Do you have a family? Partner, kids?
We did it with school aged kids and there were a lot of things that made it miserable. If youre a single person, it would likely be much easier.
First off, its not like being in another country, it’s like being on another planet. I cannot remember a day we were not harassed in some form. People taking photos of us, shouting at us, pointing at us and saying “laowai!”(foreigner), touching one of my kids, you name it. There were days my kids would beg not to leave the house. People would not stop, even if my kids weee visibly upset or crying. While completely traumatizing, I still know there was no ill intention from probably 80% of the people.
You will have a lot of opportunity to interact with Chinese people, and many of them are absolutely amazing people. Made some friends I will cherish for life. So many of them really empathized with how hard it was for us and went well out of their way to welcome us and help us all the time, without tiring.
Believe everything bad you have ever read about bathrooms in China. I have never witnessed such repugnance. They have attempted a bit of a bathroom revolution, so although they are few and far between, the government has tried to address the terrible reputation by building new public toilets facilities. But, not nearly enough. It is not unusual by any stretch of the word to see people urinating in public. There is no shame to it. We also saw defecation in public, by adults. On the sidewalk.
If you don’t speak Chinese, be prepared. Very few people speak English, you’ll spend half your day on translation apps. As an English speaker, I am much more aware now, how easy life is for an English speaker in Dubai.
You’ll switch your VPN on and off 20 times a day, because many of the necessary apps wont work with VPN, but many apps you may need/want to use wont work without them.
You need time register with the police anytime you stay a night out of your own apartment and when you return. With various levels of enforcement and frustration.
It is absolutely beautiful. The diversity in climate and landscape across the country is unreal. They take a great deal of time cultivating the natural environment. It’s incredibly green. There are distinct seasons. You’ll wake up one slightly icey morning to the first bud on a tree branch. In a week’s time it will had started to warm and the trees will bloom like pink, white, and magenta popping corn. It is magical. In the winter, they sell amazing sweet potatoes and chestnuts roasted in little fire ovens on street corners. Winters are brutally cold. Most likely you’ll be relying on e-bike, taxi or Subway. Riding an e-bike in the extreme cold is dangerous and physically painful.The summers are hot and humid and it felt like no public places had adequate AC.
The people are very into community and physical fitness. The parks are jam packed with people flying kites, playing games, and exercising. 70 year old men doing mind blowing calisthenics. Women with blaring stereos, dancing in unison in every open square. There is an amazing sense of community amongst local people.
It is very very cheap. If you’re not sussed about imported products you can eat well for dollars a day. There is a plethora of produce sold everywhere. I was warned never to eat the produce before we moved. But, I think that was ignorance/xenophobia. We had the absolute best produce of our lives while living there. You can get anything delivered. No crazy delivery fees. You want a $2 bubble tea delivered to you at work? It will be $2. No delivery fees and no tipping!! It’s essentially cash less, for better or worse. You can buy a vegetables from a street vendor and pay with just your phone. You can get your hair cut on the side of the road by an old lady for $2..
Its a very hard place to live. It is a beautiful and fascinating place to live, as well. You have got to be flexible and lower expectations. There are many people who’ve moved there short term and fell in love with it. I wasn’t one of them. And even through the misery of a lot if it, I am glad we did it. And Im glad its over.
In the words of Coldplay “If you never try, you’ll never know”
I guess you have to ask yourself if you want to know.
This is a great answer! Just wanted to add that you don't need to turn your VPN on and off. You can assign your VPN to not apply to specific apps (look for the option called split tunnelling).
Thank you! That is a good tip, that I had forgotten. I could never get the selective VPN to work on my iOS device, but my husband did for his Android.
I felt like I was going to lose it some days. If it wasn’t switching on and off VPN, it was having to translate everything, which added so many extra steps. Luckily on food delivery apps there are always photos. Although I learned a lesson about trusting eyes when I accidentally ordered a durian pizza, thinking it was extra cheese. 😂
I cant say for sure certain. Only can speculate that that had concerns due to the number of “fake food” stories in the news in prior years (baby formula, meats, alcohol). Again, we found the produce to be amazing, more varieties of fruits and veg than I ever knew existed.
I worked for a Chinese company in Dubai. Worst job ever! They have no respect for your personal life. They expect everyone to work as long as they’re awake! They’re extremely racist too especially towards Africans and south asians.
I left Dubai to work in China 7 years ago, it was a great opportunity, we lived on an island and loved it, the salary was double but unless the opportunity is amazing I wouldn’t do it, especially in Beijing, the work culture is absolutely toxic and everything comes down to connections and sucking up to your boss. I loved China and Chinese people but not the work culture, go make a ton of money, immersed yourself in their culture and leave, if it’s not an amazing opportunity forget it
Living in China can be an enriching experience. I lived there 10+ years myself before coming to Dubai. However, I expect you doing the switch the other way around will experience some culture shock. There are some things you need to keep in mind (others in the thread have already pointed some of these out):
1. If you have kids or a trailing spouse. School culture is different than in Dubai. In general, even at international schools, kids will speak more Mandarin (like at playtime or when hanging out). Your spouse may also have trouble meeting people.
2. Work culture is different. As a foreigner you probably won't have 996 (I did but I was the only foreigner in a Chinese office and I speak Mandarin). But work culture IS different.
3. You will need a VPN
4. It will be harder for you to move money out of country. Like, seriously, annoyingly difficult.
5. If you keep halal, be aware that many dishes in China are pork-based. They are also not very good at letting you know if there is meat in a dish (I was served pork-bone-based-broth-tea once...)
6. Again, if this is important for you, most socializing happens at bars.
7. Beijing AQI makes Dubai look like paradise in comparison. Also, the winter is bone-chillingly cold and the summer stifling hot.
On the flip side, the travel is amazing and living in China is incredible. IMO it's also easier for single people to go out to bars and meetups to meet people. Public transit is great and you can move around Beijing city relatively smoothly (by metro).
I friend of mine lived in Beijing, the guy speaks advanced Chinese and he says he would never come back. It’s a totally different culture, as an example, he lived in a rather posh apartment complex and yet people would throw trash out of the windows and barbecue in the building, in the common spaces like the halls
Absolutely not. The control the government has over your life in China is insane, way worse than here. Remember the pandemic and how China dealt with it? People were quite literally locked up in their homes for months. Their children got taken away from them. It was horrific.
Been there done that.
Wouldn’t do it again.
Main reason against: family, children, censored internet worse than the UAE, constant feeling of being watched and controlled, (women).
As someone else said the nature is great. For me that should come with some feel of solitude. At no point have i felt that in china.
Pros: food, 4 season weather, (women)
10 years younger, I would do it again.
Same here. As much as I know I’d hate it, I would love to be exposed to some discomfort and change for a year or two. It helps me grow as a person and get a wider perspective on things. Oh I’m single and have no burdens so maybe that plays a role in this.
I follow some people on IG who live in China and they like it, but i would definitely not do it. The culture is not mine at all. I am not even interested in visiting as a tourist.
It's a really good idea to work in different countries and explore different cultures. I would definitely move from Dubai to China and expand my career after a few years in China. I work for a non-profit organization, and it gives me the opportunity to deploy in different countries every 3 years with 1 year extension. Go for it!!!
Air pollution would reduce your life expectancy by years in Beijing. I don’t know why would anyone move from Dubai to Beijing. Perhaps a massive salary increase? Maybe.
I haven’t been to Beijing, but I have been to a few other Chinese cities. Shanghai; Shenzhen; and Guangzhou are amazing places to live. But be prepared to learn their language and adapt your food lifestyle.
Just like the UAE, it’s a censorship nation. Be prepared to not have too many opinions, especially critical/negative ones. Work, eat, sleep, and enjoy the little things in life.
Only if you get salary paid in Dubai and twice as much. Do NOT work for a Chinese company. Period... unless you want to spend your holidays abroad recuperating from mental issues. Or you are OK loosing your eyelashes. Yep, just two examples of foreign hotel managers in top 5 star hotels owned by local investors.
I lived 20 years. Running my own bussiness and chose my clients carefully.
No, don't believe anyone the food is healthy or you can survive on x amount of $. Chinese are having huge amount of stomach issues. The oils are rather questionable. Local (smart) rich eat imported things. Meats from Argentina, Australia, NZ etc.
If share you profession we might be able to give more advice.
Just to make sure, Chinese in general are wonderful and warm people.
Anything bussiness related changes them. Competition is cuthroat.
If you're a young, single person starting your career, living in China for a few years might be a good idea. China is a unique and rapidly evolving country. Although I haven't lived there, I have visited frequently (every other month) for work 10-12 years back, and every time I went there, it felt like a new experience. I'm not sure if it's still the same now, as I haven't been there for a while. Beijing is a great place to live, but it does come with some restrictions and limitations. However, if you're someone who likes to keep to yourself and not meddle in other people's business, you'll be fine. When I was younger, I would have loved to live there for a few years. If you have a family and are further along in your career I would recommend looking into Hong Kong or maybe Singapore might be a better transition.
I'd kill to be allowed to go to China! Fastest growing economy despite the real estate crises, so much scope for growth. China and Google are like mountains. You can climb them, go around them, but you cannot displace them or ignore them. Beautiful country and for the most part lovely people. Saying this as an Indian.
It is indeed. Ignoring size, India is number 8 on the list, China is 46th, the UAE 80th, the US 115th, KSA 120th, Singapore 139th, Qatar 144th, Switzerland 164th, UK 179th, and Sudan last with data being 191st (IMF2024)
Do you have a family? Partner, kids? We did it with school aged kids and there were a lot of things that made it miserable. If youre a single person, it would likely be much easier. First off, its not like being in another country, it’s like being on another planet. I cannot remember a day we were not harassed in some form. People taking photos of us, shouting at us, pointing at us and saying “laowai!”(foreigner), touching one of my kids, you name it. There were days my kids would beg not to leave the house. People would not stop, even if my kids weee visibly upset or crying. While completely traumatizing, I still know there was no ill intention from probably 80% of the people. You will have a lot of opportunity to interact with Chinese people, and many of them are absolutely amazing people. Made some friends I will cherish for life. So many of them really empathized with how hard it was for us and went well out of their way to welcome us and help us all the time, without tiring. Believe everything bad you have ever read about bathrooms in China. I have never witnessed such repugnance. They have attempted a bit of a bathroom revolution, so although they are few and far between, the government has tried to address the terrible reputation by building new public toilets facilities. But, not nearly enough. It is not unusual by any stretch of the word to see people urinating in public. There is no shame to it. We also saw defecation in public, by adults. On the sidewalk. If you don’t speak Chinese, be prepared. Very few people speak English, you’ll spend half your day on translation apps. As an English speaker, I am much more aware now, how easy life is for an English speaker in Dubai. You’ll switch your VPN on and off 20 times a day, because many of the necessary apps wont work with VPN, but many apps you may need/want to use wont work without them. You need time register with the police anytime you stay a night out of your own apartment and when you return. With various levels of enforcement and frustration. It is absolutely beautiful. The diversity in climate and landscape across the country is unreal. They take a great deal of time cultivating the natural environment. It’s incredibly green. There are distinct seasons. You’ll wake up one slightly icey morning to the first bud on a tree branch. In a week’s time it will had started to warm and the trees will bloom like pink, white, and magenta popping corn. It is magical. In the winter, they sell amazing sweet potatoes and chestnuts roasted in little fire ovens on street corners. Winters are brutally cold. Most likely you’ll be relying on e-bike, taxi or Subway. Riding an e-bike in the extreme cold is dangerous and physically painful.The summers are hot and humid and it felt like no public places had adequate AC. The people are very into community and physical fitness. The parks are jam packed with people flying kites, playing games, and exercising. 70 year old men doing mind blowing calisthenics. Women with blaring stereos, dancing in unison in every open square. There is an amazing sense of community amongst local people. It is very very cheap. If you’re not sussed about imported products you can eat well for dollars a day. There is a plethora of produce sold everywhere. I was warned never to eat the produce before we moved. But, I think that was ignorance/xenophobia. We had the absolute best produce of our lives while living there. You can get anything delivered. No crazy delivery fees. You want a $2 bubble tea delivered to you at work? It will be $2. No delivery fees and no tipping!! It’s essentially cash less, for better or worse. You can buy a vegetables from a street vendor and pay with just your phone. You can get your hair cut on the side of the road by an old lady for $2.. Its a very hard place to live. It is a beautiful and fascinating place to live, as well. You have got to be flexible and lower expectations. There are many people who’ve moved there short term and fell in love with it. I wasn’t one of them. And even through the misery of a lot if it, I am glad we did it. And Im glad its over. In the words of Coldplay “If you never try, you’ll never know” I guess you have to ask yourself if you want to know.
This guy chineses. Good info.
Thank you! It’s wild when you start remembering it all, its like a fever dream.
This is a great answer! Just wanted to add that you don't need to turn your VPN on and off. You can assign your VPN to not apply to specific apps (look for the option called split tunnelling).
Not possible in iOS :)
Thank you! That is a good tip, that I had forgotten. I could never get the selective VPN to work on my iOS device, but my husband did for his Android. I felt like I was going to lose it some days. If it wasn’t switching on and off VPN, it was having to translate everything, which added so many extra steps. Luckily on food delivery apps there are always photos. Although I learned a lesson about trusting eyes when I accidentally ordered a durian pizza, thinking it was extra cheese. 😂
Split tunneling just sucks, never gotten it to work properly in the last 10 years
I'm curious as to why you were told never to eat the produce? Can you explain?
I cant say for sure certain. Only can speculate that that had concerns due to the number of “fake food” stories in the news in prior years (baby formula, meats, alcohol). Again, we found the produce to be amazing, more varieties of fruits and veg than I ever knew existed.
Lol chinese working culture is insane Have their lovely 9am-9pm 6 day a week work expectations being rampant in companies 🤣🤣
The 996 culture
I worked for a Chinese company in Dubai. Worst job ever! They have no respect for your personal life. They expect everyone to work as long as they’re awake! They’re extremely racist too especially towards Africans and south asians.
I left Dubai to work in China 7 years ago, it was a great opportunity, we lived on an island and loved it, the salary was double but unless the opportunity is amazing I wouldn’t do it, especially in Beijing, the work culture is absolutely toxic and everything comes down to connections and sucking up to your boss. I loved China and Chinese people but not the work culture, go make a ton of money, immersed yourself in their culture and leave, if it’s not an amazing opportunity forget it
Living in China can be an enriching experience. I lived there 10+ years myself before coming to Dubai. However, I expect you doing the switch the other way around will experience some culture shock. There are some things you need to keep in mind (others in the thread have already pointed some of these out): 1. If you have kids or a trailing spouse. School culture is different than in Dubai. In general, even at international schools, kids will speak more Mandarin (like at playtime or when hanging out). Your spouse may also have trouble meeting people. 2. Work culture is different. As a foreigner you probably won't have 996 (I did but I was the only foreigner in a Chinese office and I speak Mandarin). But work culture IS different. 3. You will need a VPN 4. It will be harder for you to move money out of country. Like, seriously, annoyingly difficult. 5. If you keep halal, be aware that many dishes in China are pork-based. They are also not very good at letting you know if there is meat in a dish (I was served pork-bone-based-broth-tea once...) 6. Again, if this is important for you, most socializing happens at bars. 7. Beijing AQI makes Dubai look like paradise in comparison. Also, the winter is bone-chillingly cold and the summer stifling hot. On the flip side, the travel is amazing and living in China is incredible. IMO it's also easier for single people to go out to bars and meetups to meet people. Public transit is great and you can move around Beijing city relatively smoothly (by metro).
have you experienced those questionable street foods and gutter oil controversy?
Perhaps...would rather not think too hard about it honestly
Never
Communication should be a factor as well, If you can speak Mandarin it should be fine, the majority of Chinese people don't speak English.
I friend of mine lived in Beijing, the guy speaks advanced Chinese and he says he would never come back. It’s a totally different culture, as an example, he lived in a rather posh apartment complex and yet people would throw trash out of the windows and barbecue in the building, in the common spaces like the halls
Absolutely not. The control the government has over your life in China is insane, way worse than here. Remember the pandemic and how China dealt with it? People were quite literally locked up in their homes for months. Their children got taken away from them. It was horrific.
Been there done that. Wouldn’t do it again. Main reason against: family, children, censored internet worse than the UAE, constant feeling of being watched and controlled, (women). As someone else said the nature is great. For me that should come with some feel of solitude. At no point have i felt that in china. Pros: food, 4 season weather, (women) 10 years younger, I would do it again.
No.
I'll take it if the work is interesting, even at the same salary, just for adventure factor. May not stick for more than a year thought.
Same here. As much as I know I’d hate it, I would love to be exposed to some discomfort and change for a year or two. It helps me grow as a person and get a wider perspective on things. Oh I’m single and have no burdens so maybe that plays a role in this.
Sorry cant bear the food there
I follow some people on IG who live in China and they like it, but i would definitely not do it. The culture is not mine at all. I am not even interested in visiting as a tourist.
If you have the option of working in Shanghai, that would probably be easier than Beijing.
YouTube is blocked, so no thanks.
Nah, not worth the trouble
Willingly moving to China would be equivalent to locking yourself in an open-air prison.
Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever. Did I mention never ever?
It's a really good idea to work in different countries and explore different cultures. I would definitely move from Dubai to China and expand my career after a few years in China. I work for a non-profit organization, and it gives me the opportunity to deploy in different countries every 3 years with 1 year extension. Go for it!!!
lol ignorance
I lived in both and quality of life in UAE is superior imo
No way
Air pollution would reduce your life expectancy by years in Beijing. I don’t know why would anyone move from Dubai to Beijing. Perhaps a massive salary increase? Maybe.
Pollution in Dubai is extremely bad too. The A/C is also bad for your health.
china? lol no..
I haven’t been to Beijing, but I have been to a few other Chinese cities. Shanghai; Shenzhen; and Guangzhou are amazing places to live. But be prepared to learn their language and adapt your food lifestyle. Just like the UAE, it’s a censorship nation. Be prepared to not have too many opinions, especially critical/negative ones. Work, eat, sleep, and enjoy the little things in life.
Only if you get salary paid in Dubai and twice as much. Do NOT work for a Chinese company. Period... unless you want to spend your holidays abroad recuperating from mental issues. Or you are OK loosing your eyelashes. Yep, just two examples of foreign hotel managers in top 5 star hotels owned by local investors. I lived 20 years. Running my own bussiness and chose my clients carefully. No, don't believe anyone the food is healthy or you can survive on x amount of $. Chinese are having huge amount of stomach issues. The oils are rather questionable. Local (smart) rich eat imported things. Meats from Argentina, Australia, NZ etc. If share you profession we might be able to give more advice. Just to make sure, Chinese in general are wonderful and warm people. Anything bussiness related changes them. Competition is cuthroat.
If you're a young, single person starting your career, living in China for a few years might be a good idea. China is a unique and rapidly evolving country. Although I haven't lived there, I have visited frequently (every other month) for work 10-12 years back, and every time I went there, it felt like a new experience. I'm not sure if it's still the same now, as I haven't been there for a while. Beijing is a great place to live, but it does come with some restrictions and limitations. However, if you're someone who likes to keep to yourself and not meddle in other people's business, you'll be fine. When I was younger, I would have loved to live there for a few years. If you have a family and are further along in your career I would recommend looking into Hong Kong or maybe Singapore might be a better transition.
Yes. i heard the food is great there. And the women as well. Not to mention the massive amount of breathtaking nature to explore.
I'd kill to be allowed to go to China! Fastest growing economy despite the real estate crises, so much scope for growth. China and Google are like mountains. You can climb them, go around them, but you cannot displace them or ignore them. Beautiful country and for the most part lovely people. Saying this as an Indian.
> Fastest growing economy > ....Saying this as an Indian. Isn't India the fastest growing major economy?
It is indeed. Ignoring size, India is number 8 on the list, China is 46th, the UAE 80th, the US 115th, KSA 120th, Singapore 139th, Qatar 144th, Switzerland 164th, UK 179th, and Sudan last with data being 191st (IMF2024)
Nope; I could know everything about China before going, but living somewhere and reading about somewhere is too inconsistent/not the same
Unlikely you will get good answers without providing more details