Job Discussion Forums

[gerard]

Anyone have any thoughts on this city??? From what I can find on the net and LP it sounds like an average Chinese city and was even called "charming" by somebody. I am flying to Beijing in a few days and will get a train here. God willing anyway. I have made a verbal agreement with a school the pay being slightly above (public school) average and the rest being standard. It also seems like a good "base" to explore China... I ask because the last job I tentatively accepted was in Shanxi which I later saw referred to as a big coal-mine only with less to do. Thankfully that school found somebody else...Thanks...

[MyTurnNow]

Dude,
you could do worse. You could do a lot better.

The location is strategic...not a bad starting point for trips to Qingdao, Beidaihe, and more. Even BJ and SH aren't too terrible from there. After the recent swelter in Suzhou and Shanghai the weather in that region is starting to sound good.

Personally I found Jinan kind of drab and dirty and boring. Even by Chinese city standards, I mean. It does have a lot of history, but what city here doesn't? And how many days can you spend going to look at it?

This city does have its devotees. I'm not sure why. But I hope you become one of them. I learned to love Changchun, so what the hell?

MT

[gerard]

Yes MT I did a search AFTER I posted and saw you mentioned the words dull and toilet but a few others liked the place. Had an offer of a small island on the coast but did't really like the idea much of getting ferries to get anywhere. Ahhh well see.

Geez is it still HOT there??? Maybe it;s as well I got away for July -Aug...

[Roger]

I have vivid memories of my 5-week stint there. It happend in 1996.
As MyTurnNow said, you could do a lot worse. Taiyuan definitely IS worse. Qingdao, on the other hand, certainly is more congenial.
The odd thing about Ji'nan is that as a city it is rather drab, but it has a few architectural pearls dating back to the German occupation of Shandong. It also has excellent beer which the locals drink from barrels rather than from bottles (in streets you will find beer outlets that sell you a mug of beer at a ridiculously low price). It tastes wonderfully!
I also found the natives relatively welcoming. Once in a while, someone would host me for another mug of beer! Beer, beer, beer...
The city is somewhat poor and lacklustre. As a jumping-off point, it is quite ideal - five or six hours by train to Qingdao; some 8 to ten hours to Peking or Shanghai; Xuzhou and Taishan are within a couple of hours.
What I disliked about Ji'nan the most was its dustiness. The climate is wonderful, almost like Italy's - but it is dusty all the year round.
And, in winter it gets pretty cold. What astonished me was that brand-new tenement houses came without bathrooms (toilets, yes, but no bathtubs or showers!).
The somewhat perplexing explanation: "It gets too cold here in winter!"

[MyTurnNow]

Yes, Gerard, it's still stinky here. Highs around 35. Throw in all the water in this region and it's sauna time. October won't get here fast enough! I'll take the Jinan winter over the Shanghai summer any time. Assuming, of course, I can get an apartment with a shower...

MT