Expatriate Regrets

[Long Zhiren]

Maybe the title is a bit off.

But in hindsight...

(1) What did you bring to China that turned out to be useless in China?

(2) What did you bring to China that you could have gotten after arriving?

(3) What should you have brought that you didn't?

Thanks.

[roddy]

Don't bring anything you haven't worn, used or looked at for more than three months (exceptions can be made for seasonal clothing) - you won't use it here either, and if you end up needing it you can buy it again.

This is actually a good rule for life in general, I suspect.

[Rincewind]

(1) What did you bring to China that turned out to be useless in China?

My surge protector. There's no earth wires in any of the apartments I have lived in, so the surge protector will do nothing to help me in the slightest.

(2) What did you bring to China that you could have gotten after arriving?

Pens and pencils

(3) What should you have brought that you didn't?

Whisky, I mean the good stuff not JD or Chivas, but I rectified that when my brother brought me some.

(4) What did you bring that was indespesible.

Blu-tack. Never go anywhere without blu-tack.

[bottledpoetry]

(1) What did you bring to China that turned out to be useless in China?

any and all forms of study material. an overpriced chinese-english dictionary - the electronic ones you can get in China for cheap are way more useful than lugging a huge book around along with your frommers and fannie packs

(2) What did you bring to China that you could have gotten after arriving?

sleeping bag. totally useless.

(3) What should you have brought that you didn't?

This must sound weird - but hand-sanitizer. SO USEFUL. Bring a costco bushel I tell you!! It's so much better than having to elbow your way into busy restrooms to wash your hands, and great for impromptu meals after clubbing and what not. I wish I could have brought my favorite taco stand too, after a few weeks. Ever notice how szechuan can almost hit the spot for mexican food cravings, but actually make it worse like drinking salt water when you're dying of thirst? Okay maybe thats a bit extreme, but once you have a san diego burrito, you can't go back

[liuzhou]

(1) What did you bring to China that turned out to be useless in China?

A wife.

(2) What did you bring to China that you could have gotten after arriving?

A wife

(3) What should you have brought that you didn't?

A divorce.

[yonglin]

liuzhou, that's really quite horrible.

i'd recommend bringing a very light suitcase actually. once i figured out where to buy shoes that didn't fall apart within four days, i would like to propose that you can buy everything you could possible want in china. i mean, more than a billion people kind of get on using only things you can buy in china. then, of course, i'm quite flexible and don't have cravings for particular brands on western foodstuff or the like which some expats seem to have.

oh. what you really need to bring is a good plastic card that allows you to make atm withdrawals at a negligble cost.

[Xander]

love the second last one.... even if that has nothing to do with the original post.

[cdn_in_bj]

Haha Liuzhou, nicely done. I was actually going to post something similar, but I couldn't think of a good answer for #3.

Anyways, here's the serious version of my post:

(1) What did you bring to China that turned out to be useless in China?

My Canadian driver's license

(2) What did you bring to China that you could have gotten after arriving?

Air purifier, power convertor, music/movie collection, silk ties, socks, suitcases/sacks

(3) What should you have brought that you didn't?

Good-quality dress shirts and pants, shoes with arch support, my wine collection, a wine fridge

[johnd]

(1) What did you bring to China that turned out to be useless in China?

My Canadian driver's license

...but, if you do want to apply for a Chinese driving license, then you won't have to take the driving test if you have your original license - only need to do the theory test (and a lot of paperwork).

[cdn_in_bj]

...but, if you do want to apply for a Chinese driving license, then you won't have to take the driving test if you have your original license - only need to do the theory test (and a lot of paperwork).

That is absolutely correct! So it did come in very handy after all.

[gato]

(3) What should you have brought that you didn't?

It's hard to find men's shoes larger than size 10 (US)/44 (Europe?) in China. So if you have big feet....

[heifeng]

hey same thing with women's shoes!

(I'm thinking that my answers probably mostly apply to women, and it will really depend on your size. If are are big and/or tall in anyway, you'll need to bring more stuff)

(1) What did you bring to China that turned out to be useless in China?

Shoes with 1in+ heel, or just not very walkable shoes.

Thongs~seriously, I might as well convert them into slingshots. There's no point if you are wearing qiuku/thermals underneath during winter... and then in the summer might as well wear boxers under skirts and such b/c you have to climb all the tianqiao...ugh

(2) What did you bring to China that you could have gotten after arriving?

stationary....except for a 3 hole punch.

electronic dictionary. Brought 2...broke 2. Now I'm just all about my 35yuan dictionary, but there are cheaper electronic dictionaries here I suppose if i need one. tampons with an applicator. I was under the impression that they didn't have them here for some reason (but they might not outside the city...b/c once when i came to china this was a complaint from my classmates...but in BJ, you don't need bring them). Bras~these actually fit quite well if you are on the scrawny side and can be much cheaper than in the US, but a bit itchy around the wiring and seams. Blue jeans. China is overflowing with jeans, and some really cheap ones~oddly, even some long ones. I actually prefer to wear these crappy ones since they are thinner and dry on the clothes line faster, so my US bought jeans are just collecting dust.

(3) What should you have brought that you didn't? (Some of the below, I brought, but not enough)

Shoes with a lower heel in my size. more candy, midol, and general head ache medicine, cold medicine, and vitamins, vics vapor rub. A laptop.

Any 'quality' clothing products (suits, etc) or jackets with broad shoulders. I personally hate all ladies panties in China since most of 'em has a horrible fit, so I'll be stocking up when I go back. Good razors. You can get them here, but I think that they are actually cheaper in the US if you catch them on sale!

a waffle iron and breadmaker. (but I might just be really hungry right now so I'm thinking of these..)

hair shears

[liuzhou]

a waffle iron and breadmaker.

My local department store out here in the sticks has both. Have a look around. You may be surprised!

[in_lab]

Another vote for bringing extra shoes and socks if you have fairly large feet.

[Crivens200]

(1) What did you bring to China that turned out to be useless in China?

A wife.

(2) What did you bring to China that you could have gotten after arriving?

A wife

(3) What should you have brought that you didn't?

A divorce.

Haha - briliant answer

[simonlaing]

(1) What did you bring to China that turned out to be useless in China?

A Chess clock. Haven't found someone to play timed games with yet...

(2) What did you bring to China that you could have gotten after arriving?

long underwear, CDs, expensive lap top

(3) What should you have brought that you didn't?

Dental floss, (only recently can find in western pharmacy)

Good ear plugs, still can't find them though china is not any quieter.

Good sunglasses

Cheese, (can find it here but it is usually expensive and with poor selection)

[cdn_in_bj]

Some more things I should've brought with me:

aquarium chemistry testing kit, deodourant (as opposed to antiperspirant)

Thongs~seriously

thong, thong, thong, thong, thong

I've seen plenty of thongs here, though there have been the few occasions where I've regretted it...

[imron]

My local department store out here in the sticks has both. Have a look around. You may be surprised!

From all your previous posts, it would seem that Liuzhou has everything except a working banking system

[liuzhou]

Liuzhou has everything except a working banking system

That applies to the whole country!

[self-taught-mba]

Every time I step outside I am reminded of what I should've brought last time: a thicker coat!!!!

And you can never bring enough pens; the quality of the ones here are severely lacking.

Everyone is right about the dictionaries. We even tell people in our pre-departure packet not to bring the dictionaries and yet they still lug them here - worse yet is when I see people spend a lot of money on them right before they come here when they are so dirt cheap here.