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Janny
Joined: 02 Jul 2008
Location: all over the place
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 Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 12:56 pm Post subject: Seoul vs Shanghai |
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Hello everyone. I am flying off to Shanghai for a new teaching contract and a new life. Can the people who've lived in both cities give me some insights, tips, observations..? Thanks!
PS I lived in Seoul for 8 years, had some great jobs and some low points too. I am not 'worried' about living in Shanghai; mainly optimistic. I spent a weekend there and enjoyed it. Just wondering about day-to-day differences you experience when comparing Seoul and Shanghai. |
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Nolos
Joined: 23 Oct 2011
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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| SHANGHAI>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>seoul. That's all you need to know. |
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Paddycakes
Joined: 05 May 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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What's the dating scene like in Shanghai versus Seoul?
Same same. |
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Nolos
Joined: 23 Oct 2011
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| Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Paddycakes wrote: |
What's the dating scene like in Shanghai versus Seoul?
Same same. |
Chinese women only go for Mexicans in Shaghai. |
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Paddycakes
Joined: 05 May 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 12:11 am Post subject: |
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| Nolos wrote: |
| Paddycakes wrote: |
What's the dating scene like in Shanghai versus Seoul?
Same same. |
Chinese women only go for Mexicans in Shaghai. |
Hence I tell them my name is 'Carlos Danger'. |
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metalhead
Joined: 18 May 2010
Location: Toilet
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| Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 6:54 am Post subject: |
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Shanghai is a lot more 'international' than Seoul, so ovbiously you will have better food and restaurant options. The local people are not as friendly as the Chinese in other parts of China. Your average expat there is not an English teacher, so if you have a merely average EFL gig, expect them to look down on you a bit. Of course, there are a lot of work opportunities there, so it's entirely what you make of it.
For me, if I had to choose between a well-paying job in Seoul, or a well-paying job in Shanghai, well, no-brainer, Shanghai for sure. People in China just aren't as miserable/xenophobic as a lot of Koreans are. That, and China has a far more interesting culture/history. |
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3DR
Joined: 24 May 2009
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| Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 7:53 am Post subject: |
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| Air is terrible in Shanghai. Better invest in some air filters. |
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3DR
Joined: 24 May 2009
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metalhead
Joined: 18 May 2010
Location: Toilet
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| Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 9:17 am Post subject: |
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He was there for a week, so I can understand him not getting pushed, the 'no spitting' part is a bit strange, but then again, I couldn't read everything he wrote, his writing style is just far too dull. Did like the first comment though:
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| I had a totally different experience than you when I visited both cities. I liked Shanghai much more than Seoul. I thought the people in Shanghai were much nicer than in Seoul. I found Korea to be an extremely xenophobic place, and very unwelcoming to foreigners. I didn't feel that way in Shanghai or Xian, China. Overall, I just think that Shanghai has a lot more to offer than Seoul. I did however like Pusan a bit more than Seoul. It's a little friendlier than Seoul, but thats not saying much. |
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markness
Joined: 02 Jan 2013
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| Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 10:40 am Post subject: |
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| metalhead wrote: |
Shanghai is a lot more 'international' than Seoul, so ovbiously you will have better food and restaurant options. The local people are not as friendly as the Chinese in other parts of China. Your average expat there is not an English teacher, so if you have a merely average EFL gig, expect them to look down on you a bit. Of course, there are a lot of work opportunities there, so it's entirely what you make of it.
For me, if I had to choose between a well-paying job in Seoul, or a well-paying job in Shanghai, well, no-brainer, Shanghai for sure. People in China just aren't as miserable/xenophobic as a lot of Koreans are. That, and China has a far more interesting culture/history. |
Lol, "merely" an EFL gig. I was merely an ESLer and met lots of Western business men in China. You can make a decent living teaching, its a stable job, whereas some of those business men that you look at in a high and mighty way have highs and lows in their jobs. Sometimes business was good, and sometimes business was bad I.E. they didn't make any money one month and would have to work off the savings of their previous months. This was rather normal in the business world according to them. Of course there will be guys you know who will be doing super well all the time, but that's not always the case. So.. stable/predictable wage versus unstable/potentially high or low wage. Add in the fact that you can tutor at a relatively high rate and teaching doesn't look so bad, also...
I dressed well, and they treated me well, hell they even wanted me to help them with their bars in regards to employment and to assist in financing/owning opening of an another (I left before it happened). Same thing happened to me when I was in Jakarta (Indonesia). If people are looking down at you for "merely" being an ESLer than I think you know who may be the problem, sorry bud. |
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markness
Joined: 02 Jan 2013
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| Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 10:50 am Post subject: |
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Also, in addition to what I had wrote, a guy who I met on the airplane was coming from the Philippines, he was an American dude, and he was working in Qingdao, he was teaching ESL there, and then they had him teaching Computer Science at the school he was working at because that was what his background was. Eventually he got tired of the weather there and went to Shenzhen, and he had a similar experience as me, except him and his buds were ALL teachers, and they pooled their money together and opened a bar. This bar did good enough so that none of them had to teach anymore and now he farts around between the Philippines and Shenzhen.
Point of the story im trying to make is that a lot of the business men in China that you meet usually started out as "merely" ESLers. Of course there are those who were lucky to get an expat position that allows them to work there, unfortunately though, the rug can get pulled out from their feet at any time, and they never know when they will have to go back home. Teaching gives you the flexibility to pick where you want to work. |
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metalhead
Joined: 18 May 2010
Location: Toilet
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| Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 11:51 am Post subject: |
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| You can stop with the "merely" an EFL gig nonsense now, as I said a 'merely average' EFL job. You should also learn the difference between teaching EFL and teaching ESL as usually people are aware of what their job is called. |
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markness
Joined: 02 Jan 2013
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| Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Is it ESL or EFL or EAL now? TESOL? TOEFL? Technicalities, technicalities... I'm glad you were able to understand the brunt of my write-up. |
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byrddogs
Joined: 19 Jun 2009
Location: Shanghai
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Paddycakes
Joined: 05 May 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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| markness wrote: |
| metalhead wrote: |
Shanghai is a lot more 'international' than Seoul, so ovbiously you will have better food and restaurant options. The local people are not as friendly as the Chinese in other parts of China. Your average expat there is not an English teacher, so if you have a merely average EFL gig, expect them to look down on you a bit. Of course, there are a lot of work opportunities there, so it's entirely what you make of it.
For me, if I had to choose between a well-paying job in Seoul, or a well-paying job in Shanghai, well, no-brainer, Shanghai for sure. People in China just aren't as miserable/xenophobic as a lot of Koreans are. That, and China has a far more interesting culture/history. |
Lol, "merely" an EFL gig. I was merely an ESLer and met lots of Western business men in China. You can make a decent living teaching, its a stable job, whereas some of those business men that you look at in a high and mighty way have highs and lows in their jobs. Sometimes business was good, and sometimes business was bad I.E. they didn't make any money one month and would have to work off the savings of their previous months. This was rather normal in the business world according to them. Of course there will be guys you know who will be doing super well all the time, but that's not always the case. So.. stable/predictable wage versus unstable/potentially high or low wage. Add in the fact that you can tutor at a relatively high rate and teaching doesn't look so bad, also...
I dressed well, and they treated me well, hell they even wanted me to help them with their bars in regards to employment and to assist in financing/owning opening of an another (I left before it happened). Same thing happened to me when I was in Jakarta (Indonesia). If people are looking down at you for "merely" being an ESLer than I think you know who may be the problem, sorry bud. |
If the non-teachers look down on you, it's not because of the ESL job itself per se.
It's because the person behind the ESL/EFL job is often, but not always, socially odd or eccentric in someway, or carries himself like hippy backpacker with body odor problems or a goofy 21 year-old frat boy/frat girl. |
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