Hi All -
Have potential jobs in both Vietnam (Hanoi) or China - Shanghai.
Will be moving with a teaching spouse and three young children - 3 and under.
I just want your thoughts/comments on the pros and cons of living in each place with a family.
Any thoughts...
Thanks!
Vietnam vs. China - moving with family
As someone who lives in China maybe I can chime in for you.
I am not in Shanghai, but I've been there a couple times. If you are getting an offer from one of the top tier schools there, IMO it would be better than Vietnam.
I haven't really run into any problems having my family here. My daughter has fit into my school, and due to her age, she doesn't go out unless accompanied by my wife or myself. The school helped me with all the stuff needed for visas and getting settled in. That part was pretty effortless once in China. The effort is the medicals needed to get the visa, though sometimes that can be avoided until you come to China.
As for cost of living, Shanghai is one of the most expensive places. If they are not giving you an apartment, be prepared for pretty expensive rent. My rent is 4000 RMB a month for a 3 bedroom. I would expect in Shanghai you would pay 4-5000 RMB for a similar place, depending on location and quality.
Food is pretty cheap, as is transportation. I don't know much Chinese and I haven't had an extremely hard time shopping because of it.
Shanghai is a cleaner city than where I live, but it is also more populous. Be prepared to live in a city that has 20mil+ people in and around the surrounding areas.
If you were to say what school exactly you were looking at, people could give more feedback.
Feel free to ask or pm me questions about working in China.
I am not in Shanghai, but I've been there a couple times. If you are getting an offer from one of the top tier schools there, IMO it would be better than Vietnam.
I haven't really run into any problems having my family here. My daughter has fit into my school, and due to her age, she doesn't go out unless accompanied by my wife or myself. The school helped me with all the stuff needed for visas and getting settled in. That part was pretty effortless once in China. The effort is the medicals needed to get the visa, though sometimes that can be avoided until you come to China.
As for cost of living, Shanghai is one of the most expensive places. If they are not giving you an apartment, be prepared for pretty expensive rent. My rent is 4000 RMB a month for a 3 bedroom. I would expect in Shanghai you would pay 4-5000 RMB for a similar place, depending on location and quality.
Food is pretty cheap, as is transportation. I don't know much Chinese and I haven't had an extremely hard time shopping because of it.
Shanghai is a cleaner city than where I live, but it is also more populous. Be prepared to live in a city that has 20mil+ people in and around the surrounding areas.
If you were to say what school exactly you were looking at, people could give more feedback.
Feel free to ask or pm me questions about working in China.
Shanghai is a great city to live and work in, if you like big cities and can be patient with the issues that go along with big cities-like traffic, polluted days and lots of people. If those type of issues don't bother you then Shanghai might be for you. On the other hand my experience in Vietnam as a tourist have always been positive and I might prefer that.
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suddenpaws
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2009 4:09 am
- Location: SE Asia
Hi! I have spent the last two and a half years in Hanoi, and really like it. OK, so it's not for everyone, but it's a good place to be for me...
The Pros:
- Vietnam is really cheap to live in, especially if you are prepared to live like the locals and eat the local food/shop in local shops. You can spend as much or as little as you want here, and still stay quite comfortable.
- Easy travel opportunities, all over the country, and beyond. Very cheap to travel.
- Less people than China. For me that makes a difference.
- A government who, on the whole, tend to be a little more flexible than the Chinese, but they still have their beaurocratic tendencies.
- People are very friendly, both Vietnamese and expat (though I will elaborate on this in a moment). Vietnamese are very accepting of expats, particularly if you make an effort to speak the language (though it's a really, really hard language to learn!)
The Cons (I am trying to be really honest, from my point of view):
- Just because Hanoi is in Vietnam, doesn't make it hot all year. It aint. It gets REALLY cold here in winter, so if you are thinking of Hanoi for weather, forget it. At least it doesn't snow here, but houses are not really built for the cold, so bring your ugg boots.
- The traffic is horrible, but if you are game and can get on a scooter and ride around, it's bloody awesome. Scooters everywhere here, easy to get a hold of one, and easy to ride one, once you get used to the millions of others on the road, though if that's not for you, the traffic may be a down point.
- Western living is expensive here. If you need your specific western groceries and eat out a lot in plush places, your cash will run out pretty quick.
- The expatriate community here has many different facets, though I think it's the same in every country. I don't know about China, but you really notice here that there's a lot of English teaching backpackers who teach and drink, and teach, and drink, and did I mention they drink? Depending on the school you end up in, you may be teaching alongside some of them, so be warned. They are definitely NOT here to provide quality education to their students.
Here, it's not what you know, it's who you know, and some schools are definitely better to work for than others. Perhaps if you could give me the name of the school you are looking at here, I can tell you a bit more about it? Feel free to email me if you want to ask specifics about Hanoi, happy to help out! :)
The Pros:
- Vietnam is really cheap to live in, especially if you are prepared to live like the locals and eat the local food/shop in local shops. You can spend as much or as little as you want here, and still stay quite comfortable.
- Easy travel opportunities, all over the country, and beyond. Very cheap to travel.
- Less people than China. For me that makes a difference.
- A government who, on the whole, tend to be a little more flexible than the Chinese, but they still have their beaurocratic tendencies.
- People are very friendly, both Vietnamese and expat (though I will elaborate on this in a moment). Vietnamese are very accepting of expats, particularly if you make an effort to speak the language (though it's a really, really hard language to learn!)
The Cons (I am trying to be really honest, from my point of view):
- Just because Hanoi is in Vietnam, doesn't make it hot all year. It aint. It gets REALLY cold here in winter, so if you are thinking of Hanoi for weather, forget it. At least it doesn't snow here, but houses are not really built for the cold, so bring your ugg boots.
- The traffic is horrible, but if you are game and can get on a scooter and ride around, it's bloody awesome. Scooters everywhere here, easy to get a hold of one, and easy to ride one, once you get used to the millions of others on the road, though if that's not for you, the traffic may be a down point.
- Western living is expensive here. If you need your specific western groceries and eat out a lot in plush places, your cash will run out pretty quick.
- The expatriate community here has many different facets, though I think it's the same in every country. I don't know about China, but you really notice here that there's a lot of English teaching backpackers who teach and drink, and teach, and drink, and did I mention they drink? Depending on the school you end up in, you may be teaching alongside some of them, so be warned. They are definitely NOT here to provide quality education to their students.
Here, it's not what you know, it's who you know, and some schools are definitely better to work for than others. Perhaps if you could give me the name of the school you are looking at here, I can tell you a bit more about it? Feel free to email me if you want to ask specifics about Hanoi, happy to help out! :)
life in shanghai
hi there. ive been living in shanghai for about a year and a half. i think it's a great place for a family! there is so much to see and do. so much culture and a lot of the luxuries that we have back home too. lots of good schools, community groups, and support services. i honestly don't notice how many people there are anymore. other than on the metro during rush hour, highways, or in a touristic place during a holiday, I don't notice there are 20 million people here. there are a lot of family residential areas here where it's clean, quiet, and far away from the hustle and bustle of shanghai. hope that helps. let me know if you need more info.