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Q: Why do foreigners complain so much about China but stay here anyway?
We all complain about the horrible pollution, the cheaters, the traffic but why are you here if it is so bad? What makes you stay in a nation that most of you apparently don't like very much? I stay because my husband and I invested in a small business here that is growing and we could not have started very many businesses back home in America for only $10,000. What's your excuse for staying?
teaching critical thinking instead of working my ass off for half wages to support dead beats in america is an honourable thing and i sleep at night a with clearer conscious, but i do wander if some other country is more deserving of my talent. living for materialism was never my style, spend all my money traveling i would rather live in the 2 greatest countries on earth singapore or japan but my age is a problem in working there and my retirement could not sustain a life there for 25 years without employment. americas affirmative action kept me out of medical school and asia
age discrimination keeps me out of korea and taiwan, you live with hand your dealt and life goes on, but i think people naturally complain no matter where they live. good therapy i suppose.
:
Actually it is a sort of therapy and it goes along with the will to getting adapted in a Country where everything it just doesn't make sense too much. Trying to make sense out of the nonsense I see around it's just a mental and spiritual experience that by the end of the day it gets me exhausted.
Some stay because of family. Some don't have the money to leave. Some like to complain but don't actually hate it. Some like it more than they hate it and want to stick around and see it get better. Some aren't happy anywhere so they might as well stay. Some are even running from "home".
There's lots of reasons, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. 
I complain because I can. I complain about my home, I'm taxed to death but at least people don't crap on the streets, we even pick up after our dogs (at least I do).
If there was nothing to complain about, then no one would.
People need to understand that complaining about some things does not equal hating all things.
Techtronix:
Too many people come to China expecting to have the same comforts and conveniences as they do back home. China is unique and we need to adapt to China, not vice-versa
Foreigners are just accustomed to the freedom of being allowed to complain, and stand out more in a country where complaining is forbidden.
Complain about anything in China, you get three years in a "reeducation through labour" camp, without charge and without trial.
crimochina:
don't you just love these new accounts that claim to be westerners and ask the same goddamn question "why do you say bad things about china?" but don't understand if you were really who you say, you would understand that criticizing is not the same as hating sth.
Traveler:
These new accounts are one of the main reasons I stay on this site 
MissA:
It's frustrating, though, traveler and crimo, just when you think idiocy has been allowed to slip away quietly into the night.... up pops a new account with the exact same questions.
nevermind:
The funny thing is when they use terms like "Cheaters" i don't know about you three, but in Canada you would call them "scammers" or "Con men" or something, but you'd never say "cheaters"
But Chinese understand the direct translation of Pianyi to be cheating, so they think "cheaters" is an appropriate label. Easy way to bust the wu mao every time.
do you critique your husband? do you tell your husband when he has done sth wrong? does that mean you don't like your husband? you seem to claim to be from another country, you never pointed out flaws in your home country?
most expats here love this country and it's people. which is why they risk their freedom by being vocal about what's wrong. because if if magically the ccp made changes accordingly (i believe the overwhelming majority of chinese would like to see the same changes) the greatest beneficiary would be china and chinese people and china would actually emerge as a super "for realses"
i don't see the world as black people white people yellow people etc. i see the world as people.
i do not like to see people live like animals. i do not think "well this is china, they are supposed to live like this"
i do not come here looking to exploit the situation for my own greed and not give a rats ass about the people.
for me, it's not about making good on an "investment" for the next few years, this is my home. sometimes, when i wake up and i look around at my apartment i say "damn it is dirty", then (after my coffee) i grab the mop and broom and clean up. do understand that?
i understand chinese are heavily indoctrinated. and the process kills logical reasoning. which is why they can accept "you should love your country, do not say bad things about the ccp" but accept "the ccp and your parents love you and will critique you and control you because they love you" those 2 ideas conflict logically. which is exactly why your post does not make sense. pointing out that my steak is under cooked does not mean i don't like steak.
Traveler:
That was an interesting point about coming here for greed to exploit the Chinese. That is exactly what Fluid and his husband seem to be doing, by starting a business on $10,000.
Oh wait. An expat would have mentioned getting screwed by the compulsory Chinese partner and the government. And the ridiculous difficulties encountered so a subhuman foreigner can be allowed to contribute huge sums of money for little or no returns.
Seminal Fluid is actually just another of the CFTU accounts that Admin keeps banning. Check some of it's other comments.
crimochina:
i don't deal with business stuff but i'm pretty sure a foreigner would need more than 62,000rmb to invest in a business.
Traveler:
I think it varies, but I had to show liquid assets of at least US$100,000
Scandinavian:
for USD10000 I am pretty sure you can start one of those businesses where you sell steamed sweet potato out of some weird contraption strapped to a tricycle.
Some people just like to complain,that's it.
maggiegirly:
China has problems so does every other country too,Probably China has more problems than other countries as China is still a developing country.It takes time to catch up.
It's because they are poor broke back home and coming here only furiates them because they probably couldn't do anything back home. That plus I'd say that they are just pessimistic and probably think everything should be given to them....on a silver platter no less!
Basically, this is a complaint about people complaining, right?
Like others said complaining about something that sucks doesn't always mean you hate EVERYTHING about China. The pollution does suck, the traffic does suck, the lack of personal space does suck, and a lot of other things do suck. And if something sucks, I will complain about it. I think that's pretty natural.
With that said, the only reason I'm here is because of my wife. Otherwise I would have left a long time ago. When she is ready to leave I will be so happy that I can finally leave this country. It's been a lot of good memories but there's no way I could stay here a few more years and put up with all the negatives of China.
Nessquick:
I am in complete same state of mind. Just waiting my wife to be ready ...
That's what I though myself. Why stay in China if I'm everyday complaining? After thinking about this I booked a flight back home and I told my boss with 1 month of advantage that I was going to leave. I don't like to complain about things so I decided to act.
I'm leaving in 3 days (I will make a goodbye post of course) and I'm really happy about my decision.
Obviously, I don't have any wife, kids or real economic problems and I'm really young (22) so I can act freely as I want. But I can totally understand those people that HAVE to be in China and complain about all those horrible things you find here. For those who have no need to be here, I suggest them to do the same I'm going to do, run run run!!!
:
So, you're leaving too. I thought you will go to Japan, is that right? Anyway, wherever you go have a better experience than here. God be with you! Si no me equivoco hablas espanol, verdad? Bueno, que te vaya de lo mejor que se puede alla adonde vayas.
grimya:
Muchas gracias :)!!
Efectivamente primero voy a Japón 10 días de vacaciones (me las merezco :D) y luego ya vuelta pa España a disfrutar del veranito ^^!!
Un abrazo y que te vaya todo bien en China ;)
GuilinRaf:
Oye! Hispanoparlantes!
Yo pase el invierno en Puerto Rico, donde la temperatura bajo a 26C (que horror!
).
Exito en sus planes futuros!
I'm leaving as soon as my wife gets her visa. We'll come back sometime within the next never. I love China, but Chinese people ruin it for me.
t91camp:
"I love China, but Chinese people ruin it for me." - Hulk
http://d22zlbw5ff7yk5.cloudfront.net/images/cm-29490-050938f1f39e78.gif
maggiegirly:
Great,Did your wife apply for the visa yet? If it's a partner visa,X ray is required,so,Is your wife going to do it as she's Pregnant? or she would simply get a tourist visa ?
Hulk:
Yeah, we applied. And we've decided to do the X-Ray since philbravery did it too.
You say: "We all complain about the horrible pollution.." blah blah blah. You're smart, actually you hide behind this "we" when in fact you don't sound like a foreigner but a Chinese guy. Why do you ask this stupid question? If you don't like us complaining, just feel free to not join this Forum. You're more than welcome to go elsewhere.
So no matter where you live you're not allowed to complain? Is that what you're saying? Stupid question really. People complain about their own countries all the time.
nevermind:
No doubt. I live in Canada and complain all the time. It's just nature. And Canada kicks the crap out of China for living.
GuilinRaf:
Actually, I just think we are not allowed to complain about "another country"....
A good way to find out is by going directly to the source and asking them yourselves....here are a couple of names I will throw out for fun, (Traveler, Crimo) Good luck on asking these two I'm sure they have lots to tell you!
It is human nature to find fault with things. It is those who are truly gifted which do not complain.
Scandinavian:
Wouldn't someone truly gifted be better at finding things to complain about. E.g. if you are gifted in the field of piano playing, you might not complain much about pollution or cars honking, but you might complain endlessly about your grand piano not being shiny enough. Being gifted vs. not is just different standpoints to complain from.
But thumbs up for calling everyone on this site "not gifted" :)
Why do Chinese complain about the west but all move there?
LAR:
Yeah never, why do they move to the West? In fact, I'd like to know why there are 1 million Asians (I don't know how many of them are Chinese) living ILLEGALLY in my country..the United States of America? * I have NEVER heard the Chinese or Koreans,etc. discuss that. :(
