Job Discussion Forums

[Jeembo007]

Was just wondering if anyone could give me any advice on teaching and living in Ningbo? I've browsed the forums and not found much detail, just the odd person saying it's nice, and I found a few interesting websites but I just wanted to hear from people first hand.

I used to teach in some small cities, first Zhangjiagang and then Huizhou but I don't wanna go back to those places because they were a bit small and boring, I wanna go somewhere more exciting, with more to do and more foreigners. I really wanted to go to Shanghai but that's proving a little difficult as I am getting mostly jobs with something not quite right about them (i.e. I get the feeling they're thinking I am an idiot and are going to exploit me when I get there). I want to go to somewhere with a really good vibe about the place, that's a bit international and with lots to do and lots of people to meet. And I don't want to be made a fool of.

So, any thoughts?

[InTime]

I just moved from Ningbo...to Shanghai.
I truly enjoyed living right by Ningbo's Moon Lake.
There's the old Tian Yi Ge area, with narrow lanes.
The Moon Lake area is a great green zone. It was such a nice feeling to walk to and from the train station, all along the green zone.
Early mornings and evenings folks amateur musicians play Chinese music..erhu...voice...Western violin. On the other end of the small lake is a Buddhist Temple. Every Friday evening there's an English Corner in the park.

There's the Z Club, for Jazz etc., with the resident excellent Filipino/a Band.

Ningbo has Web International, English Talking Street...and universities/high schools. The Ningbo Foreign Language High School (at Yu Cai Lu) I recommend. Ask for DOS/Tracy.

Good luck!!!

[Fiskadoro]

Some foreigners in Ningbo get a bit down on the place ('cultural wasteland' is one phrase I have heard). However, if you know you already like China, and you have lived in smaller cities before, Ningbo shouldn't be a problem for you. It's obviously nowhere near as cosmopolitan as Shanghai, and it doesn't have the culture, history and general 'stuff to see and do' of say, Hangzhou, but it does have a lot of foreigners and a decent bar scene (for a medium sized Chinese city, mind) where you can meet people. It's also extremely well connected to other cities all over China by bus, train and air. When it gets a bit warmer, day trips out into the mountains of Zhejiang are also an option. Oh yeah, there is a new bridge connecting Ningbo directly to Shanghai due to open this year. It seems everyone is expecting the place to go mental investment-wise - e.g. there are three international 5 star hotels simultaneously under construction right now.

As far as schools go, the usual caveat emptor advice applies.

[AussieGuyInChina]

[InTime]

Yes...Ningbo will go to another level when that bridge is built
...90 minutes to Shanghai, it will be

Now...the train is 3 hours minimum...up to 5 hours

I came to Ningbo directly from Red Horse Lake/Hunan...also living right by the lake. RHL didn't get the students they were expecting/promising, so I split for Ningbo. (For AussieGuy...I'll PM you...RHL is now shut down, due to electricity being down due to snowstorms. Folks were holed up in their lakeside villas with no electricity and no heat...)

Note that Ningbo also has a truly unique (first-of-its-kind) university...Ningbo Nottingham U...run managed by Nottingham U.

[PattyFlipper]

Does Ningbo have much in the way of non-Chinese restaurants? I would be happy enough to eat Chinese food most of the time, but Thai, Indian and perhaps even Italian (I know, dream on), would be nice occasionally. I suppose when the bridge opens, Shanghai will be fairly accessible for a 'foreign' (how I hate that word) food fix, but one or two local options wouldn't go amiss either.

In addition, do any of the aforementioned bars serve anything other than the usual buckets of pijou? My refined pallet never really developed a taste for beer, and finding alternatives in many provincial Chinese bars is not always an easy assignment. I recall trawling the alleged bar street in the much-vaunted Zhuihai from one end to the other before eventually finding a place which could furnish me with a Gin and Tonic or a Bacardi Coke.

[Fiskadoro]

I don't know if it's allowed to plug other websites here, but check out Ningboguidedotcom for much more on the city including restaurants and nightlife.

Yes, you can get your non-Chinese food fix. There a smattering of 'foreign' restaurants, with 'foreign' chefs to boot, including Indian (Indian Kitchen), Italian (Ciao Italia) and Thai (A 'Banana Leaf' just opened).

Some of the bars here actually aspire to the higher-end of the market and you can get pretty much anything you want to drink including imported beers wines and spirits (expect to pay for them).

[PattyFlipper]

Thanks for the very helpful info, Fiskadoro. Good to hear that one would not be limited to an endless diet of jiaozhi and Tsingdao. I have no objections to paying for my Western comforts. Life is for living.