Job Discussion Forums

tuneintokyo · Joined: 09 Nov 2007 Posts: 12

What do you think is the best city for foreigners to live, work, and save money in China? Consider pollution, aesthetics, friendliness, and access to western amenities in addition.

foreignDevil · Joined: 23 Jun 2003 Posts: 580

foreignDevil · Joined: 23 Jun 2003 Posts: 580

Ok later I thought more and maybe my first post with the google link was a little snotty. But please... how is someone supposed to respond? Really... you need to ask more focused questions and then people on this board can give you more focused answers. Ok?

good luck!

foreigndevil

Uncle Vinnie · Joined: 21 Oct 2007 Posts: 100

If you want to save money while in China, the best bet is to work at a "mill" in a big city such as Shanghai, but, they won't hire you, most likely, until you have a years experience in China. There's EF of course. Most of the snotty brethren onboard disdain mills.

Personally, I agree. I like the extra cash flow, but the office politics and students rub me the wrong way.

It's a *beep* situation.

Anda · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 2199 Location: Jiangsu Province

"Consider pollution, aesthetics, friendliness, and access to western amenities in addition".

In a smaller city, friendliness is something that you yourself earn. If you are friendly to everyone including small kids then "they" being the Chinese will become friendly towards you. In a super big city this doesn't happen so much.

If you want to save then you have to get into a big city where the money is but you must live like a dog so you can save.

You want access to western amenities and you want to save?

Pollution is being too close to a bad factory or whatever. So it is where you live in a big city that makes the difference.

tuneintokyo · Joined: 09 Nov 2007 Posts: 12

Thank you Anda for your advice. I guess I was hoping for some shoutouts like, "whoo Dalian is the spot, but stay north or the factories near the east harbor". China forum is bunk.

bearcanada · Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 312 Location: Calgary, Canada

Tuneintokyo;

You'll get different advice from different people. But ifyou want 'Western' attitudes and amenities, go to Shanghai or Kunming. Salaries and income potential are much higher in Shanghai and you absolutely do not have to 'live like a dog' in order to save money. That's crazy advice; I save 20,000+ a month in Shanghai, and I'm not the only one.

I disagree with Anda that friendliness is something you must earn in the smaller centers but doesn't exist in the larger ones. My experience has been very much the opposite. In Shanghai, I am almost overdosed with friendliness; traffic wardens stop cars so I can cross the street; when I bargain on purchases I normally do better than my Chinese friends because the shopkeepers are nicer to foreigners.

I read stories about Shanghai being polluted but I don't know where the pollution is. The air seems cleaner to me than any large cities in NA or Europe. All told, it's a good place to live and work.

Kunming is lovely but salaries are lower and competition may be stronger for fewer opportunities. The permanent spring climate attracts a different kind of person than other large cities.

The other Western choice is Hong Kong - absolutely one of the finest and most exciting cities in the world. Housing is extravagantly expensive, though. You can't go there without thought and planning.....

Hope this helps.

.

foreignDevil · Joined: 23 Jun 2003 Posts: 580

flutterbayou · Joined: 01 Apr 2006 Posts: 244

The best aspect of anywhere I've gone in China is the people. I've met some wonderful people here.

Money slipped through my fingers like water in Shanghai, and so I find it difficult to believe that anyone could save 20,000 RMB a month, unless the teacher had been provided free housing, utilities included (or if the poster hit one too many zero's on the keyboard).

Nanjing is by far more reasonable, and just a short hop from Shanghai. It's is a good university town with all sorts of bars and clubs to keep a night person happy, good shopping, some theatre, modern dance troupes, art exhibits, coffee houses with German food. The city is proud of its rich history as a former capital ... and Purple Mountain is a nice spot to go for a picnic. The view is grand.

Dalian is a wonderful town to live in because of the shops, restaurants, local personality, the beach, western amenities, the spa, and then again there are great, easy-going people living there.

If you can stand the cold winters, Changchun is turning into an international center, with a wide range of ex-pats, good jobs, and night entertainment. It's known for its excellent bath houses, massage parlors, French bakeries, Brazilian B-BQ, and lovely tea houses. I liked the city because of all the trees. Lots of blue skies up there in Changchun, too. And if you can get a car, a trip up to Chang Baishan will take you to wine country and the mountains, where you can pick mushrooms and get some great photos of the North Korean landscape. Harbin and the ice festival are nearby, too.

Chengdu gets lots of raves, but I found it too smoggy and hazy most of the time, but there's a lot of night life with a strong ex-pat community, especially those under 30-something.

My fav to date is Beijing, though. I'm a history buff who loves the arts. If you have similar tastes, Beijing is the place.

johnchina · Joined: 24 Apr 2006 Posts: 816

Since "tokyo" appears in your name, I'll assume (reasonably or not) that you're in Japan at the moment. If you speak some Japanese, you might consider Qingdao. Very large Japanese community (though the Korean one is larger) and hence the possibility of picking up private students, nice climate, plenty of foreigner-oriented amenities (incl. restaurants and bars), and plenty of sights.

tuneintokyo · Joined: 09 Nov 2007 Posts: 12

Thanks for the advice Johnchina. That was exactly the type of reply I was looking for. Sorry to bash the forum. I'm just used to getting flooded with responses when I post on the Korea forum. Anybody else wanna chime in?

Moon Over Parma · Joined: 20 May 2007 Posts: 819

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

jeffinflorida · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:20 pm Post subject:

I first go to a city and count how many Pink Houses there are.

They I go one step further by seeing the ages of these workers.

I base where I will live by the city with the most and the youngest workers...

Must be why I like this city - many Pink Houses, average age 17.2

Average price 113.5 rmb per visit not counting tip.

Thats my calculations on where to live in China...

What's yours...?

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

by the way, my post above wasn't edited 9 times.... it seems i had to hit the submit button 9 times before i could actually see it appear on this forum. some strange things going on here these days.