Job Discussion Forums

[struelle]

These may very well be a promising option and I highly recommend folks here to check them out. I was looking at maps of Zhejiang and Fujian province last week to plan my mountain bike trip (which I'm enjoying right now). Much to my surprise, the region was loaded with smaller cities and large towns with populations in the 6-digit range.

After riding through a few of those places and talking to locals, I was thoroughly impressed by what I saw. When I was in 'Rui An', a city near Wenzhou, a high school student invited me to speak to her principal and discuss a potential job offer. All this because we met on the ferry, and because I was the first foreigner she'd seen face-to-face.

At this point I'm in no hurry, and I'm wary now to just take a job without asking the tough questions - big mistake last year. But it's very promising if I can get offers just like this.

It seems that everyone and their dog (literally speaking) wants to come to Shanghai and the other major cities. This is understandable, I was attracted to the allure and high salary about 3 years ago. But now the advantages of smaller places are become more enticing, such as:

- Very few foreigners, more genuine interest, friendlier locals
- Slower pace of life, students more alert and eager to learn.
- Close to nature
- Lower costs
- More stable working environment

There are disadvantages such as lower salaries and fewer conveniences, but overall, the living would be more pleasant. From what I can tell, the biggest influx of FTs, the most competition, and the biggest changes are all taking place in the large cities.

The smaller places are still riding the wave of development, but imho, in a more sane and peaceful manner. Something to consider at least.

Steve

[Irish Blood English Heart]

Indeed, I think a lot of people go to big cities thinking they will get the best of both worlds (western and chinese) and perhaps end up dissapointed? Another thing is people go to what look like big cities, that have populations of several million but are infact not really major cities by Chinese standards at all and find they get none of the benefits of a Shanghai, Shenzen or Beijing but with all the disadvantages of traffic and pollution etc.

I mean here in Britain I have lived in 4 cities. Newcastle and Milton Keynes are both in the 200,000 population bracket but are still considered a major city. Manchester is around a million and is the 2nd biggest city in the UK and has everything I needed but still manageable but when I moved to London (population around 8 million) I found it hell, it took me over an hour to go a few miles on a bus, it was dirty, polluted, it took so long to get anywhere, and didnt really offer anything that Manchester didnt. So big isnt always better, even in the west! And people who are used to living in "major" cities with populations of several hundred 1000 in the west or Oceania will experience a real culture shock living in some industrial city with a population of 4 million!!

So I've made a purpose choice to go to a small city, i'm up in the mountains in a city of 140,000 but have good transport to Chengdu for my major city needs. Hopefully this smaller city environment will offer me all the things you were saying and make the transition from England to China much easier.

[lfclouds]

Hi,

I live in a small town in Guizhou province(been in China only 11 months), and I plan to move to Shanghai next year.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

[lfclouds]

Irish Blood English Heart:

having lived in Dublin and also several small towns in Ireland.

I can assure you that nothing we have back home is remotely similar(Ireland and England being very similar)

So, dont base your expectations on what you have experienced at home.

Dont get me wrong.....I dont claim to be an old hand at China (I'm not) but what I say may help you in your expectations

Good luck

[Irish Blood English Heart]

Oh I dont have any expectations that cities here will be reflected in China, im just saying I hate big cities and the idea of living with several million people totally turns me off, thats all. I dont think Beijing is going to be a copy of London, or Ya'an a copy of York. Im not (quite) that dense!

[lfclouds]

HAHA!!!!

point taken.

But I didnt mean that.

Fell free to PM me if you have any questions

I'm Irish, in case you havent guessed.............and only 23, so I guess you are doing exactly what I was doing a year ago.

Hell.....maybe I'm talking to myself

[Irish Blood English Heart]

lol yeah pretty much sounds like it, Can't really think of any specific questions but i'd be greatful if you could leave me some small idea of what i've let myself in for over on the ya'an thread! lol cheers

[anthyp]

I live in a small city in Jiangxi. Very poor. But the people are friendly. And I am a minor celebrity here. Having lived in Chicago all my life, I wasn't all that anxious to go to a big city filled with foreigners to kick off The Great China Adventure 2003. I'm happy I'm here. You really can't imagine what living in China is like till you get here ... and then you'll find yourself amazed at how wrong you were. Here's one for all the little city folks out there who can't always find deoderant, but learn to do it the way the locals do, the Chinese way.

[Roger]

Waxing lyrical about small-town life in China, guys?
I wouldn't. Have seen dozens of small towns. I still live in a rural part of Guangdong, and I can daily see the major differences between big city smart alecks in Guangzhou and small-town celebrities or ordinary folks; quite a difference.
Still, city life in China is more boring for us, and small-town life is even more boring than big city life. What do you do in your spare time? Some small towns are virtually shut off from the province due to poor transport. Entertainment - what's entertainment there?
And also: schools in smaller localities may not have the legal rights to hire foreign nationals, or the rules may be stricter. The PSB will be more inquisitive too.
I live in a gated community; the PSB have come round a couple of times over the past 4 years to see who I was living with.

[ilunga]

I tend to agree with Roger. I'm in a city of 1.5m in the Urban area and although I don't want to be in a city of 5m plus I do sometimes long for a bit more excitement.
My problem is I just hate staying in on a night. I've gone from one night out a week max in the U.K to one night in a week here.
There are a lot of advantages to living in a small town though I agree. You'll save a lot of money for a start. In a way I wish I could have a blast every weekend or two in a bigger city rather than pissing 50-100 up the wall every night.

[Horizontal Hero]

Of course everyone is different. But I am just finishing up in a smaller town of around 400 000 or so, and believe me,Ii will never do it again. After the initial thrill of being a celebrity (about two days in total), the reality soon sets in. In my case, it has been almost total lack of any mental or social stimulation. I don't like Mahjang, smoking, or repetitive conversations about how China is "one country." There are four other foreigners in the town, but three of them won't say any more than "hello" to me (as if I need any more of that!), and the fourth never says more than a few words at a time - a very strange situation, as in a previous small town I was in all the foreigners were very friendly indeed. I'm also really, really tired of all the staring and gigling. It's tough trying to stay cheerful to all three hundred people who want to invade your personal space in one trip to the supermarket (the social highlight of the week, I might add!)

But if you are fresh out of a western country, and looking for something quiet and different, then maybe you can maintain some sanity in a small place.

[ilunga]

Is there a difference between feeling like a celebrity and feeling like a zoo exhibit?
Does the former occur when girls check you out and the latter when the guys have a gawp?
I don't know, I'm confused.

To add to my earlier post I just want to say I had a fantastic night out last night. A few drinks at this cool bar I'd gone past a million times but never been into, followed by the disco which was packed with friendly people and then KTV with some people I'd met (not that I remember that bit).
A few more nights like that and I might just stick around here another year
Time to go back to bed I think, the hangover's still lingering