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Kunming

 
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reblair79



Joined: 15 Jan 2016
Posts: 103
PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 11:58 am    Post subject: Kunming Reply with quote
I am nearing completion of my journey to become qualified to teach English as a second language. The degree is in the bag and I am in middle of the CELTA now. I have spent a long time researching and enquiring about different countries to start, mainly Spain, Vietnam and China.

I think China's Yunnan province sounds the most appealing to me so far. This is based on China sounding like a fascinating country, decent money to be earned and saved, the proximity to SE Asia, and the air quality.

I was wondering if anyone on the forums work out there or have worked out there... I would like to hear their experiences, what it is like to live in Kunming for example and also what the job opportunities are like there, and anything else they would like to add. (I must add, I did read an earlier post but it focused mostly on the savings aspect of things).

Kind regards,
Ray

Last edited by reblair79 on Sun Mar 19, 2017 3:20 pm; edited 1 time in total
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theoriginalprankster



Joined: 19 Mar 2012
Posts: 895
PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 1:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yunnan province.

Kunming is not exciting, it's just another Chinese city.

Salaries are low.

Sorry to poo on your dreams.
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reblair79



Joined: 15 Jan 2016
Posts: 103
PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 3:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
theoriginalprankster wrote:
Yunnan province.

Kunming is not exciting, it's just another Chinese city.

Salaries are low.

Sorry to poo on your dreams.


Could you embelish on your own personal experience of being there? I would be interested to hear.
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The bear



Joined: 16 Aug 2015
Posts: 483
PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 11:08 pm    Post subject: Re: Kunming Reply with quote
reblair79 wrote:


I think China's Yunnan province sounds the most appealing to me so far. This is based on China sounding like a fascinating country, decent money to be earned and saved, the proximity to SE Asia, and the air quality.


Ray


I've never lived in Yunnan, but have visited it during holidays. It's one of the cleaner provinces in China so I'll admit the air quality is better there - but anywhere in Spain should beat it by a long margin.

China is fascinating, but not in the oriental romanticism way. If you're expecting thousand year old temples, shaolin monks walking the streets, and guzheng music wafting through the air you're going to be disappointed.

What you'll see if acres of newly built shopping malls, people blindly walking down the street addicted to their iPhones, and vendors hawking stuff with megaphones. And then there's the pollution. I don't want to seem overly negative, though I may have come across as that, just China is a very materialistic society, when you come here you'll understand that.

Salaries in Kunming/Yunnan are lower than average for two reasons. 1) It's a poorer province. 2) It's more desirable for foreigners.

Yes, Yunnan is close to SE Asia.
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creeper1



Joined: 24 Aug 2010
Posts: 481
Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan
PostPosted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 4:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Op I wouldn't put too much stock in the opinions of posters on an Internet forum.

If I had done that I would never have tried Taiwan which I find pretty good so far.

Get a job, make sure the employer is legit and come over and see for yourself.
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ttalapp



Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 10
Location: China
PostPosted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have been living in Kunming for almost 2 years now, and before that Qingdao, in Shandong Province. If pollution is your major concern, then you should definitely think about coming here. Despite the fact that city is growing and now has over 10 million people, it's still has some laid back feeling, especially near big lake, (Dian lake and not the Green Lake at the centre) Sure, it's got shopping malls, traffic, skyrisers are popping up everywhere, but still.. one can get away from all that quite easily during the weekends. As for the job picking, unfortunately the above posts are right. Unless you are PGCE or K1-12 certified teacher, salaries on the table will be lower than at Northern counterparts.
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reblair79



Joined: 15 Jan 2016
Posts: 103
PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 9:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks for the replies everyone.
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