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Q: Anyone based in Cixi City, Zhejiang Province?
I'm considering accepting a seemingly great job offer but I'm reluctant to move anywhere that's too isolated, because that's why I'm leaving my current job. In my current home in Renqiu, Hebei Province, I am the only foreigner of 90,000 people. There are no bars and even if there were, certainly no English speakers to hang out with. It is no good for one's sanity and while my Chinese has improved in leaps and bounds, there is still no one like minded to chat to - in a small town, conservative outlooks abound and I think I am really just the local freak laowei to gawk at and take selfies with
So if anyone knows anything about Cixi City, and its capacity to satisfy Western palates, I would be most grateful to hear it.
Thank you.
5 years 35 weeks ago in Lifestyle - Other cities
Hey everyone. I used to live in Cixi.,.. I'll have to rain all over your parade. Cixi is 1,5 hours from Ningbo. There are about 40 not very friendly foreigners and 2 bars. Buses run until 5,30 so good luck with your day trips to Ningbo. It's literally a horrible town with nothing to do.
earthizen:
Hey, thanks. That's why I recommended Katek to use Cixi as a stepping stone to Ningbao. Cixi is supposed to be on the western side / edge of Ningbao. Did you travel to Ningbao when you were living in Cixi?
Go for it 
I know nothing about the places you mention. But your post suggests your Chinese is ok. So you will survive.
As you are already in China, you will have wechat. So you will be able to sit outside a hole in the wall shop, drinking beer, and chat with your pals in a wechat virtual bar. You could even post adverts to find other people in a situation similar to what you will be in.
I am sure there are lots of people that read ECC in a similar situation.
Good luck
Cixi City, in Ningbo. It would be heaven compare to where you are, i.e. if your main issue is a lack of expat support group.
From your research you probably are aware of this --- Ningbo is literally hours from Shanghai by road, but without the flamboyance and glamor. It is quite a cozy, peaceful place relatively speaking.
The locals are far less arrogant than Shanghainese, generally speaking. Ningbo area is probably the largest electronic gadgets zone in northern PRC, with a reasonably sized expat population. Try contacting them with this link (website is founded 2004, good omen for you). Good luck.
ScotsAlan:
Ningbo. Been there. It has a branch of Nottingham University. Has a western bar street (in a Mall).
earthizen:
The place is laowaitan. I believe "tan" means beach. Below is a photo of Univeristy of Nottingham students in Ningbo having a good time at one of the bars on that street.
I was supposed to to go Ningbo to do a lecture there for one of the bigger ESL companies a couple of weeks ago.... silence after my contact resigned (and, I was just told "we're reducing your fee"... obviously, I said 'no'...).
The area will probably be better than what you've already experienced in China. Ningbo seems to be ok on the coast there. 3 hour train gets you to Hangzhou. Add another hour, and you can be in Shanghai. About 1 hour from Ningbo is Wenzhou - it sucks!
Some of the smaller surrounding cities and counties have some nice sceneries ... maybe even some blue skies to make you feel calm and relaxed. Ningbo is also famous for seafood. (just ask any of the locals)
Katet:
Shining_brow, thanks so much for the info, in particular the low down on Wenzhou.
Shining_brow:
No prob!
Btw - re: Wenzhou... worst drivers I've ever encountered!!!! Think of people who were poor farmers a decade or so ago, and then give them a HUGE lotto win (think, US jackpot without the taxes)... multiply by the 2 million who got that sort of money...
HOWEVER... WZ does have a couple of good Indian restaurants!!! One is really good! One is pretty good (and I haven't tried the third)
Thanks guys. Ningbo looks great. Sadly this position is not for Ningbo it is for Cixi City which I think is about an hour away by road. I could of course journey to Ningbo on weekends, but after living in such a dire place devoid of any sort of stimulation for the last few months, I'd like my day-to-day abode to be much more western-friendly: a yoga lesson, drinks with other foreigners, nightclub dancing, join a gym perhaps, find a swimming pool. That sort of vibe.
earthizen:
Fair enough. In this case you can use the foot-in-the-door technique. First Cixi then Ningbo. Rome isn't built in a day, two is not bad. 
earthizen:
I don't know if Renqui is among the five, but my bet is that you have far less chance looking for antibiotics after moving to Cixi. This is a relative world.
The good news is, you can tell your future grandkids you survived the most polluted spot on planet Earth.
Figures released last month by World Health Organisation (WHO) that ranked the world’s most polluted cities, included five Chinese cities – all of them in Hebei – in a “dirty thirty”. Article dated June, 2016. Are you the "lucky winner", Katet?
This air pollution map is dated 2015. Look at other countries around PRC for comparison. I am sure you can find out where you are. Those numbers, btw, are NOT highway numbers. 
Source : Which City Has The World’s Worst Air Pollution? Hint, It’s In China --- March 14, 2015 http://brilliantmaps.com/air-pollution/
Shining_brow:
I take 45 mins by bus to get to 'downtown', and 1 full hour to get to the city centre(-ish).
I don't know where you're from, but 1 hour is within commute distance for some on here!
Katet:
Earthizen, you are right on the money - I don't breathe the air up here, I smoke it. At least twice a week we go over the 500 index up here. And rarely does it dip below 300. For an asthmatic it is quite simply, hell on earth. I severely regret not doing enough research when choosing my Chinese domicile. Severely. Living here is exquisite purgatory. I am definitely paying for my sins - this life and past ones! But at least I have a month's vacation to look forward to soon. And then after that, just one more month of notice period before I relocate elsewhere to a more hospitable China.
Katek, ...hahahaha...you have me rolling on the ground when you said you smoke, not breath. 
Have you heard of the saying baptism by fire? The way you are "smoking", or shall I say, being smoked, reminds me of that.
The good news is, the experience right after this kind of baptism is usually extremely positive. Hey, talking about pastlife, you probably have had one or more in China. Visit places with ancient monuments (real, not fakes) and notice if some of them give you a strong déjà vu experience. Trust your own feelings. A month of holiday, good! Have fun!
Shining_brow:
You too, huh???
When looking out of plane windows, (and sometimes not), I get impressions of how invaders came and attacked (or not) during various warring periods - sometimes with colours (ie, 'uniform' types)
Katet:
Hahaha. Oh you guys. I have definitely not dwelled in the Middle Kingdom prior to my current sad life. If I had, I am almost certain my guardian angel, who is usually as dependable as my one damn chin hair, would have kicked in and sent me somewhere more hospitable. Like Syria.
earthizen:
Sorry I missed your replies.
@shining. Yeap. Not bad at all, in your case. Normally you need to go into the "twilight zone", or "sleepy zone" (but not asleep) to access your subconscious, to see those images you saw. They are valid.
@Katek Haha, Syria, you have me rolling on the floor again. You need to tell them what you want beforehand. Your guardian angels usually listen, unless it is something critical that no matter how horrible it looks on the surface, there is some kind of lesson you MUST learn to avoid BIGGER ones down the road, or karma settlement. In either case I think you passed the test already. Look before you leap, FEEL the vibes of a place (even remotely), and the person (e.g. recruiter if you're using one) in all your future encounters (not just in china, but all).
Hey everyone. I used to live in Cixi.,.. I'll have to rain all over your parade. Cixi is 1,5 hours from Ningbo. There are about 40 not very friendly foreigners and 2 bars. Buses run until 5,30 so good luck with your day trips to Ningbo. It's literally a horrible town with nothing to do.
earthizen:
Hey, thanks. That's why I recommended Katek to use Cixi as a stepping stone to Ningbao. Cixi is supposed to be on the western side / edge of Ningbao. Did you travel to Ningbao when you were living in Cixi?
