Thinking of moving to China, I have a few concernes

[Jncocontrol]

Hey,I'm..Considering on moving to China sometime next year after i catch up on my Mandarian.

I do have some concerned on the labor laws that china has, Which the general media has been telling me (as a ignorant america FYI) that the work conditions in china are insane. I know that manfacturing companies like Foxconn don't give 2 craps about their employees, Now i'm considering to go with IKEA, I worked for them while when i was in Seattle.

Is Mandarian really a requirement to getting around in china, I've heard that China has been totally Americanized?

The gangs, do they stay out of trouble as long as i don't get inbetween them and whatnot?

As a forenginer do i need any kinda special skills to.. actually work in china?

[WestTexas]

As a forenginer do i need any kinda special skills to.. actually work in china?

Umm, yeah. You're not going to get randomly hired to work at an IKEA here.

I've heard that China has been totally Americanized?

Not so much. Maybe you should do a bit more reading on China before you start considering this as a serious move.

[eshton]

Don't take my word as law but China is not 'americanized' in anyway. It's modern yes, but not american. That said, you can survive in big cities like Beijing or Shanghai with little or no mandarin but you'll need a better job than IKEA to handle the expense. There are really good cities that aren't expensive but the expat communities there are small. I haven't been to much places in China but I've never met any kind of gang (or mafia) here. To work, you need a Work Visa which get quite complicated because the company hiring you has a big part in the process. Generally, as a foreigner, the company hiring (and you) needs to show the authorities that they cannot find a local with the proper qualifications

[Brian US]

I wouldn't worry about work conditions unless you are actually intent on working in a factory. As far as general working, any legitamite place is going to need to get you a work visa. It's not like places in the US where you ask the manager on duty for an application. Unless you apply for a corporate job at IKEA, they aren't going to go through the process of getting you a visa for a job that pays $6,000/year as a cashier or stocker.

As for needing to know Mandarin, outside the airport and nice hotels, you won't find anyone speaking English.

No, you will not be caught in gang warfare unless you partake in drugs, gambling, and or prostitution.

As far as special skills, a native English speaker will never have a hard time finding an English teaching job. Any other job and you will be competing with locals and other foreigners.

[anonymoose]

Hey,I'm..Considering on moving to China sometime next year after i catch up on my Mandarian.

You may want to catch up on your Cantosian depending on where you're planning on going in China.

[ChTTay]

Brian US just said everything I wanted to say.

What kind of media do you watch/read? FOX? I've never seen anyone ask about "gangs" when moving to China!

You can get by in Beijing without any language skills but didn't you say you wanted to come to "catch up" on your Chinese? That implies you can already speak some? In smaller cities it's harder but no impossible. When I first arrived in China I lived in a small city where there were very few foreigners and no one spoke English ... I still managed ok.

[liuzhou]

Hey,I'm..Considering on moving to China sometime next year after i catch up on my Mandarian.

Funniest thing I've read this week.

I've heard that China has been totally Americanized

Second funniest.

The gangs are laughing, too.

Gangs?

[fanglu]

The gangs, do they stay out of trouble as long as i don't get inbetween them and whatnot?

There's really only one gang in China, so no need to worry about getting between them. You wouldn't want to cross them though.

[putonghua73]

Why am I replying to this topic - other than massaging a latent, masochistic bent in me - ll never know.

Questions:

1. Why China?

2. Have you ever travelled to China?

3. What is your current Mandarin level (use an international standard e.g. HSK or European language procifiency as a reference point)?

4. What education / qualifications do you have?

5. What skill-sets do you have?

To boil it down, what appeals to you about living / working in China? What do you think you can offer (aside English) that local Chinese or foreigners cannot offer?

[Guest realmayo]

It's not real right?

[liuzhou]

You're not Irish-American are you, by any chance? I hear the PLA are desperate to recruit anyone with Irish ancestry.

IKEA not so much. Too much green doesn't fit in with their visual concept.