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dtomchek



Joined: 07 Jun 2004
Posts: 135

PostPosted: Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:13 pm    Post subject: it is official Reply with quote

Hello everyone:

I will be leaving on Saturday (72 hours) for Shanghai to start my new job in Yongkang. I was wondering if anyone had any tips about what to bring and what I can leave behind. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Very Happy
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rioux



Joined: 26 Apr 2012
Posts: 880

PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2019 5:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bring
Deodorant
Ear Plugs
Your favorite toothpaste as well as a few boxes of breakfast cereals
Razor blades and aftershave - they have them here but they are more expensive than back home (USA)

Leave behind
Your worries and troubles
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Blistering Zanazilz



Joined: 06 Jan 2018
Posts: 180

PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2019 1:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Things aren't that much more expensive here and many things are a lot cheaper, so don't load your luggage down with this stuff. Pack the essentials like clothing, shoes, electronic devices and the like.
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rogerwilco



Joined: 10 Jun 2010
Posts: 1549

PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2019 4:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Clothes are the most important to bring if you wear any size larger than medium.
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rioux



Joined: 26 Apr 2012
Posts: 880

PostPosted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 4:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Blistering Zanazilz wrote:
Things aren't that much more expensive here



In terms of the products I mentioned you gotta be dreaming. Total ripoff here.
The supermarkets here are garbage.
I call it the 3-8-70. The average ones sell about 3% of quality international products - even if they do have it or even possibly more stuff they are way too expensive. I don't count soda's, candies, chips and gum. Tons of that crap everywhere.
The 8% is about what you would find at Metro or possibly a good Carrefour or Tesco.
The 70% is what you find in the Philippines. That's why when I leave to go there my suitcase is almost empty but when I come back it is stuffed.
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Blistering Zanazilz



Joined: 06 Jan 2018
Posts: 180

PostPosted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 10:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How long you been here again? If you're going to the supermarket for this stuff then you're wasting time AND money. Buy it online and the only item you listed above that costs significantly more than "back home" is breakfast cereal, and that's because it's an imported item that relatively few people here eat. Oatmeal is dirt cheap and is a healthier alternative. Deodorant is loaded with chemicals that stain your shirts and can be easily replaced with something like baby powder. As for putting "a few boxes of breakfast cereal" in your suitcase, I can think of many other things that are more useful to a newcomer and take up less of the limited space available. By the way, we still go to the supermarket for staple items, but that's about it.
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rioux



Joined: 26 Apr 2012
Posts: 880

PostPosted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 10:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Razor blades here are much more expensive. So is aftershave and shaving cream.
Hey, I want my Cheerios so it is very useful. Throw in the Grits as well.
Tinactin, Neosporin, Grated Cheese, Real salad dressing...don't forget the Ben-Gay.
Baby powder for deodorant? That won't work. It will work in really drying out the skin. This makes it not good for your healthy.
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getbehindthemule



Joined: 15 Oct 2015
Posts: 712
Location: Shanghai

PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 2:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Late at this stage I know but...

You can get most Western things that you need in Shanghai. You can get Irish and European cheese and butter, pastas, sauces, etc in supermarkets, you can get imported meats etc. through online delivery companies. Not that you'd be bringing those with you!

If you are 44+ forget about it here though when it comes to shoes.

Deodorant and toiletries are a rip off here in SH so I always load up on those. Paracetamol products like Panadol and Lemsip etc also.
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nimadecaomei



Joined: 22 Sep 2016
Posts: 605

PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 5:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

getbehindthemule wrote:


Deodorant and toiletries are a rip off here in SH so I always load up on those. Paracetamol products like Panadol and Lemsip etc also.


The first are easily found online and are priced about the same (you can find some good deals on taobao and jingdong for razors, shaving cream, and after shave sets from name brands). Granted, when first coming you probably want them for the first few weeks. Paracetamol and other common otc medicines are easy to find in the Chinese pharmacies. Just translate the generic name into Chinese and show it to the clerk.
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getbehindthemule



Joined: 15 Oct 2015
Posts: 712
Location: Shanghai

PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 7:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

nimadecaomei wrote:
getbehindthemule wrote:


Deodorant and toiletries are a rip off here in SH so I always load up on those. Paracetamol products like Panadol and Lemsip etc also.


The first are easily found online and are priced about the same (you can find some good deals on taobao and jingdong for razors, shaving cream, and after shave sets from name brands). Granted, when first coming you probably want them for the first few weeks. Paracetamol and other common otc medicines are easy to find in the Chinese pharmacies. Just translate the generic name into Chinese and show it to the clerk.


I've tried but the quality isnt the same imo unless you buy the more expensive ones.
As for Chinese pharmacies, loads of otc products are just placebos haha. Only found one decent paracetemol containing medicine here and that's called Coltalin I think and is a HK product.
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rioux



Joined: 26 Apr 2012
Posts: 880

PostPosted: Tue Dec 10, 2019 2:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

rioux wrote:
The supermarkets here are garbage.


For the past several weeks I can no longer find Hunt's pasta sauce anywhere. Sad

Took a trip one day and went to the new AEON that just opened about 2 weeks ago in the Huangdao section of Qingdao. Place is quite big but...
- Much of the same. A lot of nothing. Their token international restaurants (KFC and McDonald's) are situated right at the front of the place. That's pretty much it as far as it goes with that. Once I saw 'Big Pizza' I knew there wasn't going to be a Papa John's - I was right.
The supermarket sucks. Very little real international products.

...4 more weeks until vacation in the Philippines.
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twowheel



Joined: 03 Jul 2015
Posts: 753

PostPosted: Tue Dec 10, 2019 7:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can get everything I want and need, Chinese and Western and otherwise, here in Beijing, a.k.a, the Big Smoke...can get plenty of masks and air purifiers and filters here too to combat that nasty ole smog, err uhh, fog.

Warm regards,
twowheel
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rioux



Joined: 26 Apr 2012
Posts: 880

PostPosted: Tue Dec 10, 2019 8:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's the trade-off.
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twowheel



Joined: 03 Jul 2015
Posts: 753

PostPosted: Wed Dec 11, 2019 8:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

rioux wrote:
That's the trade-off.


Indeed.

...and some days (daze) I think I am not getting the fair end of that trade-off.

Warm regards,
twowheel
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rioux



Joined: 26 Apr 2012
Posts: 880

PostPosted: Wed Dec 11, 2019 10:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I hear what you're saying. There are also times I guess that it comes down to choosing the lesser of two evils.
Noise pollution v. Air pollution
I chose the Air pollution - for two extra weeks. I could have took off to the Philippines by around Dec. 20th, but chose to stay here until after January 1st. It can get real crazy with noise where we live. Between Christmas and New Year's the fireworks are constant. No let up. Thought about it and decided to go there just a few days after Jan. 1. At least it's pretty much quiet where I am now.
Just checked the AQI here and it reads 50, which is so much better than what it was a few days ago. But I know that it is possible for that to suddenly change.
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