Hello everyone. I am interested in teaching English overseas after I complete my university degree. I was looking at pictures of different places and I really like how Shanghai, China looks. I was just wondering what is life like there? Would it be very different than life in the major cities of Canada? Is it expensive, safe, interesting? What is the crime rate like? Is it difficult for someone who only speaks English? Also, what is shopping like there? I am a 5'7" female, about 140 pounds with size 10 feet lol.
China - 5 Answers
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1 :
I live in Shanghai, but I don't have a choice. Shanghai is an very interesting city and yes, there are huge malls and cool buildings, Finding clothing here is hard though, they have shops such as H&M, C&A and UNIQLO these are about the only places where you can find nice, suitable, fashionable Western clothes. The air is horrible though, which bothers most people, and the Chinese people urinate and spit on the street. Don't be surprised if you ride a Taxi/cab and your driver goes for a pee on the sidewalk. Life in China in very different from life in Canada or the US. Most things there are fairly cheap, for example the pearl city is an great place to shop- but most things there are fake. Make sure you bargain though, people who just arrived in Shanghai are very easy to fool and they usually get a price much higher than what they give others. If you only speak English, I have to say it will be hard, there are many people that are foreign, but most that can speak a fair amount of Chinese. Chinese people do not know English unless they took lessons, because most of the schools there do not teach proper English and the most they can say are some greetings. The food here is great though, they have a wide variety of food that you will look up to eating every day, but apart from this glamourous part of Shanghai, a little further away are many of those who live in poverty struggling to survive, while those richer Chinese who could be helping them are busy redecorating the city for the Expo so impress the others. I definitely do not regret living in China, but at the moment, I want to go somewhere else.
2 :
I have visited Shanghai, but will only be able to answer some of your questions. Shanghai is a "lovely looking" city full of blueish/glassy sky scrapers designed in a very modern architecture. It is a city exploding within the chinese industrial development. Although not as expensive as Hongkong, it still requires a good paying job in order to maintain a decent living. Although females are seen/considered in China as low ranking citizens, in Shanghai I have met business type women who have achieved a decent ranking among their male counterparts. Life there however, in spite of mall and other american style shopping, would still shock you and many westerners, because the chinese mentality will take generations to change in many areas (they are still ruled by a Communist government, although bribes are a way of living). To live there on a permanent basis, you would feel out of place most of the times. The chinese are extremely acceptive and will treat anyone like a king, while they can drain from them technical and industrial information. After that, one becomes another foreigner, unable to understand "their culture and mentality". Although I received a king's treatment, I regretted having spent two weeks between Shanghai and Changhzou (2 hrs. from Shanghai). Even nowadays, americans are still not trully understood, an are still judged by John Wayne's alcoholic standards, that is, through the bottom of a bottle. See I don't drink, and they could never understand that, as their social "campai" (salute to force you to drink) pressure continued on a daily basis. Think twice and I hope you get more answers on the life in China.
3 :
It is better than New York City or London, Shanghai will become the Dubai of the Far East!!! China will become the economic power in the world, topping the United States.
4 :
Shanghai is absolutely interesting and save , how dangerous the country would be without License To Carry Firearms , the people there is friendly and willing to help others . And shanghai is not quite expensive. Shanghai is a typical industrial city with lots of big malls and skyscrapers and there are many foreigners , so life is not so different from the life in the major cities of Canada. Due to many people from all over the world(including other provinces in China) moving to Shanghai , alongside a lot of bad habit and problem. In a word , Shanghai is amazing :)
5 :
Every day life? Not much differences as for get up, go to work, come home...etc. In Shanghai, you would be better off depend on public transportation or taxi rather than your own car. Although Shanghai is an expensive city by China's standards, it is still much much cheaper compare to western countries...at least for food, and services. Housing would be not so cheap. Crime rate is naturally higher in big cities. But mostly are theft, pick pockets etc. It is perfectly safe to go out at night in Shanghai. Over half the crimes in Shanghai are committed by migrants rather than locals. Most dirty, low paid jobs are taken by migrants as well. Many local Shanghainess look down on migrants. Shopping? Plenty of shops for everything. P.S. You got big feet for your height.
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