@ncsmiith
American expat in China
Forum
9 posts
Contacts
2
About me
American
Lives in Suzhou, Jiangsu
Registration: 10 August 2017
Activity
Your neighbours in China by Cheryl
Hello everyone, When you move in China, relationships with your neighbours can play a vital role in your well-being and integration. Share your experiences of the interactions and routines that punctuate your daily life in China: Tell us about ...
@BeijingBobI concur. We've lived in our apt for 3 years now and only have one neighbor who is a wechat connection. Never gone anywhere with him or even been in his house. Most people don't know there neighbors even though they live next door, ... Read More
Is 20,000 RMB enough? by hcwrosser
Just talked with a recruiter for an IB school about a school principal position. The estimated salary is 18-20k a month, school pays all taxes so it's all take home pay. Benefits would include free housing, free healthcare, free airfare twice a ...
That's horrible pay as a principal. You should be earning in the range of 35-40k a month at an IB school. I'm a teacher and I bring in 23.5/m before taxes. You shouldn't have to touch your part-time income to support your family ... Read More
What struck you about China? by Cheryl
Hello everybody, When you first settled in China, you might have been struck by cultural aspects of life in China and you might even have anecdotes about your integration here. We would like you to share with expats-to-be what you discovered ...
How modern everything is. Watching the travel channel convinces you that China is still medevil in many ways but the reality of it is China is far ahead of most countries Read More
Cost of Living in China in 2020 by Loïc
Hi everyone, Every year, we invite expats who are living in China to share their experience and tell us more about the average price of products and services in their town, city or area, so that we can help future expats planning to settle in ...
I live in Suzhou, China and I can live easily on half of my salary and save the rest for anything I wish. We're buying a house too! So after mortgage, utilities, food, and entertainment I usually keep around half of my salary in savings. Read More
Raising kids in China by Priscilla
Hello everyone, How is raising kids in China different from raising kids in your home country? What are the activities that your kids seem to enjoy the most in China? Do you feel that the country is "family-friendly"? Do you recommend ...
The cultural attitude is really different and the pollution scares me. My in-laws are always ready to step in and often overstep their boundaries in our child raising adventures. Especially with the anti cold attitude. In many ways it's been ... Read More
Keeping in touch while living in China by Priscilla
Hello everyone, What are the best ways you've found for keeping in touch with friends and family back home while living in China? How frequently do you stay in touch with loved ones? Are there local equivalents to common instant messaging and ...
I use skype and wechat with the family who is willing to upload it to their phones. Read More
Registering a birth in China by Priscilla
Hello everyone, Have you had to or are you going to register a birth in China? What was the experience like? Who is required to register the birth, and where? Can it be either the mother or father? What documents are usually required in ...
We have registered our baby with the U.S. embassy in Shanghai. It was quite simple. Just had to make an appointment and have photo's, her birth certificate and other necessary documentation. Took less than an hour Read More
Is it okay to work full-time with a student visa as a ESL teacher? by mojo-jojo27
Hello! My name is Jo, I recently graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Foreign Languages English and Spanish and I am currently living in France. I am seeking for advice from any expat living in Ningbo or any other city that knows enough about ...
Working on a student visa is risky because if the school gets a surprise visit by the government then both you and the school will be hit with a big fine and possibly deported as well. If you get your TEFL then you can have the 2 years work ... Read More