lot of the cities to see.

Being able to speak a little Chinese helps too (stating the obvious), but outside of the uni virtually no one speaks any English. I can get by on a basic level so that's helped make things a bit easier. Another problem with the language is that most of the locals (especially the older ones) will speak a local dialect. So it kinda puts a spanner in the works of the idea that you'll go somewhere where there's no foreigners and immerse yourself into the culture and pick the language up easier. I didn't come here for that reason but I know some people have that idea.

I think it takes a certain kind of person to really enjoy it out in the sticks though and also a degree of luck in finding a good school, making good friends etc. A few of the final year students have told me stories about the number of previous teachers who disappeared when the winter holidays came around, culture shock kicking in maybe!
If you're a country boy or girl at heart and don't fancy the big cities I can see why this kind of job appeals, but you could definitely be in for a few shocks if you're not prepared.

Well, a few things to think about if you're considering that job in rural Xinjiang or Shanxi

[xiguagua]

I was in the boonies in Guizhou for one term. Like, countryside tiny town with no taxi's except the huangbaoche (rickshaw; bicycle and carriage).

If you're going just for a couple weeks it's fine. See a different aspect of China and how many people live. For a extended period of time, it really takes a certain kind of person. One term was all I could do and I left. I'm not a big city guy, but at that time I didn't cook and every day was a struggle for where i'm gonna eat since there were no restaurants in the vicinity except a goats milk and noodles place. If I wanted to find another restaurant it was a good 10-15 minute walk. Gets old.

I dunno if this is the kind of place you're talking about. But I generally prefer smaller cities, just that place was TOO small.

[it'snotmyfault]

Just thought it could be a useful post for people considering jobs in the middle of nowhere. Give 'em an idea of what they're letting themselves in for.

Sharing the love on Dave's Maybe the good Dr Hilena will chime in with some sage advice...

[DirtGuy]

I didn't know you worked in my city?

I'm in rural Henan and the city is only about 1.5 million including the surrounding metropolitan (wrong word for this place) area. However, there is pretty much everything you need here including western food if you look hard enough. I'm only 2.5 hours from BJ and 1 hour from ZZ both by bullet train and that makes a big difference in my outlook.

I have to say that I rather like the whole situation and have decided to re-up for another year. The pace of life is slow, the locals are unbelievably crude but also very friendly and curious about Westerners. The cost of living is low and there is extra work so the potential for saving money is quite high. A half-hour bike ride and I'm in the hills way out in the sticks. The air is cleaner than BJ and the work load at the uni is very light. Absolutely no night life aside from a couple of "businessmen clubs" so staying out late simply doesn't happen. For that, you really need to hop on a bullet train and go somewhere else.

I'll move on in the future, but for now, a "small" town works for me.

DirtGuy

[Markness]

Great thread My buddy lived in a smaller city, and he told me the same thing in regards to the nightlife, and that it really doesn't exist and that also the dating situation will also go on the back burner as people (boys and girls) tend to be more traditional and will go into relationships immediately followed up with being in wedlock shortly afterwards. That was a bit of an eye-opener for myself. If you are a younger lad or gal, I think this would present a challenge.

[thechangling]

DG, are you in Luoyang by any chance? I ask as the uni there is recruiting now. Hows the pollution there?

[juanjose]

I will be in year three of working in a small rural town of only 500,000 next September. The people here are crude, but they are friendly and jovial. What I hate the most is when I say something in English, some fool has to repeat what I say. But other than that, it's ok. I have quiet time for myself away from more throngs of Chinese and some of the crazy foreigners that live in the big cities. I've met a few who think they are gods in China.
Up to last year, I was the only foreign teacher in town. This year two others came and next year two more will come making it a total of five foreign teachers. It seems times are getting very tough economically in western countries.
The thing about small towns is not only about attacting a foreign teacher, but keeping them for more than one year. The other two teachers will leave this August.
My school lets me do whatever I want and encourages me to find work at other places. They figure, rightly, that if I supplement my income I won't move somewhere else.
I will move in the summer of 2014 to a big city in China, but not because I will be tired of the town. I would not have minded doing another three years, but I met a girl and she does not want to come here.

[DirtGuy]

I live in Anyang and there is going to be an opening here. One of the teachers is from Southern California and looks cold all the time. The other 3 of us are all re-upping our contracts. For me, I live better and save way more money than I ever could in the States.

Pollution is not bad compared to most places. Everything in China appears to suck in the winter due to the inversion layer but it's pretty nice here most of the year. The weather is one of the reasons I am staying - not too cold and not too hot.

Just got back from a day trip to the Red Flag Canal - WAY out in the sticks. One thing that struck me is that anyone living in the country should be on or really close to a rail line. Busses are a nightmare and not something on which I would ever want to depend. The "K" and "T" trains are bad enough but busses are really awful.

DG

[choudoufu]

i'm now in a small town (pop ~ 500K) in hainan. one KFC, one McD, no
big name markets. very light traffic, no industry, no pollution. we
are surrounded by coconut groves and pineapple plantations. the beach
is 17 km (45 mins by bike or bus) away. safe from tsunamis. the hot
springs are only half an hour away.

many peasants/farmers in town; get used to the pooping in the streets and
toenail clipping at the dinner table. crude and unrefined, but i lived amongst
cowboys in southwest texas for five years. same-same yet different. their
habits are not my habits....but they are very friendly.

i enjoy cycling though the small villages in the surrounding area. nice to
meet the locals, although hard to understand hainan-hua. not easy to get
out of some villages without being offered a truckload of mangos and
pineapples and coconuts.

sometimes hot, sometimes humid. occasional typhoons. sometimes i
run the AC in december.

we do have a bullet-train station........one hour to shopping in haikou,
90 minutes to the resort beaches in sanya, 45 minutes (29 rmb!) to
the lower level of haikou international airport. and there is taobao.

three FT's at this school, plus three others (2 filipino) at local middle schools.
once a month or so will meet a lost tourist.

[Asiateacher]

Stick to the big cities... Life outside is HEAVY!!!!

[Markness]

[DosEquisX]

Living in Fuzhou now.

It has the look of a big city but the people still have a rural mentality. It's similar to taking Amish people and transporting them to New York City.

[Markness]

[teachingld2004]

Seems I always rave about my job.

I am in a small city The people are super friendly The area surrounding the univ. is not clean, and kids pooping on the street makes great face book photos, but the job is fantastic (and yes we have a job opening)

There is not much to do here, but the campus is nice. There is a downtown with some supermarkets and you can get most food stuff. Granted you may pay an arm and a leg, but you can get things Also there is the internet where you can get everything.

There are no factories here, and the air is pretty good.

If some one wants a stress free job, I suggest one here.

A friend is going to come and visit me for a month. My boss said sure, she can stay as long as she wants, but he has to take her to the police station to register. No big deal.

Trains. buses,planes take you anywhere you want to go, and it is not expensive to travel.

Everyone has different wants. It is hard for anyone to give advice to anyone else, but we can inform people about is going on in our areas.

I say always check out the area first, and the job second

[MetaFitX]