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Q: Do you live on site, and how do you find it effects your private life?
This is specifically directed at teachers.
Many schools give you accommodation off-site - even if it's an external building with dorms that belong to the school.
My current deal is that we live actually on-site.
School is doing ok putting all the bits and pieces in the room that are needed - TV etc. Kitchen, albeit no cooking facilities except a hot-pot stove thing at the moment.
Big thing for me is; WIth living on-site, there is no privacy. Everyone starting with the security will know what you're doing, who you're seeing, and who your girlfriend is and more. I have a big problem with this. WHen off work, I want to be just that, and I don't want my life to be the topic of daily discussion in the staff or kid's canteen.
The others of you out there, particularly those on-site, how do you find it?
Irritatingly, they won't give accommodation outside, and there is no living allowance. It is a Government sponsored Agency from Beijing.
10 years 31 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - China
Look at your Contract, again! What does it say under 'accommodation'?
Most Contracts I read with 'housing included', there is '1-2 rooms with TV, Internet, furnished Kitchen with gas cooker, and some utensils, bathroom/WC, heat, and so on'.
If your Contract is similar and kitchen is not furnished, School is in 'Contract breach'. You can walk-away from your School (and on-site apartment) without repercussions. How do you know, 'it is Government sponsored Agency'?
I lived on Campus in Lin'an, Jiangsu for few months. You will be part of every exercise, or event in the School's garden. You will know for every 'end of the class' or 'lunch' & 'dinner' bell. You should also add to your 'schedule book' daily 'Raising flag event'.
Look at your Contract, again! What does it say under 'accommodation'?
Most Contracts I read with 'housing included', there is '1-2 rooms with TV, Internet, furnished Kitchen with gas cooker, and some utensils, bathroom/WC, heat, and so on'.
If your Contract is similar and kitchen is not furnished, School is in 'Contract breach'. You can walk-away from your School (and on-site apartment) without repercussions. How do you know, 'it is Government sponsored Agency'?
I lived on Campus in Lin'an, Jiangsu for few months. You will be part of every exercise, or event in the School's garden. You will know for every 'end of the class' or 'lunch' & 'dinner' bell. You should also add to your 'schedule book' daily 'Raising flag event'.
Well, as of now, contract is un-signed
It is Government sponsored Agency s they have found 30-odd teachers from various places and it's for the Bao'an District Government in SHenzhen, but the agent was sent by Beijing. You know how Guanxi works? They seem to have got lucy.
In fairness, they are not the only ones.
CARLGODWIN1983:
I should have added. What I don't like, as stated, is that I am living on-site with no privacy, and people can't visit privately.
I don't want to be the topic of conversation everyday.
icnif77:
Don't worry for their 'luck'! They are making monnies while you're working for them.
Only Chinese (and foreign) teachers on Campus. I look at 'housing included' as part of my salary. 'Housing on Campus'....your salary must be very high. Butt...probably it is not, because in that case, you would probably have 'housing allowance'.icnif77:
I just want to make sure, you don't believe in title 'Gov. sponsored'. Chinese just add any BS to their title. Any!
Look at this advert on Dave's:
China TEFL Network (CTN) as well as Helen Group www.helengroup.com in its association and direct partnership with Zhejiang University (the top 2 university in China) has been conducting the business of recruiting teachers, enrollment of international students, curriculum formation and website design and marketing and a number of other strategic business models for the past 13 years in China. CTN is also the only SAFEA authorized company recruiting and assigning foreign talents in mainland China (http://en.chinatefl.com/about/License.htm).
CTN doesn't have anything to do with any Chinese University. If you would know CTN closely (like I do), you would know that whole advert is pure BS. Word by word!
I lived on campus for my first six months in China. Absolutely hated it. NO privacy at all. Also what made it worse was they locked the gate at 11pm and you had to wake them up to come in.. theoretically you had to be home before 11.. Me? Never. Also no friends were allowed to stay over night. So yeah, your's sounds a better deal than I had. In the end I used some of my salary to live off campus. I rented an apartment for the last half of my contract then left that school as soon as my contract was done and never looked back..
Living on campus=something I would never do again.
Have always lived on campus. last 2 years, no curfew, visitors allowed (they couldn't stop anyone really) Now it is a different story. Curfew, pairs of eyes watching comings and goings, CCTV. I would describe it as an 'open prison'. BUT as i need to use campus transport every day, it is convenient. Early days, but outlook not comfortable...
Good luck!CARLGODWIN1983:
I have to say, I think you might last longer there than I will here.
I have a good deal here work-wise. Two full days and two half days per week with Wednesdays off, but the fact that I am likely to be socialess for ten months is not appealing in the slightest no matter how much they spend on my room.
be happy that you stay at least in the same city. If you are not a teacher and life on site you have a worse life if you have a family
My first teaching gig was a live on campus deal. Never again. The 10pm curfew was a joke, particularly since the school was out in this new development zone (about half way between the real city and the airport) and surrounded by factories so there was no real nightlife at all. Nearest shop (not surpermarket, SHOP!) was about a 1-2 kilometer walk. Current job has a completely seperate apartment provided in a proper (actually quite nice) location and such arrangements would be have to be guaranteed before I even look at any job offers from a new employer.
Basically, I'm an adult and I shall be treated like one. There's no good reason why an employer should have control of their worker's lives to such an extent. My suggestion would be to tell them it's either give me either a housing allowance or my own place (make sure it's a proper place too before you sign it) or find a new teacher. Remember that in our field, supply (teachers) doesn't meet demand (jobs). So why put up with a second rate deal? They're schools, not charities.
ups something wrong with the site... wanted to answer a different question ~.~
Is it a secondary school or a university where you would be working at? There is a huge difference between living in the campus of an ele or high school and the university. I wouldn't recommend living in the campus of a secondary school for the reasons previous posters have mentioned. They have stupid curfews and usually you can't take guests back to your place so every time you want some action with your gf you would have to go to a love hotel . Universities, on the other hand are more lenient about who you bring to your place and what time you get back. Sorrel didn't complain because she lives in a university campus but as you see other commenters who lived in ele-secondary schools had a much harder time dealing with the rules of these schools.
sorrel:
to be honest, it is insulting to professional adults to impose arbitrary 11.00pm curfews.
Those with any amount of responsibility will be in class on time, but your own free time is your own.
As i said, the fact that i needed the university transport located on the campus - bus leaving at 6.55 am - was the only convenience for living on campus.
When you want to go to the other side of the city on a Friday night, trying to be back on campus before lock-down is a pain in the ass.
Then they get all Fascist if you are not in your room at night - talk about interrogation and shouting.
We are all adults and we all know how to conduct ourselves (mostly).
the FT accommodation block is at the far end of the campus away from everyone else.
and being told 'it is for your own safety', all i can say is 'bo****s'
