Help!

[SSMTLK]

Hello. I live in the U.S., but am planning on moving to China within the year with my husband. I've never been there, and I wouldn't have enough money to fly there to check things out before moving there. I can't find much helpful information on the internet so I was hoping you could help me, or at least point me in the right direction.

My husband would be the one getting a job in China. He's a metal welder. Is there an industry for that there? Or any kind of construction type work?

I have no idea about housing. I know I want to live in a less densely populated area. I do not want to live in a large city, but I can't find any real estate listings. I was looking around the Changsha and Yueyang areas, I think.

Will I be able to do everything that needs to be done before we arrive in China by e-mail and phone?

Can we become citizens of China eventually if we decide to stay?

I also have pets - 1 cat and 1 dog. Will bringing them over be a problem do you think? I really don't want to leave them in quarantine.

I was also wondering about the houses. Are they anything like houses in the US? Are the toilets, refrigerators, stoves and all of that pretty much the same? I've never been out of the US except to visit Canada for a hockey game, so I'm pretty culurially retarted, so to speak. lol

My husband is 6'5" and I was told we'd have a hard time finding him clothes there because of his height.. would we be able to order clothes through online stores? I don't know, I have so many questions.. I want to be prepared..

Anything you could tell me would be of great help. I appreciate it. I don't want to get there and have to turn around and come back because I skipped a step.

Thanks, Sarah

[mr.stinky]

have you or your husband considered joining the PLA?

[SSMTLK]

What's the PLA? I'm sorry. I really don't know much. I want to move to China for some new scenery and mostly to get away from my overbearing family.

[gato]

Does your husband already have a job lined up? Could you say a little about what you and your husband's goals are for moving to China? That'll help others in giving you advice.

Most Westerners seem to start off teaching English here. Those jobs probably will be plentiful for the forseeable future and are well-paid by Chinese standards, so if you need some extra income, you could probably find a teaching job yourself. Housesold help is relatively cheap in China, so if you were to teach, you could easily hire someone to help around the house, or babysit your kids if you have kids.

I don't think the Chinese buy clothes online as of yet, but you could get clothes custom made locally for your husband if there is a need. That should also be much cheaper than in the U.S.

As for the differences between China and the US, there are many. If you are used to living in the American suburbs, I think if you would be in for some signficant culture shock. Just solely in terms of economic development, most places in China are at least 30 to 40 years behind the US. Most places are probably dirtier and more chaotic looking than what you would see in the U.S., a lot more traffic and people, less greenery, etc. I would advise you to watch some Chinese movies to get some basic sense of what it is like, but remember that things usually look prettier in movies than in real life.

[roddy]

Have you considered Canada?

[amandagmu]

Out of curiosity... why do you want to move to China? Do you have a goal once you get there? And I agree with the previous poster, China and American suburbia are light years different from each other (and I don't necessarily mean that in a good way towards the U.S. either, I happen to have mixed feelings about extreme capitalism and our current credit issues, not to mention who we picked to be our president).

PLA = People's Liberation Army, and no you don't want to join that, and you probably couldn't. I wonder what the stats are like for joining the army in China? My prof this semester came over from Zhengzhou two months ago and she was saying that lots of people join the army in China (probably for a better life?).

[Liu Bang]

Is it that easy to move to China?

You've never been there before, don't have any jobs lined up, etc. but you're confident that you'll just move there and stay?

I'm not saying you can't do that, that is exactly what I want to do...but from what I understand moving to China without some job lined up with an American or Multinational firm is difficult and longterm/permanent residency is very very hard to get.

Or am I wrong? Can I just save some money and then one day *poof* go to China and stay there 10 years? Doubt it but it would be nice.

[trevelyan]

Moving to China will definitely get the relatives off your back. So assuming this is a serious question:

If you or your husband have a university diploma, the easiest way to come to China will be to arrange for an English teaching job at a university. Any reasonable package will provide the necessary visas, accomodation, medical insurance, return airfare to the United States on completion of the contract, and enough money to live comfortably in China. Most contracts are a year long, and provide opportunities to travel.

Avoid newly-established universities or private schools that have sprung up in the last four or five years. The reason for this is that most will be located exactly in the middle of nowhere. You should probably also avoid giving people the impression you want to work in a rural area or.... you'll end up working in a rural area. Unless you know what that entails aim for a medium-sized city somewhere in southern China. I'd recommend Hangzhou, which has a population of around 6 million and is very livable.

If you are interested in actually earning money while teaching English or are interested in learning a foreign language relatively quickly you probably want to be in either Korea or Japan. Good luck.

[trevelyan]

Are the toilets, refrigerators, stoves and all of that pretty much the same?

Oh, if you're not comfortable with Turkish toilets, ditch the travel plans.

http://www.natashatynes.org/photos/uncategorized/toilet_1.jpg

[magores]

Hello. I live in the U.S., but am planning on moving to China within the year with my husband. I've never been there, and I wouldn't have enough money to fly there to check things out before moving there. I can't find much helpful information on the internet so I was hoping you could help me, or at least point me in the right direction.

My husband would be the one getting a job in China. He's a metal welder. Is there an industry for that there? Or any kind of construction type work?

---

Construction work in China? Yes. Lots of it. For an American in China? Not so much.

Basically, lots of people in China can do construction. 99.999% of them can speak "Chinese". Can your husband?

I don't mean this as bad as it will sound... Can your husband do anything beside weld stuff? What I mean is... An American architect might be able to luck into something. An American who has done some research, might be able to show up and present themself to a multi-national corp., and say "Hire Me!" But, my guess is that an American welder is a "So what?" unless he can offer something more. Previously a foreman? Knows international building codes?

------

I have no idea about housing. I know I want to live in a less densely populated area. I do not want to live in a large city, but I can't find any real estate listings. I was looking around the Changsha and Yueyang areas, I think.

--

Live in a rural-ish area, but still near construction jobs?

-----

Will I be able to do everything that needs to be done before we arrive in China by e-mail and phone?

-No

.

-----

Can we become citizens of China eventually if we decide to stay?

-No.

-----

I also have pets - 1 cat and 1 dog. Will bringing them over be a problem do you think? I really don't want to leave them in quarantine.

-Problem? Yes.

-----

I was also wondering about the houses. Are they anything like houses in the US? Are the toilets, refrigerators, stoves and all of that pretty much the same? I've never been out of the US except to visit Canada for a hockey game, so I'm pretty culurially retarted, so to speak. lol

-Houses like the US? No

-Appliances the same? No.

-----

My husband is 6'5" and I was told we'd have a hard time finding him clothes there because of his height.. would we be able to order clothes through online stores? I don't know, I have so many questions.. I want to be prepared..

Clothes hard to find? - Yes

Order online? - Sure. Shipping charges will kill you though.

-----

Anything you could tell me would be of great help. I appreciate it. I don't want to get there and have to turn around and come back because I skipped a step.

-All I can say is I wish you luck.

----

Forgive me everyone if I'm wrong on this one, but something about this question just doesn't seem right.

It seems to me that EVERYTHING she mentions is exactly the things that would make the move harder.

-Construction worker? (China doesn't have enough?)

-Construction, but avoid cities? (Where does most construction happen?)

-Wants to bring animals? (Try to bring animals into the US)

-6'5"? (Not insurmountable, but still...)

-Citizenship? (G Bush is bad. Can still escape him without renouncing ALL of the US though.)

-----

Last comment for parent poster....

Assuming your post was real, and...

Assuming you are truly interested in leaving your present situation (family, friends, work, etc.), then I would advise that you think about it more.

Moving from the US to China isn't like moving from the US to the UK or AUS or CN. And its A LOT different than moving from CA to WV or whatever. China is a DIFFERENT country. The food is different. The language is different. The "everything about daily life" is different.

In my case, I love the difference. But, not everyone does.

I think many of the people here will agree with me. It's different, and it's good. But, its always different.

I don't know what you are looking for, or what you are trying to get away from, but... I would advise that there are easier ways to accomplish your goals than to move to China.

In my opinion, no offense, your goals don't sound like ones that you can accomplish by running away from the US and everything there.

-----

Having said all that....

Beijing, at least my little corner of it, is a great place.

M

[johnd]

Is there any demand for someone that can teach English and weld stuff simultaneously?

[Xiao Kui]

Liu Bang,

You asked

Is it that easy to move to China?

You've never been there before, don't have any jobs lined up, etc. but you're confident that you'll just move there and stay?

I'm not saying you can't do that, that is exactly what I want to do...but from what I understand moving to China without some job lined up with an American or Multinational firm is difficult and longterm/permanent residency is very very hard to get.

Or am I wrong? Can I just save some money and then one day *poof* go to China and stay there 10 years? Doubt it but it would be nice

Yes you can definitely just save some money and then poof poof poof away to China. People do it all the time, many of the posters here have done just that. It´s not easy, but it´s definitely worth it. I´ve been there over 5 years and plan to go back and stay at least another 3. Yes, permanent residency is difficult but 1 year visas are easy and renewable. What are you waiting for?

[roddy]

I would say don't go anywhere until you've come up with a good reason why you want to come to this country and not some other one. A change of scenery and getting away from family are things you can get from many countries, and while China will provide them, it'll also be a lot more hassle than many others.

[parasite]

"My husband would be the one getting a job in China. He's a metal welder. Is there an industry for that there? Or any kind of construction type work? "

Yes, there is tons of work -- once his Chinese is perfect (or actually, more precisely whatever dialect the work crew he wants to join speaks. Very few are going to speak good Mandarin).

I would recommend saving a LOT of money up and taking it with you. If your husband does back-breaking labor for 12 hours/day, I think he can get a nice paycheck of $50 month. So just think -- bringing an extra $600 along with you, you guys can DOUBLE your living standard. (It still doesn't mean you should expect to live in luxury -- ie, you shouldn't count on having a heated house, larger than 25 sq. m with better than a dirt floor and a shower etc.)_

The fact that you talk about ordering clothes on the internet is a bit insane. If you are earning $50 /month, and you need 99% of that for food and housing, TRUST me you won't have a surplus for ordering $$$ clothes and paying shipping fees.

justin

[Ncao]

I have a question, why would anyone want to move to China ? Unless they had been offered a good job. China isn't the land of opportunities for common working people. When I say common working people, I mean the non-businessmen or the people who don't work for companies that have interests in China.

[magores]

The question isn't why "anyone" or "I" or "we" would want to move to China.... The question at hand is why would YOU want to move to China.

I don't think anyone is "bashing" your idea, we are all just trying to help you to be realistic.

There is a lot to see here. There is a lot to do here. There are some great people here.

But...

Most Americans would probably enjoy visiting here, more than they would living here.

-----

You mention "working people". I think you have to keep in mind what China means by "work".

In Beijing, at least, Banks/the Post Office/Restaraunts/Stores are open 7 days a week. Construction happens 7 days a week. The people selling newspapers are out there in the cold 7 days a week. They are there when I leave my house in the morning, and they are still there when I go home at night. THAT is the reality of working in China.

Foreigners in China generally have it pretty good. But, the foreigner has to bring something with them, that China doesn't have already.

This is why you will see so many foreigners in China teaching English. Native English speaker? China doesn't have that.

People willing and able to weld, solder, hammer, lift, tote, heft, and carry? China DOES have that.

Welding, soldering, etc. are valuable skills. But, you have to keep in mind that China has a lot of people that can do those things.

China is just like any other country in the world. Offer something it doesn't have, and you will be welcomed. Offer something it already has plenty of....?

Think about the US, for example. Low-wage jobs? Foreigners can have them. Americans don't want those jobs. (But they still complain about the immigrants.) Theoretical physicists? US will welcome them. Mid-Level Managers? US has them already. So.. those Mid-Level foreigners tend to end up in the low-wage jobs. (I personally know a few people that were Doctors and Professors in their home country, but were grocery clerks and 7-11 owners in the US.)

China a crazy place? Maybe. But, no more so than the US/CN/UK//AU/Etc.

----

Coming back to the original point (of the original post, not just your follow up question)...

Think about your goals. Can you accomplish your goals anywhere other than China? If you can, then China might not the right place at this time.

----

(Just my two cents. Take it or leave it, as you wish.)

M

[Lugubert]

There are welders. And there are welders... Experts handling every known method, stainless steel or construction steel, electrical and acetylene, and more than I, the professional technical translator, have heard of, would be able to set their own wages in any country. Heck, such a person might even be allowed into the European Union.

But there is of course the question of the relative net amount earned. Consider the costs of living. On my not too generous Swedish disability pension, I could probably rent a nice big apartment in Beijing and employ at least one full-time cook and one part-time private tutor, and still have an excess good for almost unlimited travelling in the country. The only problem is, that that money might be as useful in India, and I'm in for a difficult decision...

[owshawng]

Why not try to move to Australia? It's far away from the US, they speak English, you can apply for Permanent Residency while still in the US to see if your husband would qualify under a skilled trade. To become an Australian citizen you only need to be a Permanent resident residing in OZ for 2 years before you apply to become a citizen. Plus if you are interested in Chinese and asian culture. Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane have large populations of asians.

My Chinese teacher told me that outside of mining, construction work is probably the most dangerous work in China. The worker safety requirements are nothing like they are in the US.

If all you want to do is get away from your relatives, why not just move to another state.

[wai ming]

To become an Australian citizen you only need to be a Permanent resident residing in OZ for 2 years before you apply to become a citizen.

I think they're making it 3 years... anyway, http://www.immi.gov.au if Australia does strike your fancy

To the original poster: Not to knock your idea down, but I basically agree with what's already been said: moving to China is a big move, and not something to be thought of lightly. If you really are interested in the culture (and language), go for it, but don't expect it to be easy.