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Q: On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you describe your "loneliness" in China? (10 being the highest)
Ten. Not being able to leave my apartment without people literally screaming how out-of-place I am is beyond anything I've ever experienced. Add the scam artists and dishonest employers to that, and there's nothing not lonely about living here.
Jnusb416:
That sucks. There are days where I feel like I'm completely alone in the world, but they are not as common as they used to be. I actually don't have any expat friends, and only know of 3 English speaking expats in the city, none of which are in my age range. I end up hanging out with my students or other students at this college. If it wasn't for my love of Asian culture, and the fact that I don't mind hearing people speak a language I don't understand, I'd go nuts. Maybe it's the city you're living in? I don't know if I fit in exactly, but people don't come up to me to practice English, unless they're my students, and even then they are usually too shy. In the city, maybe one person will say hello, and that is not every time I go, only occasionally at night. Maybe you should think about moving to a different area or even a different city, see if that helps.
kchur:
Tried that. I've lived in four provinces, and I once took a job that required being in a new city every week. And, trust me, understanding Chinese just makes it a lot worse. They're really two-faced when they think you can't understand them.
Jnusb416:
Maybe it's time for you to move to another country, where they don't speak Chinese?
On a good day, when hanging out with friends, it might go down to an 2 or a 3. Even at home on a great day, it only went to a 1 when I was truly happy and wasn't thinking about it. Generally I am a lonely person as it is. On days where no one has time to hang out with me, it can get as high as a 10, especially since I can't talk to friends from home most of the time.
Lonely? I wish. I have to create that scenario by putting on the earphones and shutting it all out. Don't get me wrong, I really don't mind the organized confusion, it entertains me. But lonely I am not. Besides, my wife and her family see to that...sometimes against my will. Having said that, I can get emotional around special times like Christmas, but that's more about missing my family and small hometown in NFLD, not necessarily lonliness.
I have visited China for almost 15 years now. I have lived in China for almost two years now. I can truly say I have never felt lonesome while here. Maybe some nostalgy, maybe miss a particualr meal, or get a bit emotional during certain specific dates, but never lonesome.
Maybe I am a bit different, or the square nut in the round hole. But I have been very lucky to have made some real good, close friendships here with locals. And they do worry and care for me, I get a lot of invites to many activities, and have adquired an extended, local family of friends who call me brother, daddy, uncle, etc.
There are so many great things to see here, so many different things to do, that so far, I have not experience loneliness yet, as I said above.
My first few months in China I would say were a 9-10. Then I made some friends and started picking up girls at the disco for fun times 
, so then it was about a 4-5, then eventually I ended up with a gf that would never leave my place, so it went down to a -3, because I was often wishing I had more time alone. Now I am ready to go back to my 4-5 days...much more fun.
4ish, Happy and having fun, just hard to find people in this small down that you can have deep insightful conversations with, hell even ones that you can just kick back and share a beer without it being a big dog and pony show or a drinking contest.
wow... got some real honest answers here... thought I was the only one lonely... keep in mind, everything is business here, keep yourself busy with what you are doing or what you love doing, then evrything gonna be fine....
