For the first little while, it was a hilarious and ridiculous place, an adventure... but after spending a few years here, learning the language, and really grasping what China is as its core, I don't even want to leave the apartment anymore.  At one point, I had plans to set up long-term business goals in this country, but now I laugh at the idea.  I was so naive!

I have a great job, a lovely lady, and a good group of friends (foreign and "westernized" Chinese).  My life is not lacking socially or financially.  It is the environment that is killing me.  I have started to HATE this place, and that's not a word I use lightly.

  I am constantly disgusted by what I hear and see.  It's grey, grey and more grey.  The locals are, for the most part, ignorant, racist, fucks.  While I've met hundreds of absolutely lovely Chinese people, I am harassed by human garbage on a daily basis.  Almost every time I go out with my wife I find myself in some kind of altercation with a group of dead-eyed, black-toothed assholes who think they can comment freely on our cross-cultural relationship without getting a response just because I'm a foreigner.  Well, they are mistaken, I will stick up for myself and my family by an means necessary--abroad or at home--if you disrespect my wife, you will get your rotten teeth knocked out.   I will not take any shit from these fucking NONGS. 

  Last week a woman in Beijing was stabbed to death in broad daylight by a man with a goddamn SWORD.  Why? She was with her white husband.  The attacker said "I hate Americans"... when the man replied that he was French, he stabbed the woman in the chest anyway.  They were newlyweds.   This is not the modern world as we know it... we can't forget that this is still a developing country with third-world values.

The food is gross and will give you food poisoning half the time.  Being sick to your stomach at least once a week is not normal.  They always talk about how much better Chinese food is than all the other food in the world combined... what a load of shit.  I like a few dishes... the xiazi, hotpot, etc, but come on, it's all generally all the same fried dish.  Better than French, Mexican, Thai, Indian food?  I think NOT. 

There is no music or art scene, or anything "cultural" of any kind.  The locals spend their nights in KTV, trying to convince themselves they are living worthwhile lives.  I've spent a few nights with Chinese friends or coworkers in those places and, my god, what a load of bullshit.  Let's eat some fruit and drink weak piss-beer and sing the worst songs ever, sound like dying cats and argue for an hour over who gets the bill.  FUUUUUUUUUUUUN.

  All the wildlife is long dead.  Even the spiders have left the cities.  People see animals as food and nothing more.  Did you see the story about the British guy whose dog was beaten to death by the chengguan?  He didn't have the proper registration papers for his poor gentle one-eyed pooch, so these scumbags said "foreign cunt" and smashed the dog's head with a baton, threw the body in a bag and left.  These people have been abused and kicked to the dirt so long that they have lost their sense of compassion.  Who could look be so heartless as to torture and butcher a friendly domestic dog for meat?  I've seen photos of those vendors at the dog meat festival, they're proudly smiling as they torture those confused pups!  This is NOT a cultural thing.  They are simply not self-aware human beings.  They are suffering from a disease of the soul.

  Everything here is fake garbage.  The girls are pretty, but also boring as hell or absolutely full of shit.  What did you do on the weekend?  "Watched TV, surfed the internet, shopping."  I meet my friends for beers on saturday nights, shoot the shit, then go home.  No camping trips, no live shows or music festivals, no interesting events, no backyard barbeques, no friendly football or golf games, no walks by the ocean, no swimming in lakes or photographing animals... nothing.

Does anybody else think the cons far outweigh the pros of living here?  Sure, we may have nice jobs here, but IMO no amount of money is worth living in this shit-hole.  I'm counting the days until my move home... I've developed a newfound appreciation for my wonderful country.  

 Who else is tired of being stared at and harassed by low-class morons?  Who else misses fresh air and the natural world?  Who else doesn't want a constant stomachache and headache?  Who wants to live in a place where people are generally polite and civilized?   I say we leave China to the Chinese.

I am sorry, this has turned into a disjointed rant.  I needed to get it out... I'll delete it later.