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Q: How do you tolerate living in China?
This is my response to "Is China best country to live in?"
I think this is a much more relevant question for expats here.
I find people here that have no knowledge about the outside world are constantly going on about how great China is.
The people that have been abroad, know about western culture, or are educated are not deluded like the rest of the masses. Or at least not as much.
What makes living here worth putting up with all the nasty shit?
I like living here because the cost of living is cheap, food, beer, electricity. The people where I live aren't out to fight you, they are kind and friendly. Okay, there are some cheats but what else is new for that matter. On a whole I feel safe in China
For the record there are some things I like here (OK, mostly Chinese girls), but most of it sucks.
I could go on in detail as some people do here, but that is not my point.
I'm actively looking for work back home. Let's just say that.
Good food. Wacky TV shows. Exchange rate. Tourism. Easy jobs. Girls. Many nice people. Cheap alcohol. Bootleg dvds. Ummmm.....errr.....Nothing else comes to mind right now.
Doing it for the story.
Afters the years pass, I can then be this crazy old man that has some any random adventures that most people will believe I'm just making it up as I go. But they will always be happy to slide me another beer and hear another tale from around the world.
Maybe for the same reasons a prefer blues, rock and metal music to classical or pop. I like things at times a bit cheap, rough around the edges and exciting rather than clinical and banal. But the advantage I have is that when I need the great things that western countries have such as health care, political stability, freedom, education or I miss my family and friends etc I can just return home.
life here is great when you subtract the foul behavior of the locals and the elitist arrogant foreigners great cheap beer , a salary that makes me live great here, easy to get around, women who love and appreciate what foreign men bring to the table, hours upon hours of free time. many holidays
I remember my wife - she wants to be close to her family and friends - and my responsibilities to her, and that I have to be the man in the relationship.
I would die to go back to the village I grew up in. There are no jobs there, nothing to do but climb mountains and fish, and when I was eighteen I was happy as hell to move to the city, wanted to see the world. I've lived on three continents now, and China is by far the worst place I have ever been to. I wish I'd become a logger like my former classmates, didn't I think I was more clever than them at time...
Njord:
Being a man also means to take charge and be a man (this includes making decisions your wife doesn't like) so don't make being pussy whipped sound like "man hood" it makes other "men" laugh.. ;) Just say "my wife said I have to stay here and I can't take charge" we'll understand...
kchur:
Ultimately, I'd be leaving for my own comfort. Perhaps I could ask her to sacrifice her own comfort for some fluffy lace pillows and tea dollies, as well. I can man it out it China, but she'd be just as miserable in my country, so I make the sacrifice.
yes i like live in china here more respect and you can find each you need business travel foods and good friends
Cheap to live here, salary is great for a foreigner...life style I can have here is good, a lot more job options in China than back home...
Great place to explore and travel around, people are mainly friendly and I think more open to making friends than back in the UK...
Sure China has problems but ive never been to a country that does not, i think the problems in the UK have a worse effect on me than the problems in China so i choose here... Luckily i have that choice!
If you dont like it why stay? Even if your Chinese you can go to work abroad stupid to think you can easily move to UK USA (but most Chinese do dream of it even if its next to impossible for them) it costs a lot, you can relatively easily get a Mandarin teaching job in south east Asia....
Chinese people always say well Thailand is poor, Cambodia is poorer ....who here came to China because its richer than your home country??
I try to tolerate China by focusing on the good things here that I like. If I go out and grab a beer, I'm quite happy that I can actually have a smoke as well. Or that I can buy fresh mangosteens here (import of the fresh fruit is banned in the US as it is one of the major carriers of Asian fruit flies).
The other thing is that there are opportunities here that are worth being out of a 100% comfort zone for me. I've met a lot of people and have contacts from around the world now which would have been almost impossible to find anywhere else.
I suppose though the biggest thing is the knowledge that I can actually leave anytime I want. I don't HAVE to be here. It's a choice. That I find comforting nd it keeps me going.
For the next two months, despite the very disgusting conditions of this city, I will need to man up and tolerate China. The main reason....the West is breaking apart. As much as I respect my ancestors for attempting to adapt to a dominating power, I think it would be wiser if I just learn their ways so that when the "Sleeping Giant" frenzy begins, I am ready.
