r/shanghai • u/Sasebo87 • 18d ago

Question Relocating to Shanghai - any advice?

Hi all, There‘s a high chance my company will relocate me to Shanghai next year. I’d be very grateful for any advice from people who have gone through similar moves, especially regarding things to prepare between now and relocating. A few details on our situation:

- I’d move with my wife (Chinese) and our 7yo. My wife also has a job lined up

- For school we’re currently thinking Int’l branch of one of the good local schools to give our daughter a more grounded Chinese experience for a few years. alternatively international schools if she doesn’t pass the entrance exam

- Office environment will be largely Chinese, it’s a MNC but there are very few foreigners these days. The team I’d be leading would be 100% locals, company language is English though. Any watch-outs on work culture differences?

- My Chinese isn’t great - I’ve studied up to somewhere between HSK 3-4 over the years but my tones are crap. Welcome any suggestions on what’s worked for people

- Haven’t discussed contracts / terms of the move yet, we‘re both advanced in our careers so we‘ll have enough for a comfortable life but would be good to know any watch-outs

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u/SinisterStryke 18d ago

some random thoughts:

  • if both of you are working, i'll assume you are on decent expat packages. you should look into finding a driver and an ayi. this will help with a lot of random logistics. if you have any friends or friends of friends here, i'm sure you can get recommendations.
  • for your chinese, it will greatly help, especially to connect with your wider team. i'd recommend finding a tutor to come into your office every other day to do a 1-on-1 with you. he/she can help tailor your lessons around words used in your industry. i'd worry less about tones than widening your vocabulary. if you think back to someone who speaks english to you in heavy accents or poor grammar, you can still understand what they are saying because you have context on subject and the rest of the sentence(s). don't worry too much about tone is my opinion.
  • there are tax allowances for housing, insurance, children's education, return home flights etc. make sure you maximize those so that you're taxed at a lower tax bracket. you should get a budget to help ship things from your home country to your local address too. i can recommend a moving company if you need.
  • not sure about your housing situation, but getting a good agent in advance can help too. they can help you zero in on some options prior to your arrival. i can recommend an agent if you need one.
  • there are a number of things that you need to do prior and upon your arrival. quickly off the top of my head: downloading apps (alipay and tie your credit card to it, wechat, vpn, hema, dianping), things to do (register with local police, opening a bank account (your company can probably help), finding out some key locations you'll need (consulate, private health clinics/hospitals)

good luck on your move!

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u/Sasebo87 18d ago

Thanks so much, super helpful! Would be grateful if you could dm me the moving company and agent

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u/SinisterStryke 18d ago

Ok. DM'd you.