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Beijing
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07-05-2013 8:05pm#1
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LanguageLune wrote: »well, at least a post from somone who clearly has been to Beijing (and Shanghai). Yes, the air is a bit better in Shanghai (mainly because it rains all the time and Beijing is practicaly in the desert with almost no rain, except July and August) and yes for a lot of expats are easier to find there, though I thought the poster already had a job offer? I think Beijing is a lot more fun, cultural, and interesting than Shanghai though - but that's a personal preference. Beijing is more traditional Chinese, Shanghai more international metropolitan. I prefer tradtional - but again thats a personal preference.
Tomatoes, tomatoes, I guess. Having spent time in both places, and currently living in Shanghai going on 4 years now, I much prefer it here. Beijing was fun and interesting, had lots of things for the homesick at heart (foreigner areas like Sanlitun and Yangren streets etc.) and is obviously a very Chinese city.
However, it's downsides can be a little off-putting. How diffuse the city is for one thing... it's just not very convenient trying to get from one area of the city to the other, even with the metro. Where Shanghai is sprawling, Beijing is a bit of an unwieldy mess. However, both cities during rush hours can be equally taxing. That said, having lived in Dublin, with its frankly laughable "public transport", I tend to be more forgiving of the transport here. One travel card for metros, taxis, buses - no fuss. Prepare for the crush, though, OP
I agree with what you said about the cultural aspect of Beijing - it's 100% more authentically Chinese than Shanghai (or Hong Kong - a city which I adore). Beijing has most of the big attractions, like Tienanmen square, the NAMOC art gallery (opened by Mao himself), Quan Ju De restaurant (famous for their Peking duck, bit pricey, tough), and obviously you can travel outside the city to the Great Wall. These are always great draws for foreigners, and I'm sure the OP, Karlrove, will really enjoy them.
But Shanghai feels like the biggest small community in the world. The city is a pleasure to walk around, the weather most of the year is good (doesn't rain as much as you think, LanguageLune), has a pretty wide expat community, who, despite being a little precious at times, are generally nice, and has almost any amenity you can think of. Whatever you did back in Ireland, you can be sure to find it here. It's also great for going out, with pubs and clubs and outside bars and other wonderful places to go.
To address the OP's original question a little further, though, I'll add a few things, and I'm sure everyone here can chip in a little to avoid this thread becoming an argument - let's prep Karlrove a little for what could be the biggest culture shock of his life
Language: Much easier to learn Putonghua (standard Chinese language) in Beijing. You get a pretty distilled version of Chinese there, as it's north China and the most standard language there. Shanghai has many, many migrant workers and also the garbled Shanghai dialect to contend with. They are definite obstacles to learning because you're never sure quite what you're listening to wherever you go.
Money: Depending on your job (and maybe you can tell us what you'll be doing, OP), the salaries in Beijing are pretty good, as with most of the bigger cities here. But, pretty unanimously, Shanghai will have higher salaries for most positions, although the halcyon days of astronomical expat packages are a thing of the past. Irrespective of what job you have in Beijing, though, you can expect to live pretty comfortably. It's a far cry from Ireland - even on the most modest salary (and probably either a free gaff or a gaff allowance), you can go out each weekend, go out for dinner a couple of times a week, buy clothes, shoes, whatever you need, and still have money to save. Sending money home can be a pain in the arse, though, but if you need to know more, you can probably ask here.
Expat scene: Easy to find, and I'm sure Languagelune knows the lay of the land there. Failing that, find a bulletin board for Beijing (there's lots of them) or pull up the Beijing entry for Wikitravel and you'll find what you need. But as I said earlier, if you want foreign faces, you can always go to Sanlitun road. Avoid the drugs, though, as there's a lot of peddlers there. If a copper catches you with some drugs, your ass is in big trouble. However, if you feel like a smoke or whatever, be discreet.
Pollution: A final word on this. It can be pretty grim, and even the domestic newspapers are having a field-day on it (you'll see the word PM2.5 bandied around a lot), but the fact is that if you're only going to be there for a few years, then it's really not a big deal unless you are an asthmatic or something. If you get a cold or a chest infection, too, it can make life difficult for you. It's nasty and makes you cough, but in the short-term it's no worse than tainted food.
Get back to us OP and fill in the blanks.0 -
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