Is China a Potential Land to Work in?

[yuemax]

Interesting thread...

I've been in China for almost exactly 5 years now and will throw my observations:

Timelines:

Months 1 - 3 : Absolute amazement - you can go down to the 7/11 at 4am to buy beer - in your underpants, and no-one blinks...
Months 4 - 9 : Hatred - everything about the country makes you mad - you hate EVERYTHING.
Months 10 -- : Love it - you get into the groove, it gets under your skin... (where I am at now) Occasional bad days, but a trip to HK to buy salami and cheese fixes that...

All long-term foreigners here go through these phases...

PRO's of working/living in China:

* It's safe - unless you do something stupid, chances are you will not have any problems
* Living - you can get a nice apartment for relatively cheap pricing
* Work - there are many opportunities, particularly in niche industries
* Cost of living - lets just say, my lunch cost me ZAR4 today, and was delicious (Jiaozi)
* Food - wow, so varied
* Family/Friend Structures - never in my life have i met and befriended such good close family and friends - re-defines loyalty

CON's of living in China:

* Visa - for South African's, it can be difficult to obtain annual residency documents - especially if you are an English teacher - apparently our first language is NOT English anymore...
* Living culture - this can be a challenge (see months 4 - 9 above) - it can be a deal breaker and we have seen so many hit the road if they cannot make it through this time - farmer-types spitting, kids doing their business on the pavement, people aiming their cars, not driving them etc
* Business culture - this is a tough one - the concept of relationships (guanxi) is really complex - takes (and will take...) years to get a grip on
* Food - i mentioned it as a PRO above - but also can be a CON - my wife (Chinese) tells me I need to "learn" to eat rice - WTF?!?!?!


All in all, i have no regrets in the slightest - it's not for the feint-hearted, but is very interesting and rewarding...

Cheers
Max