Anyone lived or worked in China,Tianjin to be more accurate!
Discussion
There are a number of expat forums online. Lots of useful information on visas, relocation, housing, daily life etc. Also lots of not very useful information and misinformation, rather like this place 
Dress warm and prepare to do battle with Beijing (and now us down in Shanghai) for the pollution crown.
Dress warm and prepare to do battle with Beijing (and now us down in Shanghai) for the pollution crown.
Chilli said:
Everything! The Mrs has been contacted about a fantastic job there, I mean very good...just wondered if it worth considering.
Good bits:- It's cheap to live (if you don't buy property or cars).
- Cheap utility bills (quarter of UK).
- Cheap eating eat (if you speak the lingo, my wife is Chinese so that helps), we can eat for £2 (for both) if we fancy it and the food is great. Also loads of other great eating out options in any budget range.
- Cheap public transport (30-70p on SH metro, shortest to longest journey).
- Lower PAYE, no NI for expats, no council tax (the company will pay medical insurance).
- Close to SE Asia for short breaks, we've done HK, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand. Planning S. Korea, Tibet, Japan next.
- Get out of the the city and see ancient China.
- Nice spring and autumn weather.
Bad bits:
- Air quality, SH broke the index of 500 last week. It's often in the 'unhealthy' category.
- People are super rude by western standards, pushing, no queuing, spitting, etc.
- Dangerous roads, people don't give a monkey's about traffic lights, crossings, see above.
- Expensive, sometimes hard to find, western stuff. Milk, bread, imported beer / wine, is expensive.
- Government / commies.
- Racism, intolerance to westerners, the stares, etc. Not all but most!
- Internet - censored, can use a VPN, but still a cat and mouse game with the firewall.
- Overcrowded.
- Dog eat dog, no compassion for the fellow man (Government's doing).
We won't be here forever, but I wouldn't change my experience for anything, I met my wife, I've seen SE Asia which I've always wanted to do and I've almost paid my mortgage off because of how cheap it is and low taxes.
Do it I say! A few things to consider, SH is the most westernised but still has it's issues, so Tianjin might be more 'Chinese'. I hated Beijing when we visited, SH has a completely different vibe.
SpeedEight said:
Good bits:
- It's cheap to live (if you don't buy property or cars).
- Cheap utility bills (quarter of UK).
- Cheap eating eat (if you speak the lingo, my wife is Chinese so that helps), we can eat for £2 (for both) if we fancy it and the food is great. Also loads of other great eating out options in any budget range.
- Cheap public transport (30-70p on SH metro, shortest to longest journey).
- Lower PAYE, no NI for expats, no council tax (the company will pay medical insurance).
- Close to SE Asia for short breaks, we've done HK, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand. Planning S. Korea, Tibet, Japan next.
- Get out of the the city and see ancient China.
- Nice spring and autumn weather.
Bad bits:
- Air quality, SH broke the index of 500 last week. It's often in the 'unhealthy' category.
- People are super rude by western standards, pushing, no queuing, spitting, etc.
- Dangerous roads, people don't give a monkey's about traffic lights, crossings, see above.
- Expensive, sometimes hard to find, western stuff. Milk, bread, imported beer / wine, is expensive.
- Government / commies.
- Racism, intolerance to westerners, the stares, etc. Not all but most!
- Internet - censored, can use a VPN, but still a cat and mouse game with the firewall.
- Overcrowded.
- Dog eat dog, no compassion for the fellow man (Government's doing).
We won't be here forever, but I wouldn't change my experience for anything, I met my wife, I've seen SE Asia which I've always wanted to do and I've almost paid my mortgage off because of how cheap it is and low taxes.
Do it I say! A few things to consider, SH is the most westernised but still has it's issues, so Tianjin might be more 'Chinese'. I hated Beijing when we visited, SH has a completely different vibe.
Mate, that's very helpful. We currently live in Dubai and have to put up for most of those 'bad bits' anyway. The job is the GM of a very exclusive place, and if the package is right, we'll go out there for a look around.- It's cheap to live (if you don't buy property or cars).
- Cheap utility bills (quarter of UK).
- Cheap eating eat (if you speak the lingo, my wife is Chinese so that helps), we can eat for £2 (for both) if we fancy it and the food is great. Also loads of other great eating out options in any budget range.
- Cheap public transport (30-70p on SH metro, shortest to longest journey).
- Lower PAYE, no NI for expats, no council tax (the company will pay medical insurance).
- Close to SE Asia for short breaks, we've done HK, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand. Planning S. Korea, Tibet, Japan next.
- Get out of the the city and see ancient China.
- Nice spring and autumn weather.
Bad bits:
- Air quality, SH broke the index of 500 last week. It's often in the 'unhealthy' category.
- People are super rude by western standards, pushing, no queuing, spitting, etc.
- Dangerous roads, people don't give a monkey's about traffic lights, crossings, see above.
- Expensive, sometimes hard to find, western stuff. Milk, bread, imported beer / wine, is expensive.
- Government / commies.
- Racism, intolerance to westerners, the stares, etc. Not all but most!
- Internet - censored, can use a VPN, but still a cat and mouse game with the firewall.
- Overcrowded.
- Dog eat dog, no compassion for the fellow man (Government's doing).
We won't be here forever, but I wouldn't change my experience for anything, I met my wife, I've seen SE Asia which I've always wanted to do and I've almost paid my mortgage off because of how cheap it is and low taxes.
Do it I say! A few things to consider, SH is the most westernised but still has it's issues, so Tianjin might be more 'Chinese'. I hated Beijing when we visited, SH has a completely different vibe.
Thanks again.
Yea, i lived in the harbour there for a while...
Its filthy smelly, dusty, dangerous and very poor facilities ( has since improved in the last 12 years..)
Id still do it again, tons of fun to be had - though i was single.... That helps a lot..
Still, from there you can travel to beijing ( you will a lot) shanghai and everywhere else of interest up that way. Do the ice fairs and definately go to Dalian.
And save up like mad while you are there to make it worthwhile...
Its filthy smelly, dusty, dangerous and very poor facilities ( has since improved in the last 12 years..)
Id still do it again, tons of fun to be had - though i was single.... That helps a lot..
Still, from there you can travel to beijing ( you will a lot) shanghai and everywhere else of interest up that way. Do the ice fairs and definately go to Dalian.
And save up like mad while you are there to make it worthwhile...
Dog Star said:
SpeedEight said:
- Government / commies.
Tell us more!A good place to start if you're interested is to search for China Uncensored on YouTube, start at the beginning and you'll soon get the idea.
The longer you spend here the more distasteful it becomes, not because it affects our lives personally but because it just doesn't sit well.
When you have an idea what really goes on you see the gulf between the rich and poor as the biggest shame / crime, depending on how you look at it.
SpeedEight said:
Well, how long have you got?
A good place to start if you're interested is to search for China Uncensored on YouTube, start at the beginning and you'll soon get the idea.
The longer you spend here the more distasteful it becomes, not because it affects our lives personally but because it just doesn't sit well.
When you have an idea what really goes on you see the gulf between the rich and poor as the biggest shame / crime, depending on how you look at it.
I actually left China (2.5 years in Tianjin + 0.5 years in Beijing) not because of anything which affected me personally, but I would read in the free (usually Hong Kong) press constant stories of state corruption or the state messing with peoples lives. Stories like people who have lived in the same house for generations, then get thrown out into some poorly built apartment in the middle of nowhere when a state-sponsored developer wants the land. Or people who have been jailed when they have protested for a real investigation in to the death of one of their family members in an industrial accident in some state-owned factory. Nobody wanted any investigation, because of corruption. None affected me personally, but it wore me down. A good place to start if you're interested is to search for China Uncensored on YouTube, start at the beginning and you'll soon get the idea.
The longer you spend here the more distasteful it becomes, not because it affects our lives personally but because it just doesn't sit well.
When you have an idea what really goes on you see the gulf between the rich and poor as the biggest shame / crime, depending on how you look at it.
Or you can google up "China Red Cross scandal" or the stories of Sichuan local government officials suddenly finding the cash to buy new Mercedes after the donations started coming in following the Sichuan earthquake.
OTOH I've been away 8 years now and I'm looking for a job in that general direction again now! I've had enough of cold British winters (not that north China is warm either) and I can't afford a maid here!
Justices said:
Ignore that. Book your travel last-minute and expect very low turnout at stations, ports, airports etc. Tales of 3 billion trips being made during this period with virtually an entire population traveling at the same time are nonsense.
I'm going to be in this boat in six weeks or so, we're going to visit my wife's parents
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