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Q: Where will you go after China?
Will you always live abroad or will you return home someday? I'm thinking of leaving Beijing but I don't want to go home, so I'm looking at jobs in Europe.
I want to go in Japan again, I had the best years of my life there! Japan is the opposite of China when it comes to manners and politeness, also Japanese people are way cooler and much more friendly than Chinese (I mean real friendship, not hypocrisy "look at my laowai friend *face gain*"), salaries are much higher and today China's first tier cities are on par with Osaka or Nagoya when it comes to the cost of living, while being less developed and less interesting (residential highrises and giant malls are not interesting, sorry China, you once had a culture).
But landing a job in Japan is not that easy, it's an very competitive market and Japanese people are extremely qualified in their own field, employers don't bother hiring foreigners except if they have no choices at all.
Otherwise I might go to Indonesia, I have always been fascinated by this island nation, so many remote places that are among the most difficult to reach in the entire world, so many different faces, minorities and barely explored cultures in some of those islands. Jakarta is still a shithole because of corruption, but it's improving quickly, they are building a MTR now, massive infrastructures and if you look at photos on websites like skyscrapercity the city has really improved in the recent years, many slums have been removed.
Robk:
I was thinking of living in Japan for a few years. It sounds like the part of Asia I actually WANTED to explore and not the disappointment I received with China mainland.
Chhris:
I am not sure if the situation is that much better in Japan, salary ranges between 13000 to 16000 RMB and no accomodation is given. Whereas in China you might get the same salary in some of the T1 cities and it is very much possible that they also give you a free place to live. Oh and prices in Japan are double than that of in China...
Eorthisio:
Chhris -> What a load of BS, are you some sort of wumao? First FTs are much better considered and respected in Japan, students are also much better behaved because they are enrolled based on their results and not how much money their parents have, nothing is worse than teaching spoiled kids who have no desire to learn., Then the >>average<< salary as an ESL teacher is around 23000-25000RMB and the only requirement is to be a native speaker (which I am not, I didn't teach there, worked in another field), my friends there get free accommodation from their employer and these are real apartments with all the modern comfort, not the single room shitholes that most employers provide in China. Finally daily consumer goods are more expensive yes but not that much because Japan has a 7% VAT and China 20%, you can be confident about what you eat, unlike in China where the only way to trust what you eat is to buy overpriced imported groceries, you can still eat locally produced food at every meals, as well as cadmium and other factory grade chemicals in it that will damage your brain on the (shorter than you think) long run.
I want to work in other asian countries I think. And, when I plan to retire, while still working part-time, maybe move to South America. I can not see going back to America and dealing with the BS there any more. I did that for 45 years of my life. The world is too big of a place to explore and experience.
I'm heading to my home country, France, because it's the simplest option to get out of China : it's a pain in the ass for a Chinese to get a visa for pretty much anywhere. I does not have to be a permanent thing. I wish I could have one year in Japan, I would be happy to spend some time in Scandinavian countries, in Australia and New-Zealand.
I want to go in Japan again, I had the best years of my life there! Japan is the opposite of China when it comes to manners and politeness, also Japanese people are way cooler and much more friendly than Chinese (I mean real friendship, not hypocrisy "look at my laowai friend *face gain*"), salaries are much higher and today China's first tier cities are on par with Osaka or Nagoya when it comes to the cost of living, while being less developed and less interesting (residential highrises and giant malls are not interesting, sorry China, you once had a culture).
But landing a job in Japan is not that easy, it's an very competitive market and Japanese people are extremely qualified in their own field, employers don't bother hiring foreigners except if they have no choices at all.
Otherwise I might go to Indonesia, I have always been fascinated by this island nation, so many remote places that are among the most difficult to reach in the entire world, so many different faces, minorities and barely explored cultures in some of those islands. Jakarta is still a shithole because of corruption, but it's improving quickly, they are building a MTR now, massive infrastructures and if you look at photos on websites like skyscrapercity the city has really improved in the recent years, many slums have been removed.
Robk:
I was thinking of living in Japan for a few years. It sounds like the part of Asia I actually WANTED to explore and not the disappointment I received with China mainland.
Chhris:
I am not sure if the situation is that much better in Japan, salary ranges between 13000 to 16000 RMB and no accomodation is given. Whereas in China you might get the same salary in some of the T1 cities and it is very much possible that they also give you a free place to live. Oh and prices in Japan are double than that of in China...
Eorthisio:
Chhris -> What a load of BS, are you some sort of wumao? First FTs are much better considered and respected in Japan, students are also much better behaved because they are enrolled based on their results and not how much money their parents have, nothing is worse than teaching spoiled kids who have no desire to learn., Then the >>average<< salary as an ESL teacher is around 23000-25000RMB and the only requirement is to be a native speaker (which I am not, I didn't teach there, worked in another field), my friends there get free accommodation from their employer and these are real apartments with all the modern comfort, not the single room shitholes that most employers provide in China. Finally daily consumer goods are more expensive yes but not that much because Japan has a 7% VAT and China 20%, you can be confident about what you eat, unlike in China where the only way to trust what you eat is to buy overpriced imported groceries, you can still eat locally produced food at every meals, as well as cadmium and other factory grade chemicals in it that will damage your brain on the (shorter than you think) long run.
There are so many places I want to explore and live just to absorb the local culture. I figure when I get to around 38-40 years old I will just hop around to random locations to live & work there for at least a month.
Some places that I am very interested in to live for a bit are:
- Japan
- Hong Kong
- Taiwan
- Singapore
- Korea
- France
- Spain
- Germany
- Russia
- U.K. (mostly Scotland and Ireland)
- Developed parts of South Africa
- Chile, Argentina and Brazil
- Thailand
After China, I figure it will be Japan or Singapore. Anyone have any feedback on Singapore? I have never been.
royceH:
I've been there. It's international. And very clean. Lots of Chinese but not a spitter amongst them. Expensive.
I want to live in The Philippines but my wife doesn't. She thinks it would be kind of like bumming around (it would be) and she's not ready for that.
So we'll be going to Australia.
If an opportunity arose I'd be more than happy to live in New Zealand. I lived there for a year when I was a young bloke and have always wanted to return. The South Island is quite magnificent, and the people are great. Normal.
Robk:
If you are like me then, you probably want to live in the Philippines for the nice, slow-paced, relaxed experience of just being an island guy for a few years. I had that experience for a few weeks and it is utterly amazing. Filipinos ONLY leave their country for money (well maybe due to a bit of corruption)... if they could stay and make the same bucks, they would.
If you lived in Coron for a few years you would ABSOLUTELY love it. I have been there twice (and if I go twice you know its good) and I would go again... I was thinking of getting a piece of real estate there but the laws don't allow foreigners to own land (just the structure). So waiting for this developer to start his condo project.
Anyway, if you can figure out a way to make money there (probably in the tourism industry) then I would certainly recommend it.
royceH:
Right...Coron... I'm going to check that out. As it is I'm itching to go somewhere during this winter break. Was thinking HK, but I shall look at this Coron place.
Xiexie, Ren.
meiduo:
I like Philippines too,it's the heaven for diving.If i have enough money i would go there to open a resort.
Home sweet home. Home is where the heart is, but people here have lost their hearts. Does that make them homeless?
Actually, Germany will probably be my initial and perhaps final destination if it's good living. I'm not German, but Holland is just across the border.
home - for sanity, fresh air, healthy food and conversations that goes beyond:
"What is your name?"
"where are you from?"
"Do you like China?"
"What does your husband think about you being in China?"
royceH:
Do you like Chinese food? (No, it's disgusting and should be banned. Sigh.... I used to...)
What's your telephone number? (I don't tell people that information and especially not to some random person that I'm never going to meet again. I mean, are you serious! Really? WTF...)
Myanmar. That's where the company I work for is currently looking toward.
It will be shit but it will be a good buck for one step closer to early retirement.
- I am going to that place where everybody is fat and only eat MacDonalds or KFC.
- I am going to that place where nobody can speak Chinese or use chopsticks because it is too hard for them.
- I am going to that place which is banned from exporting certain food products into China because they are dirty and might harm people.
- I am going to that place where everyone is an ATM machine on legs.
- I am going to that place where the government mismanages the economy all of the time and is only interested in starting wars.
- I am going to that place where people can't get a job so they have to go to China and call themselves teachers.
I am not sure where this place is that I am going to but it must exist because I am told that it does by the Chinese.
cbrian:
can I be your baggage handler? I think I like to join you also.
dgz:
Ahh, the mystical "Foreignland" 
I too, will join you on this voyage.
I still have a number of S/E Asia places to visit.... Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and maybe Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia .... bu ji...... maybe make it home to Canada at 65, 7 years.
for now...China is HOME and very probably will be for good.... excursions expected in due time.
Vietnam, most likely. It has a bad rap in some circles, but when I visited, I found that I prefered the culture to China. Plus, it is gorgeous. And, learning is valued. No, not dicking around on your smartphone while an expensive white person tries to make you play an educational game. Learning.
Barring that, I might go to the Middle East...the only reason in the world I would do so is for $$$$. One year of msery in Saudi Arabia, and I could pretty much do grad school loan-free. Apparently, that country has trouble attracting strong women who can make choices for themselves and needs to lure us in with truckloads of cash. Who knows why?
DrMonkey:
Vietnam also have the chaotic aspects of China, the corruption, and the corner-cutting. They have much less of a victim complex, they are more open to others, culture is not neutered, the energy is quite incredible, and they also know when to sit and relax.
