Yantai, Nanchang or Ningbo?

[kaitmba]

I am looking for a university teaching position for one year in China to master my mandarin (at last).

So far I have been offered positions in Yantai, Nanchang or Ningbo.. all with accommodation paid for with a 6,500 monthly salary package (which seems like peanuts!!)

I am having a tough time deciding if these cities seem like a good fit, I was moreso interested in the likes of Hangzhou and Suzhou and Nanjing.. something exotic and lively. I am leaning towards Yantai because I read that the skies are always clear. 
Does anyone have any advice on those three cities that could help me out? Or should I continue searching for a city that I absolutely love. It's only for a year, and the goal is to learn mandarin- I don't really care to have expat friends. And I am a vegetarian (picky eater), so the food won't sway me. Just… the city.

 

I appreciate anyone out there who can help!

 

Kait.

[onebir]

I've heard Yantai & Ningbo are both pretty decent places to live. Unsure about Nanchang.

 

Some factors to consider:

- dialect (in Yantai I think local dialect is a Mandarin variant, in Ningbo & Nanchang probably a Wu-variant (?))

- expat count (higher in Ningbo, a major port than the other places I think)

- climate (Yantai gets pretty cold in winter, Ningbo & Nanchang less so, but they have hotter more humid summers than Yantai)

- beaches (Yantai has some right in town, from Ningbo they're a bus ride, Nanchang is inland)

 

Even if (/because?) you're a picky eater, it might be worth a quick check of the local cuisines:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shandong_cuisine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_cuisine (Ningbo's should be similar)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiangxi_cuisine (Nanchang, YIL: tea oil!)

 

(Being anything other than a pretty lax vegetarian in China is a major PIA.)

[889]

As above, but adding that Ningbo is quite a bit larger than Yantai.

Basic question is probably just whether you want to experience northern or southern China. Myself, in terms of food, culture, language and such, I prefer the north, but others don't.

As to Nanchang, I've been trying to think of a good reason to live there. But there really isn't any.

[vellocet]

Ningbo's cuisine is not the same as Shanghai's, much more seafood and salty rather than sweet.  It also has a ton of foreigners these days so it's a good option for a person who doesn't really want to live in China or be involved with China.  It's certainly not exotic.  Yantai is a beach town IIRC.  Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi, huge city, sweltering in the summer, food is not famous, farmer town.