China Travel Forum

[Kater]

I have been offered a job in Shanghai and I would appreciate a little information.

Basically, whats it like to live there - is it safe? Is it expensive? Whats the night life like considering I will be on my own over there, is it easy to meet people etc, will the language barrier be a problem etc?

Vague I know, but I really have no idea what to expect.
Any feedback appreciated.

Cheers

[aynor]

Shaghai is compared to other Chinese cities more expensive (housing - transport - going out). The nightlife is quite good but as already said it is quite expensive some places have already European Prices. This means the beer can cost more than 50 RMB.
Safety is not a problem, like all cities in China you will feel quite safe even late at night.

[hobba]

This is my unadlterated, totally honest opinion which I am sure many people will rightly disagree with. Note that I have never lived in Shanghai, but that I live in Hangzhou (2.5 hours south of Shangers).. however, I have spent more than a month visiting the city, staying with friends who have moved there, etc.

First, you are not going to China, you are going to Shanghai. While you can still find some remaining amounts of Chinese culture here in there, of course, it is rapidly disappearing. The whole Pudong area has little to do with China, and even the Bund that everyone likes so much is really just early/mid 20th century architecture. In fact, most Shanghairen barely consider themselves Chinese. People originally from Shanghai seem pretty pretentious and 2-faces, while the foreigners I have met there are generally (I said generally!) sort of scummy, you know, going there because it's trendy in recent years, getting themselves a Chinese girl, and such.

There is no language barrier issue because you are not in China. In fact, many Shanghaiese will desire to talk to you in English in order to improve their conversational English skills. OK, there is a language barrier. Taxis and some restaurants, etc, you still want to know Chinese-- at least learn spoken and the pinyin-- reading/writing characters should never be necessary. This spoken Chinese you pick up as you are there-- I mean it will take you about a week of practice to say your apartment complex standardly in Chinese.

Shanghai itself is also huge, and getting huger, but the only area that matters is the extremely crowded area around the river. I bet you could take some buses further out and find some cool stuff though, something I have never done.

I miss the old bar street. The new bar street is all right, but the above post is right, it's expensive as hell to go out on the town there. In the rest of Shanghai away from the bars and clubs, everything seems to get pretty depressing around 11pm. The lights go out and there are a lot of people sleeping in doorways and sorting through garbage (not that other cities dont have that)

That said, you can also end up loving the place, especially if they are paying you well. Meeting people should be no problem, but note my negative generalizations about people above. All Chinese cities are much more convenient than western ones-- there will be 24 hour, fast, restaurants that deliver good food near wherever you live. You can usually find anything you need, really, without too much looking. While Shanghai is more centralized than most Chinese cities, there is plenty of everything everywhere.

And maybe I do think the old bar street is not as good as the new one, but hey, there is a Bar Street. The last time I went to Shanghai I went on a booze cruise down the Huangpu with open bar and stuff, it was lots of fun, met a lot of people, spent a lot of money nonetheless...

Plus, living there you get easy access to domestic and international transportation. Since you are in Shanghai, you will spend more but also most likely get paid more, meaning if you ever go travelling in China you will have a ton of money to spend.

I say give it a try. Hopefully by decreasing you expectations, my post will make you find the city isn't all that bad after all.

[mengjia]

Shanghai is more expensive when compared to some other Chinese cities, but if people there who makes 2000RMB can survive, you should too. I highly doubt you'd accept a job that pays you less than 2000RMB a month. Also the price depends on where you go, if you go to the bund or other tourist-heavy areas, of course it'll be more expensive, and you will most likely meet mainly other tourists, not the locals.... the locals do not go there every day. (just like the new yorkers do not go to the statue of liberty everyday). If you check out the smaller shops and restaurants, it'll be a lot cheaper and you'll meet more local people. Because Shanghai is a very modernized country, you shouldn't have too much problem in the language department. If the person you are dealing with directly does not speak English, someone around would help you out. Just like #2 said, ppl there would love to practice their spoken english whenever possible. You will have fun there. There is someone on Thron Tree here by the name of "Ellyse", she is a very good guide for Shanghai, she has helped out many travelers to Shanghai, talk to her if you need more info. Good luck!