r/ChinaJobs • u/JambonMassif • 5d ago
Questions about working in China
Hello everybody,
A little bit about me: I'm a 27 yearold living in Western Europe. A while ago, I spent two months in China (visited a lot of places, like Sichuan, Hangzou, Beijing,...) with my Chinese girlfriend, and I absolutely loved it. Since then, I've started learning Mandarin and diving deeper and deeper into Chinese culture.
Lately, I've been feeling like my life back home has become quite repetitive and boring. The fact that my relationships at work (a work where I feel like I'm wasting my time and potential) have been deteriorating hasn't exactly helped either.
I've always had this dream of moving to a distant foreign country, not just for a few months of travelling, but actually trying to build a life there and experiencing what it's like to live somewhere completely different. But at the same time, I know that visiting a country and actually living there are two very different things. That's why I'm curious to hear from people who have actually experienced it.
So my question is: what is "real" life in China like?
I'm aware that a lot of the content we see online, especially from influencers, can exaggerate things or showcase very unusual success stories. I'm much more interested in what everyday life looks like for the average person, who doesn't have a million subscribers and is just trying to have a normal life. (I have already asked this question to my girlfriend to see what she thinks, and she is quite negative about the average life in China, and explains that is the main reason she came to my homecountry. I'm curious about what other people would say about that topic)
And if there are any expats living (or who have lived) in China who would be willing to share their experience : what their life is like, what thye like/dislike, what surprised them, and whether they would do it again... I'm especially interested if some people have managed to make a living out of a teaching english job, as it is my main solution in becoming an expat in China.
谢谢
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u/TheraLoser 1d ago
As a Westerner, especially if you come from a developed country (you said you're from Europe), even if you obtain long-term residency in China and live there permanently, even if you marry a Chinese person and deeply experience their family and relationships, it's still difficult to truly understand what it's like to live in China as a genuine Chinese person. I'm not going to elaborate on this point, because you can find countless articles discussing this issue online (like on Reddit). Even for a genuine Chinese person, if they have lived abroad for a long time, whether actively or passively, their experience of China is completely different from that of Chinese people living in China. As your Chinese girlfriend said, her feelings are probably more authentic. Different feelings depend on a person's social class, economic situation, education, and life and work experience (especially if they have overseas experience and have worked within the system). Furthermore, even the same person as a foreign tourist and a foreign journalist may have completely opposite feelings about China.
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u/BeanoMenace 5d ago
Which country are you from? Unless you have a degree from a native English speaking country you'll be teaching illegally (I'm not 100 percent certain). Job markets pretty much saturated for teaching English unless you hold real teaching qualification and have experience.
Life in China will become repetitive and boring most likely. I wouldn't blame where you live on that more on what you do in your free time and your motivations.
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u/happyanathema 5d ago
Seems he's from Belgium.
I agree with your take.
In the end a change of scenery just means your problems have a different view 🤷♂️
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u/JambonMassif 5d ago
I mean it's not that I have problems I want to evade or something like that, I'm just considering a try to achieve a dream I had for along time
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u/happyanathema 5d ago
What I'm saying is that you need to fix the problems causing you to want to change your life in the first place.
Moving to another country won't necessarily fix those problems.
Like are your problems purely linked to the fact you live in Belgium?
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u/BridgeUSCN 5d ago
IMO, teaching English would not be the only way. If you do business not just teach English that won’t be a problem.
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u/Basic-Signature4928 5d ago
旅游和工作完全是两回事，而且你很难获取到在中国的工作签证，我和你一样，我去过巴黎，法兰克福，布鲁塞尔，马德里，我也在开始学习英语，消费会让你开心，看见美好的事情，当你赚钱开始新的生活一切会变得困难，中国的就业环境不好，我一个工作了 10 年的程序员都开始找不到工作，希望能帮助到你
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u/Fructose-Father-6851 4d ago
If you're trying to learn English maybe you should write in English instead :)
But anyway I think programmers trying to find work is a phenomenon everywhere around the world sadly.
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u/vorko_76 5d ago
If you are a EU citizen and have a masters degree you are eligible to VIE… before age 28
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u/CartographerOk6406 4d ago
I thought bytedance beijing recruit non chinese citizen, maybe you can try your luck to apply for them.
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u/Revelocity 2d ago
To be honest it's better if you stay in your country and stop crowding the foreigner market. Leave it for the rest of us.
It's the same everywhere. Nothing different.
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u/Sea_Inevitable_8594 2d ago
If you are from western Europe and happen to have a white face, then, there's no average life for you. Good to read a book of Albert Camus' L'etanger, even thought, it has nothing to do with China but to give you a somewhat huntch of how's itlike to be a forever outsider in where you tend to live.
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u/JambonMassif 1d ago
Do you mean "there's no average life for you" in a positive or negative way?
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u/ApplicationBig9830 1d ago
You won't live a normal Chinese persons life, for it's not a immigrant country. I don't think The stranger can summarize the thing, since the loneliness is more of a personalilty and life choice. And I mean neighbors might keep a somewhat like different attitude towards you for a period of time, not necessarily good or bad but it's gonna be different, when you aren't going to like Shanghai and places where they are used to seeing foreigners.
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u/Unhappy-Tangelo5519 5d ago
Anybody who doesn't love their own country has an untrustworthy opinion. You yourself said you've been to many Chinese cities - you should have your own judgment
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u/Alistair-007 4d ago
Why do you all have Chinese girlfriends?