Job Discussion Forums

samd · Joined: 30 Jan 2005 Posts: 1 Location: England

I'm looking for pastures new after a year in Jakarta. China looks OK and my choices are limited thanks to the lack of a degree. The thing is I know nothing about the place, ie. good places to live and work for a year. I'm looking for a slightly less manic existance than in Jakarta, somewhere I can actually walk around without being asphixiated by the traffic and pollution. A bit of greenery wouldn't go amiss too.

Any thoughts?
Cheers
Sam

ResiWorld · Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 4:48 pm Post subject:

Green pasteurs? rolling hills? Crystal river water? . China is as polluted as the inside of coal furnace. The green rolling hills are peppered with litter. You can make a living off collecting the plastic bottles that are floating in the canals in Suzhou.
Given this place is fairly relaxed, you don't work too much. You don't need a degree, but it definitely isn't a mistake to have one. You'll be able to pull a job in the sticks miles from civilization, have a dodgy laoban, and breath the air from the local tire plant. But please don't come here thinking that China is God's gift to the world.
Good Luck with your decision.

dwhansen · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 67 Location: qingdao

Dude, nooooo. Everywhere I have gone in China is environmentally tragic. I hope you get some postings though from places I haven't seen but have heard they are nice...Hainan, Yunnan, and way out west, depending on how peaceful you want it. After a year in J though, you better stay out of the north and west because of the a, ahem, the a winter-like conditions.

struelle · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 2372 Location: Shanghai

If you survived a year in Jakarta, most cities in China shouldn't be a problem for you, but I wouldn't be looking for 'green pastures' as the other posted noted. Generally speaking, the haggle and tout factor is less in China, but you do need to be careful when signing contracts. I'd suggest reading a page or two of previous threads on the China forums to get a general idea of what's going on.

Steve

dajiang · Joined: 13 May 2004 Posts: 663 Location: Guilin!

Go to Yangshuo, Guangxi (the tourist place)...

Great place to hang out for a few months.
Plenty of teaching possibilities.
Excellent scenery, cheap place to live, lots of stuff to do, pleasant climate... you name it.

Seeya
Dajiang

rickinbeijing · Joined: 22 Jan 2005 Posts: 252 Location: Beijing, China

Rick said, somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Never mind some of the sour puss posters here. Not all of China is so polluted and they forget London isn't exactly clean itself. I'd recommend Hangzhou for gardens and lakes, or anywhere in Yunnan. If cold isn't an issue, Harbin or Urumqi works too. A degree is a necessity for work in colleges and universities but not for English language centers or tutoring business execs. If you speak plainly and enunciate well, it shouldn't be a big problem. If they're hesitant, offer to do a demo lesson for free. That works for some. Stress prior experience in EFL, of course. Good luck!