tell me about teaching in china

[AnnO'Neemus]

...- Further to that, I believe pulling here is easier than Korea. Many Koreans don’t like Korean women going with foreign men. Bizarrely in China they are more protective about their men going out with foreign women. Those evil loose foreign whores could corrupt their lovely innocent sons, or something. ...

Yes, it's to do with that whole thing about if the daughter marries, then she joins the bloke's family.

Whereas if a Chinese bloke marries, his wife joins his family.

It's all to do with the family line and heritage.

Or as my ex put it, something to do with parents objecting to their sons "polluting" the family blood line.

The only way of a Chinese son redeeming himself from the prospect of polluting the family blood line is to ensure the family blood line is continued, i.e. the continuation of a polluted family blood line is better than no continuation of the family blood line.

Or, again as my ex put it, it's not possible to introduce a foreign woman to his folks by saying we're getting married, congratulations you're gaining a daughter in law. The way to do it is to say: Congratulations! You're going to be grandparents! Erm, btw, I'm afraid the mother's a lao wai.

 

[A380]

Sorry about the massive bump. Seemed the closest.

Thinking of retiring properly in the next year or so. I have travelled to the tourist bits of China on three visits (Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Chengdu and Hainan as well as HK. Ms A320 is finishing her Chinese language BA and almost certain to sign up to a masters in Beijing to increase her experience and be with her love.

I'd like to live out there ('rona permitting) for 9 months to 18 months - not Beijing both so as not to cramp my child's style and also because I don't think I'd like it that much living there.

I have a non language based masters and some training design and delivery experience but no experience of teaching. Thinking I'd like to teach older professionals rather than kids or under grads. Looking to make beer money and meet people. Pension should pay a big lump of living expenses.

So Hive Mind please:

What course / qualification should I do?
How do you get a job or private students?
Where in China would you go - Thinking of a small city somewhere warm without too much of an ex pat scene but enough westerners that I could buy ketchup if I wanted.

Sorry to tag, and to miss people I'm sure but...

Yu_Gi_Oh and maomao any thoughts please .

Thanks all.

 

[miss direct]

I have never been to China but a friend of mine from Istanbul moved there and lives in a place called Huizhou in Guangdong. It looks really nice. She lives right on the beach and travels a lot.

 

[Jay Park]

Sorry about the massive bump. Seemed the closest.

Thinking of retiring properly in the next year or so. I have travelled to the tourist bits of China on three visits (Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Chengdu and Hainan as well as HK. Ms A320 is finishing her Chinese language BA and almost certain to sign up to a masters in Beijing to increase her experience and be with her love.

I'd like to live out there ('rona permitting) for 9 months to 18 months - not Beijing both so as not to cramp my child's style and also because I don't think I'd like it that much living there.

I have a non language based masters and some training design and delivery experience but no experience of teaching. Thinking I'd like to teach older professionals rather than kids or under grads. Looking to make beer money and meet people. Pension should pay a big lump of living expenses.

So Hive Mind please:

What course / qualification should I do?
How do you get a job or private students?
Where in China would you go - Thinking of a small city somewhere warm without too much of an ex pat scene but enough westerners that I could buy ketchup if I wanted.

Sorry to tag, and to miss people I'm sure but...

Yu_Gi_Oh and maomao any thoughts please .

Thanks all.

Hangzhou - Suzhou - Xiamen are all nice. Great climates. Though Xiamen can be hot in the summer. Qingdao is good especially if you want to spend your money on beer.

If you want a different flavour then go west to Sichuan. But not many professionals I’d imagine, Yunan and Guangxi also.

 

[Yu_Gi_Oh]

Are you retiring early, A380 ? You can't get a work permit after the age of 60, and you'll find it harder to get hired the closer you are to that cutoff point.

 

[Jay Park]

Are you retiring early, A380 ? You can't get a work permit after the age of 60, and you'll find it harder to get hired the closer you are to that cutoff point.

surely he’ll be on his wife’s visa

 

[Yu_Gi_Oh]

surely he’ll be on his wife’s visa

His daughter, who will be in Beijing and who he doesn't plan to live near?

You can't legally work on a dependent's visa anyway.

 

[Jay Park]

His daughter, who will be in Beijing and who he doesn't plan to live near?

You can't legally work on a dependent's visa anyway.

ah China, how I really don’t miss it

 

[A380]

Are you retiring early, A380 ? You can't get a work permit after the age of 60, and you'll find it harder to get hired the closer you are to that cutoff point.

That’s useful to know, so as not to put it off. But will be 53/54. Thanks.

 

[Yu_Gi_Oh]

A380 would you consider working at a university? The pay is shit but the hours are very low, and college students are almost adults. You would get housing allowance or campus housing. Since you have a Masters, this might be a decent direction, although you'll probably still be teaching English. You would need a TEFL certificate for any teaching position you take in China.

If money wasn't a factor, I would choose Kunming, in Yunnan. Or, even smaller but very lovely, Guiyang in Guizhou. Or, if you want something bigger, Chengdu.

Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi, Ningbo if you want to be near Shanghai and lots and lots of Chinese history.

When you've visited China, what things and cities did you enjoy most?

 

[maomao]

Jesus Christ what a thread to bump.

I haven't been to China for seven years and haven't worked there for a decade more than that but if I was off to start a new life now I would go North-East: Dalian, Shenyang, Changchun, Hai'erbin or even a smaller city. Better food, better weather and dialects that are close to Mandarin. Pollution is pretty much universal but some places are nicer than others. Qingdao or Dalian are coastal towns and the air's a little fresher.

I also reckon the University plan sounds good. Somewhere with food and board and a decent drinking allowance. You won't make a fortune but it doesn't sound like you want to.

 

[A380]

A380 would you consider working at a university? The pay is shit but the hours are very low, and college students are almost adults. You would get housing allowance or campus housing. Since you have a Masters, this might be a decent direction, although you'll probably still be teaching English. You would need a TEFL certificate for any teaching position you take in China.

If money wasn't a factor, I would choose Kunming, in Yunnan. Or, even smaller but very lovely, Guiyang in Guizhou. Or, if you want something bigger, Chengdu.

Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi, Ningbo if you want to be near Shanghai and lots and lots of Chinese history.

When you've visited China, what things and cities did you enjoy most?

I must say I hadn’t considered universities so will look at that thanks, it might deliver a lot of the things I am looking for.

I actually liked Shanghai the best, because of the historical backgrounds and cosmopolitan feel. I don’t think I’d live there though, not just the prices, but I suspect you could get sucked into a British ex-pat world quite easily. I think I liked Xian ‘best’ obviously went there as a jumping off point to see the Terracotta Army, but I really liked the city , at least the old town very much.

Will look at some of the places you mentioned and also routes to working for a uni- I presume that would be through agencies?

Thanks very much for this.

 

[A380]

Jesus Christ what a thread to bump.

I haven't been to China for seven years and haven't worked there for a decade more than that but if I was off to start a new life now I would go North-East: Dalian, Shenyang, Changchun, Hai'erbin or even a smaller city. Better food, better weather and dialects that are close to Mandarin. Pollution is pretty much universal but some places are nicer than others. Qingdao or Dalian are coastal towns and the air's a little fresher.

I also reckon the University plan sounds good. Somewhere with food and board and a decent drinking allowance. You won't make a fortune but it doesn't sound like you want to.

Yes, sorry for bumping the unpleasantness. I did think about starting a new one, but someone would have made a point about identical titles and such...

Thanks for the suggestions will look at them too. As you say my plan isn’t to make money but to meet people and have a base for exploring.

 

[maomao]

I must say I hadn’t considered universities so will look at that thanks, it might deliver a lot of the things I am looking for.

I actually liked Shanghai the best, because of the historical backgrounds and cosmopolitan feel. I don’t think I’d live there though, not just the prices, but I suspect you could get sucked into a British ex-pat world quite easily. I think I liked Xian ‘best’ obviously went there as a jumping off point to see the Terracotta Army, but I really liked the city , at least the old town very much.

Will look at some of the places you mentioned and also routes to working for a uni- I presume that would be through agencies?

Thanks very much for this.

I do remember meeting a very happy English teacher in his 50s or 60s at whichever uni we stayed at when I took my family to Xi'an. And the food's better than most of the south.

 

[Yu_Gi_Oh]

If I was going to live in the northeast, and I say this as someone who's lived up in Dongbei for nearly nine years, I would choose Shenyang, and I say that as someone who does not live in Shenyang.

But lovely as Dongbei is, you're isolated up here. If you're in Harbin, Shenyang, or Changchun, there isn't much you can visit for the weekend apart from the other two cities without flying, which obviously takes a lot of time. It's also cold as balls and brown for half the year. But it is lovely.

 

[Jay Park]

If I was going to live in the northeast, and I say this as someone who's lived up in Dongbei for nearly nine years, I would choose Shenyang, and I say that as someone who does not live in Shenyang.

But lovely as Dongbei is, you're isolated up here. If you're in Harbin, Shenyang, or Changchun, there isn't much you can visit for the weekend apart from the other two cities without flying, which obviously takes a lot of time. It's also cold as balls and brown for half the year. But it is lovely.

Go West - Chengdu has good food and a way more chilled vibe. Or Guiyang or Guangxi as Yu Gi mentioned. You can bob over to Hanoi etc from there too.

 

[Combustible]

If I was going to live in the northeast, and I say this as someone who's lived up in Dongbei for nearly nine years, I would choose Shenyang, and I say that as someone who does not live in Shenyang.

Doesn't Shenyang get significantly more air pollution then somewhere further south (although apparently it's no worse than Shanghai at the moment ).

I wouldn't be too worried about getting stuck in an 'expat bubble', even in big cities the number of foreigners is relatively small. I think its more likely to happen via colleagues, and I suspect it's just as likely to happen in a small place where the same 4 people (at least one of whom is guaranteed to be a massive weirdo) spend all their time in the only half-serviceable bar (especially if you don't speak Chinese. Chengdu supposedly has more stuff happening as well as being quite laid back.

 

[A380]

....at least one of whom is guaranteed to be a massive weirdo.... my daughter warned me of this too, but I’m a massive weirdo so what are the odds of there being two of us?


...Chengdu supposedly has more stuff happening as well as being quite laid back.

I quite liked it for the week I was there, and I might get to ride the panda train on the metro.

 

[Yu_Gi_Oh]

Doesn't Shenyang get significantly more air pollution then somewhere further south (although apparently it's no worse than Shanghai at the moment ).

I wouldn't be too worried about getting stuck in an 'expat bubble', even in big cities the number of foreigners is relatively small. I think its more likely to happen via colleagues, and I suspect it's just as likely to happen in a small place where the same 4 people (at least one of whom is guaranteed to be a massive weirdo) spend all their time in the only half-serviceable bar (especially if you don't speak Chinese. Chengdu supposedly has more stuff happening as well as being quite laid back.

The air quality in Dongbei is fine for at least half the year. It's just winter where there can be issues due to it being so incredibly cold and having to burn coal for the central heating. And then the dust storms in spring.

And yes, every place you work will have at least one expat nutter.

 

[sptme]

South West is best in my opinion: Yunnan, Guangxi, Hainan all more chilled than north or east China- not been to Chengdu but everyone I know who worked there said they liked it. University gigs are great if you want more freedom. The students are easygoing - no disipline problems. Not many hours per week if you get a good contract. 14-16 teaching hours per week would not be unusual. Long holidays - 1 month in the winter and 2 months in the summer. Pay is much lower than private/training schools though but you're far less likely to be messed around when it comes to sorting out visas and work permits or getting paid on time. Unis are all above board and have the legal right to hire foreigners - alot of private shools may try to con you.