Job Discussion Forums

[Juice]

Given the horrific pollution of Beijing and Shanghai, as well as the outrageous housing costs, I scratch these two sardine cans off my list right from the start. My health is more important to me than making an extra 2,000 yuan per month which is eaten up by rent money anyway. And I was not really keen on being forced by economic necessity to live with two roomies (one who snored and another who farts and chain smokes continuously)

I have a reentry plan to come back to China (50/50 chance of success) and if I can sneak by the visa people I will this time find a healthy and affordable place to live on the waterfront where people aren't on a daily mission to "cheat the foreigner", but sincerely warm and friendly. I narrowed it down to three places and here is the beach at my first choice...

http://images.travelpod.com/users/ilombardo/hangzhou2006.1154267580.15nanji_dao_beach.jpg

If you can't recognize the place, it is one of China's three cleanest cities, and where free furnish apartments are provided to each teacher along with 12,000 in monthly salary. Still can't guess? It is one hour by bullet train to Shanghai and Shenzhen and has weather like Daytona Beach Florida year round and 8 Unesco tourist sites within an hour drive of downtown. Last clue... It was once the capital of China. Still stumped? Here's what I think is one of the best, most fun, and affordable places to work and live in China even though I only got to spend my 10 day Spring festival vacation there last year...

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNzAyNDQxODA0.html

[Listerine]

[Banner41]

Shenzhen is an hour train ride from Guangzhou.....certainly not from Shanghai. Whoever wrote that must have also wrote about the Daytona like weather which is also false.

I have been staring at blue skies in Shanghai for the past week.....no way near as bad as Beijing. Shanghai has been surprising affordable and very pleasant to live in. Softball games on the weekends and activities every night of the weeks has more than kept me entertained. Flights out of Shanghai are also cheaper than most cities.

Apartments can be expensive or cheap depending where you are looking. Plus, it cost a little more to live in Shanghai....but I make way more than I did in the previous 4 cities I have lived in.

Hangzhou is not bad....but don't believe all of the milk and honey stories you are being fed.

[likwid_777]

If you find out that you can return, I suspect that China may not seem as the mythical, unobtainable Shangri-La for you any more. I will probably go back there, I suspect any ban I may have received for the F-Visa scenario will either have already lapsed, or will have lapsed soon. I wonder whether my interest will wane once I discover I can go back, too.

From what I can tell, those bans are three to five years (max). I am of course not sure about all of this, but have one year left of my Ed degree anyhoo, so don't really feel the need to try right now.

I have only taught in one city, so I have no idea where the best place to teach would be. But after Harbin:

-a warmer place would be much better for starters

-I think maybe a population of 1 to 3 million people would be nice

-A place which actually speaks proper Mandarin all of the time (like Harbin), so that I can maybe get off my bum and learn it, at least a bit

-and yes, near a coast would be good, but not so concerned with that, a river will do

- relatively acceptable pollution

-decent pay to costs ratio

-nice local cuisine

My guess is that these would be pretty simple requests, maybe a little more difficult to get "pure Mandarin" in conjunction with these caveats.

I've tried to find different places online regarding the language part, but end up feeling a bit confused and defeated.

I recall a member here was extremely fond of Yangshuo, though I can't remember who it was. A few of the vets here seem pretty content in Chengdu. Hangzhou, I remember hearing, was expensive(?).

In the end, it will be what you make of it really. To hang with ex pats, or not to hang with ex pats, might be either the magic poison or remedy.

[Non Sequitur]

Qingdao would get my vote.
However, if the teaching conditions aren't good that'll colour your whole outlook.
So I'd put the school ahead of locale.

[Juice]

[Shanghai Noon]

[Guerciotti]

[Non Sequitur]

OP (Juice) I've only ever had school-provided accom in Qingdao, so rents haven't been a problem.
Wouldn't like to find my own accom anywhere in China as the info I've seen suggests that the renter is up for some major deposits and other issues.

[Juice]

[expatteacher1]

Some points I'd make:

Beijing and Shanghai do have pollution issues but no worse than any other large Chinese city (and in fact probably less bad than some big cities eg Tianjin). They make the headlines because they're the most important mainland cities and the world media's foreign correspondents are based in these cities.

Personally, I would always make the following recommendation as a general point to people who might be reading this thread (I appreciate the OP has been in China before though):
Cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Dalian, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Changsha, Wuxi, Ningbo are the best places to work because they are big cities with reasonable pay and conditions and home comforts and a big expat community are always on hand. You have to be a special kind of character to want to work elsewhere in China - if that's your thing, then fine, but I would recommend most people check out what places outside these cities are really like before committing yourself to a year contract.

[Alien abductee]

[Non Sequitur]

Re costs of accom.
A former student has just moved to Wuhan and has secured a modern 2-double bedroom apt with sitting room bathroom/laundry, kitchen and the rent is RMB3000pm.
It's modern and not too far from her workplace.
If 2 couples shared the individual cost would be OK.

[Alien abductee]

[Non Sequitur]

I agree.
Most of the FTs I've taught alongside were hard to tolerate in the same building, let alone the same apartment

A teaching couple who both had salaried school jobs, would be good.
Leave the spare room for privates or the inevitable visitor.