Your Move to China

[PinYin55]

I am planning on moving to China in the somewhat near future, and I was just hoping you could answer some questions about your personal experiences.

1) Where are you originally from?

2) How old were you when you moved to China?

3) Did you go to college in your original location first?

4)Did you already know Mandarin before you went? If so, how long had you studied it before the move?

5) How many times did you visit China before hand? How did you decide which area of China to move to?

6) Did you visit first, find a job, then move at a later date? Or did you just pack up everything and move, and hope for the best?

7) How do you make money there? How much money do you make? If you are an english teacher, can teaching english support a pretty good lifestyle?

Visas. How do you do it? How often do you have to renew it? Where do you go to do so?

9) Do you enjoy it? What do you miss? Feel free to explain anything youd like. Im sure I have forgotten a lot of important questions.

Thanks in advance.

[mr.stinky]

ok, i'll start.

1. us - texas. small town, pop. 700. nearest home depot, cinema, shopping mall 250 km.

2. 40-ish

3. yes, 4 times.

4. couple months of 'studying' phrase books.

5. first time to china. selected location through internet research. chose kunming due

to population size, traffic congestion, cost of living, university standards, travel

connections, but mainly for the weather. (last vacation was bicycling thru death valley)

6. arranged all with university before arriving. sold everything; house, truck, motorcycle,

tools, guns, furniture........left with two duffel bags of clothing.

7. no work here other than the odd transcription. living off stock market proceeds.

8. school handles the visa, just renewed for 13 months good thru next september.

9. mostly enjoy it, but there are the occassional china days when everything is frustrating,

the days when the simplest conversation is impossible.

what do i miss? books, lotsa books to check out from the local library. i miss driving,

strapping camping gear to the bike and heading off to the national parks. i miss being

able to walk into clothing stores knowing they'll have my size. i miss cheese, not the

land-'o-lakes carried at carrefour. i miss real mexican food, microbreweries, and

buffalo wings. i miss fat women in spandex.

but then for everything you miss here, there's ten new things to discover, that you're

sure to miss if you ever head back home.

[Prodigal Son]

1. I'm from Washington DC

2. 22 years old when I came to China

3. I didn't go to college

4. I didn't speak Mandarin before coming here

5. I never visited China beforehand, I went to Tokyo & Hong Kong first, then visited a friend in Chengdu. I really enjoyed it and quickly found work there, so stayed

6. Picked up and moved, didn't find a job beforehand.

7. I'm a musician, generally make between 10-25,000rmb a month

8. F visas, 6 month for 1500rmb.

9. I enjoy it here, I rarely hang out with other foreigners, this makes me happiest I find. Deciding to study Chinese on my own was a decision I don't regret, I've come a long way in 2.5 years. Opportunities are abound in China if you know where and how to look.

[Lu]

I'm in Taiwan, does that count too?

1) Originally from the Netherlands.

2) Moved to Taipei at 25.

3) Yes, and having an MA degree is a great help in getting a working visa here.

4) Studied Chinese for 6 years before I came here, of which one year in BJ and one year in TP.

5) Lived in BJ for a year, in TP for a year, and took one holiday here before I moved here.

6) First came for two months to see if I could find work. Found work, but had to move back (ticket & visa expired), after which I was fired, came back anyway, and found new job.

7) I have a full time job as a translator. It's not making me rich, but I don't need to economize.

8 ) I'm on a work visa, arranged by my company.

9) I love it. I miss bread, drop, and other Dutch things, and of course my family and friends, and I sometimes wonder what the hell I'm doing here, but the fact is, I love my Taipei life and am really happy I made the move.

[muyongshi]

1. From Washington State, USA

2. Moved here at age 20

3. Did about a year and a half of college...no degree

4. No mandarin at all

5. Visited China 4 or 5 times and decision was because I have friends here and I visited the city first and liked the area

6. I visited the University first and then came (but I am a student not for work)

7. N/A

8. Visa is given by my uni and renewed by them as well. I got through some loophole and wound up getting a 2 year visa (max is supposed to be 1 year)

9. I really love it hear and the things I miss are minimal and will vary but I miss tools and working in carpentry and the such but am still leading a very satisfied life. Some days are worse than others in terms of things that bug me or I want but it's good (and I live in a small city with not much foreign good either so....)

[Rincewind]

1) Paisley Scotland. UK.

2) 29 years old.

3) Yes, BSc Civil Engineering with specialization in Management. Glasgow University 1997.

4) No. I could say hello and thank you.

5) I had never been here before. I have friends in Paisley, UK, who are from Anshan China and Paisley University has links with Anshan Normal University so that's how I ended up here.

6) Sold everything and headed out into the great blue yonder.

7) Work as a English Teacher. 3000 yuan per month at first. Rising to 5000 and now nudging 10000 yuan. Outside of Beijing and Shanghai, you can have a very good standard of life (good food, fancy restaurants, nightlife) on a Teachers wage.

To get a visa as a tourist, just go to the Embassy with your passport. For a work visa - sign a contract with a school, get them to send the relevant paperwork, then take that with your passport to the Embassy. Once in china, go the the PSB (the big police station in the center of town) and apply for your residency permit. This permit typically is renewed annually. Other visa types are available for study or business travel etc.

9) Yes I enjoy it allot. Best job I've ever had. I don't miss much. Sometimes I wish I could have fish and chips like back home. Or buy salt and vinegar crisps. I also miss doritos which is odd cause I didn't eat them much at home. I also miss westernised Chinese take-away food and Indian restaurants. I have to make Indian food myself now.

[PinYin55]

So english teachers in Beijing and Shanghai aren't very good?

Thats pretty upsetting, because I really liked the idea of Beijing.

[optical]

1) Where are you originally from?

Carnation, WA, USA - population 1,000

2) How old were you when you moved to China?

23

3) Did you go to college in your original location first?

Not seriously

4)Did you already know Mandarin before you went? If so, how long had you studied it before the move?

I studied in on my own for about a year, enough to read some characters, ask and answer simple questions, etc. In other words, "not much"

5) How many times did you visit China before hand? How did you decide which area of China to move to?

I had never gone to China before. I chose my city based on lower cost for college tuition (50% less on average) and better air quality (I have asthma, gotta be careful)

6) Did you visit first, find a job, then move at a later date? Or did you just pack up everything and move, and hope for the best?

Packed up and hoped for the best. I sold or gave away all of my belongings, and just packed up some clothes, my laptop, and whatever useful doodads I thought I might need.

7) How do you make money there? How much money do you make? If you are an english teacher, can teaching english support a pretty good lifestyle?

N/A - Student

Visas. How do you do it? How often do you have to renew it? Where do you go to do so?

I filled out the applications to the school first, and got my response back in about two weeks with a JW202 form. Mailed this form and the visa application, and my actual visa to a visa processing agency (Travel Docs, Inc) and within another 2 weeks I got it all back with an X visa inside, no hassle and no trouble. I was actually really surprised at how easy it all was.

9) Do you enjoy it? What do you miss? Feel free to explain anything youd like. Im sure I have forgotten a lot of important questions.

I miss american fast food, being able to go anywhere at night and get a bunch of cheap fatty nasty hamburgers and free-refills soda. And wow I really miss mexican food, and clean tasting water. Sure there are some things I like - I usually enjoy all the extra attention I get, but I hate it when everyone assumes I speak english just because I'm white. Just gotta get used to it over time.

[woliveri]

1) Where are you originally from?

Earth

(this is going to be my standard answer to all the people who ask me where I'm from from now on).

2) How old were you when you moved to China?

46

3) Did you go to college in your original location first?

no

4)Did you already know Mandarin before you went? If so, how long had you studied it before the move?

Studied about 4 years part-time with little availability of higher level classes.

5) How many times did you visit China before hand? How did you decide which area of China to move to?

Came in 85 for a 16 day tour. Was selecting schools and that determined the area.

6) Did you visit first, find a job, then move at a later date? Or did you just pack up everything and move, and hope for the best?

Packed up and moved. Spent first 4 months at a University then moved to another district.

7) How do you make money there? How much money do you make? If you are an english teacher, can teaching english support a pretty good lifestyle?

Saved some money, sold my car and live off that. Teach privately, part-time, undercover.

You can make plenty of money here teaching English to support a good lifestyle.

Visas. How do you do it? How often do you have to renew it? Where do you go to do so?

Use a Visa agency. See my links page.

9) Do you enjoy it? What do you miss? Feel free to explain anything youd like. Im sure I have forgotten a lot of important questions.

I enjoy it here but there are some days that make me crazy.

I miss Jeeping,

I miss Quiet (there's construction everywhere and a jack-hammer on every corner). I miss going outside and not hearing screeching brakes, yelling, horns honking, jack-hammers, gutteral pre-spit noises, screechy-voiced women and loud-talking men.

I miss Nature, courtesy, clean restaurants, fast food. I miss Coleslaw

[madizi]

1) Where are you originally from?

Slovenia, EU

2) How old were you when you moved to China?

31

3) Did you go to college in your original location first?

yes, graduated at sinology department

4)Did you already know Mandarin before you went? If so, how long had you studied it before the move?

4 years at uni and two summer courses in China

5) How many times did you visit China before hand?

4 times

6) Did you visit first, find a job, then move at a later date? Or did you just pack up everything and move, and hope for the best?

First job, then moved

7) How do you make money there? How much money do you make? If you are an english teacher, can teaching english support a pretty good lifestyle?

English teaching, salary not bad

9) Do you enjoy it? What do you miss?

I like China and Chinese. I could miss good coffee (don't like instant coffee), so I brought with me three packs of my country's brand (Barcaffe)

[simonlaing]

1) Where are you originally from?

Born in Zimbabwe, grew up in Boston, MA, USA

2) How old were you when you moved to China?

22

3) Did you go to college in your original location first?

No, I taught english in Suzhou, and was cheated out of my return airfare so went to Nanjing for the second year which I enjoyed.

4)Did you already know Mandarin before you went? If so, how long had you studied it before the move?

I took a semester of Chinese at college, and dropped it second semester because it was to tough. I thought once I got to China I could learn it by osmosis. I was wrong.

5) How many times did you visit China before hand? How did you decide which area of China to move to?

I hadn't visited before, but planned it at the end of my Junior year of College as I wanted a year abroad before I made up my mind what I should do.

6) Did you visit first, find a job, then move at a later date? Or did you just pack up everything and move, and hope for the best?

I went with a placement agency, which was good because there were other teachers we could travel with, but bad as they gave us lots of scare stories.

7) How do you make money there? How much money do you make? If you are an english teacher, can teaching english support a pretty good lifestyle?

the first job was 2600 RMB in 2001, with housing . now An english teacher ranges from 3500- 10,000 RMB month depending on Hours and if housing is included.

Visas. How do you do it? How often do you have to renew it? Where do you go to do so?

Work Visas and Student Visas. There are a lot of part time teaching jobs if you look for them. They pay in cash each week and work fine if you're a student.

9) Do you enjoy it? What do you miss? Feel free to explain anything youd like. Im sure I have forgotten a lot of important questions.

Yeah, I became a sino phile. I will get married next year. Be ready for changing your idea of normality. When there are a lot of people around different things become normal and needs patience. When you have the opportuinity to try things make sure you do it. Snake tastes like delicious, tender chicken wings, all tofu but stinky tofu is wonderful, traveling is cheap and enlightening and learning the language makes everything easier.

Don't be afraid to go up to people and ask to join in . Because you're a westerner they will think it is normal and usually welcome you to play.

Have fun,

Simon:)