Job Discussion Forums

[Comfy Chair]

Through my lovely, and often perplexing jaunt through this message board (perplexing due to the fact that there seems to be more anger than anything) I've come to notice that most of the posts are about teaching in the cities. Shanghai, Beijing, etc.

Seeing as I am more interested in working in a more rural (or smaller city) environment I'm left wondering. Are there so few about jobs outside the city because:

1) The working conditions are worse?
2) There are just fewer jobs so the percentage chance of getting one on this message board are significantly reduced?
3) People are just drawn to the big city life?
4) or some other reason I can't think of.

[eslstudies]

My experience of boonies teaching:
Less money, but everything's so cheap it doesn't matter.
Easier to get out of town and experience rural [I'll resist saying "real"] China.
More social life at a school level. Your faculty and students adopt you.
Your Chinese blooms, partly for these reasons.
Fewer , if any other foreigners.

And in 1997 there wasn't internet available [well, one connection] to waste time on. Probably no Dave's then.

I enjoyed big and small city life.

[brsmith15]

Re-read the children's story "City mouse, Country Mouse." The rural areas of China have a beauty and charm never reached by the cities. The cities have their bustle and the availablility of everything western - - including medical care.

I came here from a town of 11,000 in Vermont to a city of over 16 million. Didn't know whether I'd adapt, but it seems o.k. for me now. I sure miss the walks in green forests, clean rivers, the peace and quiet, smiling people, and relaxed way of life.

When I visit the countryside here, people wave and smile. Nice!

[cj750]

the problems that can plague a rural posting....

housing...accommodation with western plumbing can be difficult for the school to find ..so many will build "on campus" dorms..the location of these schools do not lend themselves to easy transportation..so this translates to a lot of night on campus..and smaller schools may also have ridged rules bout the FTs and the Chinese Staff...this can make the rural experience a very lonely one...

Because of the remote location...sometime not even a store within walking distance...recruiters are used to provide a misrepresentation of the location so as to "trick" the applicant into accepting a posting..and example is schools listed as being in Beijing are sometimes located in rural areas near Chongping...45 min from down town..if you have motorcycle or car..if not you are going to have to rely on "dirty" taxis as the legitimate companies do not have stations in the sticks..
Geely, for example, has one bus going to it's location...and to get into Beijing cast a pretty penny ..and if you want to cut cost....take the bus..to the local next small town where the subway/train stops and take that to Beijing ..a trip that takes over one hour and a half at least..and the return has to be done before the subway stops or bus service ends so as to avoid the dirty taxis that are waiting for you to make the last ditch effort to get home..

location, location, location is everything

A better gig..is to live in a bigger city and community one or two nights a week to a rural location and teach...hotel, and restaurant food..bust a$$ classes for one day and a decent paycheck at the end of the trip..

Rural villages in China are often connected to industry and leaves the landscape somewhat "industrial" in nature...
when I first went to Changchun..year ago..it looked like east beirut....and that is the capital of the Provence...but when I got a look at Si Ping四平..I was glad to be in one of the major players of the "Rust Belt".....

[tw]

Recruiters and employers recruit new FT's by giving them the (mis)impression that the school is located in a big city because many of them know that many, if not most people who want to come to China to teach also want as much of the comfort and modernization of a Western city as possible while in China without feeling like they are in China. Otherwise why would so many ads emphasize the name of the city they are (supposedly) located in and/or how modern (notice how many ads mention how close the school is to or how many Mc'D or KFC's the city has) beautiful the city is? How many suckers would they get if the ad were to say that the school is located out in the boonies with no bars, no Western-style restaurants or Western goods, hardly any Westerners, and a population of 100,000 that's 4+ hours away from the nearest big city?

[Comfy Chair]

Thank you for the replies, and what do you mean by rigid rules? Like no going out afater 7pm or something? That would stink.

[Anda]

I'm not really in the sticks but I'm the second foreign teacher to have worked in this city where I live. The population is one million and it is an industrial city that is located in a flat area. The city to drive through is not pretty as it is just a mass of apartment building nearly all gray in color.

My students and co teachers all like me and are nice to me. I am getting accepted in the city but like South Korea it is depends on what teaching reputation I acquire from the place where I teach. You need to be very outgoing to succeed in living in an isolated location. You need to say hello about a hundred times a day if you are walking about the city / town.

Pay is small and due to the fact that I work in a poor area there is not much chance of extra paid work.

But I am happy working where I am so!

[jeffinflorida]

My current employer told me when they recruited me that they were in Shenzhen. I like the big city life and thought living in Shenzhen would suit me better. But, alas, they are not in Shenzhen but in Balong, a factory suburb of Longgang.

The air is so dirty here it is disgusting. To get to Longgang I need to take piece of junk mini-bus for 2 rmb and they stop running at 8:30pm.

Longgang has nothing of value. The driving here is typical crazy chinese driving. They don't stop at red lights, drive everywhere - I almost got hit by a bus a few days ago WHILE I WAS WALKING ON THE SIDEWALK.

I go to Shenzhen City Center often, but the ride on the bus is an easy hour and the traffic jams are nighmarish. I am starting to understand why the chinese puke on the bus so much. long traffic jams, poorly ventaliated buses.

So this is an example of chinese "recruiting makerting plans". My company is "Part of" Shenzhen, but it is nowhere close to it at all. I am in the boonies, twice removed...

[abusalam4]

[YearOfTheDog]

I spent 11 months living in Ganqika, Inner Mongolia. It was on the edge of the desert almost directly north of Shenyang. I have to say that now that I have been back in Canada for over a year. it was one of my favourtie places to live and I miss it greatly. As for answers to your questions...

1) The village I lived in was really poor, but the people were amazing. I had a comfortable three bedroom apartment. I lived where the government officals lived, so it was as nice at anything I lived in the bigger cities. I would say, that I didn't have heat or running hot water in the winter. That was a little rough, but you make do with what you get.

The working conditions varied. In the elementary schools, there was no heat, no electricity, I bought my own coal for the stove for heat. It was -40 in the winter... In the high schools, there was no running water, just giant out houses but there was heat and hydro.

Sometimes it was rough, freezing my ass off in the winter or sweating to death in the summer.

2) I found my job on these message boards after I was already in China for about 4 months. I was living and working in Harbin City. The jobs are out there you just need to know where to look for them.

3) I loved the small village, we're talking a max population of a few thousand in the village itself. All the student and faculty adopt you as part of the family, they treat you like a king. I learned more Chinese in those months than anywhere else. If I needed anything they would help me out, it was an amazing experience. I was one of the first white people most of them had ever seen so it was kind of like being treated like an oddity. But man the meals they cooked and the hospitality was simply amazing.

If I were ever to go back and work in China, I would go to the rural areas. I sometimes think that I left part of me there.

[Craig!]

So, ComfyChair, after reading all these comments, how do feel about it now, Still more interested in a rural environment?

The above personal experience comments are the best. I can add...
in this town of 30,000, it's nice to find nearby open space and cornfields, 4 minutes by bike. And, here we DO have convenient shops within short walking distance. Here, no KFCs/McDonalds, no bars with Western accoutremont ... and no other laowei, which is okay with me!
One train daily from the dilapitated trqin station, But the bus system is very good... 5 hours to Qingdao, 6 hours to Beijing.
This particular school is a good one. And no ''rigid rules.'' interested in more info? PM me

[Comfy Chair]

well, I don't go to bars in the west, hate shopping, and don't go to Mc Donalds or KFC anyways. I'm essentially a lone wolf so the whole "there is noone who speaks english" doesn't bother me either. I'll just talk to myself like a loon.

I do like hot showers though, but I suppose I could just bring a portable shower water heater like you use for camping.

[Mpho]

I work in boonies so to speak in Xinjiang Autonomous Region. While the small city (80,000) has every convenience you could think of including off campus housing with all the amenities, reasonable pay and teaching hours for this part of China, I am still 3 hours by bus to an airport, see only 2 other foreign teachers and speak English to very few people. The Western restaurants serve bad food, but the Chinese and Muslim restaurants are good to very good. You won't find many Western goods or luxuries, but all the necessities and lots of friendly people who smile and want to talk with you.

The air is clean, the water unpolluted, wonderful place to bike, hiking a 30 minute taxi ride, etc.

Yes, the boonies can be desolate and a hardship or they can be a great place to teach and live. You just need to do your research.

Mpho

[cj750]

[7969]