Moving to China (best, life, place, people)

[senators21]

Hello Everyone,

I'm considering moving to China so I wanted to start this thread to get some opinions. I'm 22 and after living in Canada my whole life and graduating university, I'm looking for an adventure. I have an opportunity to do an internship abroad. The main cities I'm thinking of within China are Beijing, and Shanghai. On an unrelated note, I also could possibly do an internship in Taipei, Taiwan.

The main thing I want to know about from others who currently live, or have lived in China in the past is how your experience was. With so much information regarding the smog and pollution, is it a good time to live in one of these cities for about a year? This is one of my many concerns, how bad does the smog get on a daily basis and is it something that should prevent one form going to China?

Also for a 22 year old, what city out of Beijing, Shanghai, or Tepei would you advise to go to. High emphasis on nightlife, bars, women, etc. I"m also brown skinned (not sure if it's a factor), but is that something to consider (especially for Taiwan).

Out of these three cities,any other city in China or Taiwan you would recommend for someone to go to for a unique experience? Definitely looking for a city with a lot to do, attractions, nightlife, quality of life, activities, etc.

Thanks!

[Ruth4Truth]

TAIPEI! Way better food--the restaurants are the BEST! I don't know how challenging it might be to try to date across the cultural divide. But there's an expat community in Taipei, too. Check out the forum: FORUMOSA.com for more info.

[Bettafish]

My personal opinion is, the pollution thing is a little bit over hyped if you are a young adult.
Many overseas Chinese still choose Beijing or Shanghai when they decide to move to China.
But, different people have different preferences and you should go there to experience it yourself.

Brown skin is too vague. Probably few Chinese women want to date an Arab (but still some), but it should be ok if you are Hispanic. Random encounter is another thing.

If you worry about racism. I assume Taipei is less racist than Beijing or Shanghai.

[pennyone]

Given your requirements....bars, nightlife, women etc....your "adventure" isn't the "see the world" type, but the typical young male type. So why do you need to go to China, Taiwan, or even Asian for that? Just stay in Canada and be a young guy.

[Tiger Beer]

I MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer Taiwan/Taipei over Beijing/Shanghai. Even moreso if pollution levels are a concern.

But your other needs, the want to party, meet women, on and on...seems better in Beijing and Shanghai, only because they are much larger, more populated cities, with more poverty...and sadly, that poverty creates a demand for foreigner's wealth and attention.

[pennyone]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

I MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer Taiwan/Taipei over Beijing/Shanghai. Even moreso if pollution levels are a concern.

But your other needs, the want to party, meet women, on and on...seems better in Beijing and Shanghai, only because they are much larger, more populated cities, with more poverty...and sadly, that poverty creates a demand for foreigner's wealth and attention.

So, you're basically encouraging this dude to go "horing" with a W up in Beijing? In China, prostitution and the hiring of one are both illegal, and the Chengguan or the GongAn have no sympathies for young brown foreigners.

[theunbrainwashed]

Originally Posted by pennyone

So, you're basically encouraging this dude to go "horing" with a W up in Beijing? In China, prostitution and the hiring of one are both illegal, and the Chengguan or the GongAn have no sympathies for young brown foreigners.

That's the problem with Westerners. They think East Asian women are easy lay. OP, if you want women, or Asian women, go to Vancouver. Plus if you're Indian, Pakistani, Arab, forget it. You'll have more luck dating your own ethnic group. As a side note, if you haven't had luck dating outside your ethnic group in Canada, you won't have such luck in East Asia.

[lokeung)]

Many Chinese women who stick with foreigners in China are not poor, have good education with better than average English level.

Poorer women do not look for fun or handsome guys, their main attention would be money or get married with a middle class or rich man. Most poorer women do not have good english level due to their lack of education. Nowadays in China, men have got richer, the average Chinese women may prefer a Chinese man than a foreigner due to same culture of both sexes. There are lots of attractive rich Chinese men in Beijing and Shanghai who are big spenders in the eyes of women.

Having a large population of women is not relevant. Most Chinse women in the cities still have nothing to do with foreigners in their daily life. Most are focused on their studies or make a living, casual encounters with Chinese men is still not common. Chinese women are in general more shy than North American women even with their own Chinese men. A lot of women will eventually get married with some fellow men from their hometowns introduced by their relatives, unless they meet a guy considered good by their parents during the time they lived in the cities.

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

But your other needs, the want to party, meet women, on and on...seems better in Beijing and Shanghai, only because they are much larger, more populated cities, with more poverty...and sadly, that poverty creates a demand for foreigner's wealth and attention.

[Greysholic]

Originally Posted by senators21

Hello Everyone,

I'm considering moving to China so I wanted to start this thread to get some opinions. I'm 22 and after living in Canada my whole life and graduating university, I'm looking for an adventure. I have an opportunity to do an internship abroad. The main cities I'm thinking of within China are Beijing, and Shanghai. On an unrelated note, I also could possibly do an internship in Taipei, Taiwan.

The main thing I want to know about from others who currently live, or have lived in China in the past is how your experience was. With so much information regarding the smog and pollution, is it a good time to live in one of these cities for about a year? This is one of my many concerns, how bad does the smog get on a daily basis and is it something that should prevent one form going to China?

Also for a 22 year old, what city out of Beijing, Shanghai, or Tepei would you advise to go to. High emphasis on nightlife, bars, women, etc. I"m also brown skinned (not sure if it's a factor), but is that something to consider (especially for Taiwan).

Out of these three cities,any other city in China or Taiwan you would recommend for someone to go to for a unique experience? Definitely looking for a city with a lot to do, attractions, nightlife, quality of life, activities, etc.

Thanks!

Salaries here are usually low as **** but since you're only doing an internship it probably doesn't matter that much.

For a year, many say that Taipei is pretty good. I don't go out at night that much so I can't really recommend you bars or clubs(I'm pretty sure there are some good ones here and there though). As for women...I'd say many Taiwanese gals would be happy to date Moderator cut: obscene a brown skinned guy.

But still, you might face racism here. Taiwan is a very racist and un-PC place, I certainly hope it wouldn't happen to you(assuming you're coming here), but yeah...Caucasians will have an easier life here, generally speaking.

As for comparing Taiwan to China....let's just say for every problem we have here, China has them 100000 times worse, plus many more of their own ****. Frankly, Taiwan is a much much more pleasant place to live in compares to China, but of course, it's up to you to judge.

[lokeung)]

Western men have got a reputation locally for picking up local women in Taiwan and nearby areas.