Ningbao - Life in Zhejiang Province

[spock]

I did some googling about this province (specially Ningbao) and it seems to be a good place to study.

There are few advantages like temperature January-4.7 °C (40.5 °F), July-28.0 °C (82.4 °F), decent transport system.

What worries me is pollution, is it really that bad ?

I've noticed that this place is not very popular as a destination for foreigners.

I have found some information that night life is poor but i dont mind, im not a crazy party boy, im more temple freak myself

Does anyone want to share their experience and thoughs about living in Zhejiang Province ?

[yialanliu]

If you meant Ningbo, I live there.

Pollution is very minimal within the city districts. Zhenghai and Beilun districts are worse for pollution since many factories are situated there.

For foreigners, there's not much as there's no major multinational companies here, most are in Shanghai/Suzhou where the cost of living is similar so no reason to move here.

Ningbo is wet, worse than Shanghai.

Also note that not every location has heat which can be uncomfortable in the winter. Insulation is also poor so if you do have heat, it does cost a lot to run. It's not bad if you are living on an expat pay, but if you are localized pay like 10k a month, living cost can be pretty expensive.

Transportation is good. There's not as much traffic as compared to Shanghai/Suzhou. The subway is in construction so there is traffic problems at those sites, but that should be temporary. Driving a car here is also much easier than Shanghai. It's about the same difficulty/madness as NYC so not too bad.

[spock]

yialanliu thank you for your response

yes, I meant Ningbo, sorry for misspelling the name

Well to be homest I thought that Ningbo is a cheap and convenient alternative to Shanghai. I consider this place because of two reasons Zhejiang Provincial Government Scholarship and Business Administration Program at Ningbo Uni I'm little bit confused right now

[yialanliu]

I personally have not found it to be much cheaper than Shanghai for basic necessities.

Bars are cheaper than Beijing/Shanghai, but smaller selection.

Cheap food is about the same. Western food is cheaper, although much smaller selection.

Definitely less pollutants here than Beijing and Shanghai in the city.

Ningbo University is between Zhenhai and ningbo city. Zhenhai isn't great, so NU isn't great when it comes to pollution, but it's not that bad.

If you have the scholarship, then definitely come here. Zhejiang is very rich, and life here is very good because of that.

[drencrom]

Ningbo is like a mini-Shanghai. All the disadvantages of the huge city, but none of the conveniences like English everywhere, good foreign restaurants, etc. They're tearing all the main roads up to build subways and lots of other construction as the city expands into the suburbs.

[spock]

Sound good to me What do you think about putonghua around Zhenhai/Ningbo? Is Shanghainese popular in Ningbo?

[smurese]

I've only ever visited Ningbo for a few days.

I quite liked it. I didn't get the "big city feel" at all (despite the population figures) - so that can be a plus or a minus depending on what you're looking for. The roads are modern. The city government has made good efforts in beautifying the city, including the use of greenery. There is "colonial" history there to be seen - and those sites are not at all in a dilapidated state. I was quite surprised by the prominent churches in the city - an interesting historical and cultural aspect.

I've read somewhere that it's one of the richest cities in China (and I think it shows), so it's not the cheapest; but I guess it can't compare to Shanghai or Beijing.

The three rivers, in the shape of a "Y", make for an interesting landscape (and a non-grid-like urban plan - except for the newer suburbs of the city). There are nice riverside parks, relaxed and not overcrowded, and there were even people fishing the rivers in the park using those traditional nets on levers. The fairly central Yuehu Park, designed in traditional Chinese style, is also beautiful and peaceful, and again, not overcrowded in my experience.

And it's easy to get to Shanghai (and Hangzhou too) if you need to - buses, hi-speed trains, awesome highways, bridges over 20 miles long.