A barage of questions

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MaybeGoingToBeAnExpat

Newbie

Joined: Sep 27, 2005
Posts: 7

Status: Offline

Posted: Oct 23, 2005 - 06:29 PM
Post subject: A barage of questions

Hello,

So I should really change my nick to "GoingToBeAnExpat" since it looks likely I'll be joining you guys out in Shanghai early next year. So I've just got a hundred and one questions but these are my most pressing.

What do I do with my UK driving license can I drive in Shanghai with it ? Do I need to convert it ? Can I ride a 50cc moped out there on it ? What about a 125cc ? I only have "full moped entitelemtn" here in the UK. Would I want to ride or drive ? Is the traffic awful or OK ? Is it a free for all or quite ordered ?

Is Shanghai polluted ? Is it like Delhi ? Can you see the stars at night ?

I am looking for a 2 bed room apartment with access to swimming pool for $1000USD a month. Is this a dream ? Is it doable ? Pudong is the place to be right ?

Can anybody recommend a good chinese school (to learn Chinese) ? How long will it take to become fluent ? I would expect to put in 2 hours of tuition a week with maybe an extra 2 hours homework but of course speak pigeon chinese at every opportunity. What about reading and writing ? Ninja difficult ? I became fluent in Dutch after a year of tuition and living there, prima!

Electricity is really that expensive ? $100USD a month if you have the aircon on alot ? Ouch that hurts.

Can you get the English premiership out there ? Is it only the big games ? What about all games ? What about international matches ? Am I going to miss Northern Ireland's euro 2008 qualifying campaign ?

How fast is broadband in china ? How much does it cost ? Can I access the bb.co.uk website ?

What places are nearby that I could get cheap flights to go and visit ? Whenever I do a search the only carrier from Shanghai to HongKong is China Airlines ? Is it like Vietnam ? Do you have one choice of carrier and that is it ?

What do I bring from home ? I'm currently planning on selling EVERYTHING apart from the furniture and renting the house out. My partner will load up on feminine hygiene products. Can you buy Stella Artois anywhere ? Preferably canned ? Is there a place to buy it draught ? What about other Belgium beers.

Do people do "Thai Chi" and "Ballroom dancing" and martial arts and stuff down by the river every morning ? If so can I join in ? Is it free ?

Thanks for any replies and sorry for asking so many questions. Yes I should use the search button but here in the UK this is incredibly slow to use.

See you soon
GoingToBeAnExpat

Rufus_T_Firefly

Talker

Joined: May 04, 2003
Posts: 88
Location: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
Status: Offline

Posted: Oct 23, 2005 - 06:59 PM

Glad to see you're willing to join the ranks of the bold and venture to Shanghai. I will answer your questions within my ability in the order in which you asked them

Your UK driver's license - unless specifically set up with International driving privlege - is useless except in helping you get a Chinese driver's license. This is a breeze. It involves only about half an hour's worth of paperwork, a brief hearing and vision exam and a 20-question written examination which you can take in English. You're given half an hour for the exam; I finished in two minutes and got 100%. This is all if you have your UK license with you. The people there didn't even notice that my US license had expired after a suspension of a year. Trust me, no sweat. However, I do speak enough Chinese to converse with the people officiating the process. If you can't speak, bring someone with you. Moped-wise, you can drive a moped by yourself with no license. If you want your best girlie hanging on behind you, you need a license. If you're from a major city, the traffic might be a tad jarring in the beginning, but you'll quickly adapt. I'm from New York and after ten days, I stopped caring. The preponderance of byciclyes will require the acquisiton of new driving skills, whether you pilot a car, moped or motorcycle.

Pollution wise, Shanghai is the best major city on the Chinese mainland. Yes, it's a bit dirtier than places in the developed world, but I urge you to ignore the comments of expatriates who wail on and on about the littler on the streets and the "disregard" Chinese people seem to have for trash bins. It's fine here, I assure you.

My 2-bedroom, 100 square meter apartment costs only about $500 a month, though I don't have a swimming pool. What you want is very doable. However, Pudong is definetly not the place to be. Pudong is the place for families and people who enjoy or have to commute by car to offices and factories quite distant from where they live. Pudong shuts down at 10 PM and is far away from anywhere you'll want to be at night. You'll save a little because rent is cheaper there for certain kinds of apartments in certain places, but you'll be spending a fortune on taxi rides back and forth. Puxi is the place to be. I reccommend Jing'an district for a first-time Shanghai-er on your budget.

There is no one school nor is there any "trick" to learning the language. If you are serious about it, you will learn it. Try to use the language, spend time with Chinese people, talk to your taxi drivers, to the guards at your building, to the man who runs the convenience store where you buy your late-night beers, learn the characters, do whatever it takes. Just be dilligent. Doing it this way, you don't have to think of it in terms of XX hours per week of study and XX of speaking. It just becomes another part of who you are. Fluent? I try not to throw around the "F" word a lot. I have now been in China a grand total of 23 months. After about one year, I was comfortable doing what I needed to do to get around and not be worried about myself in any situation. I could really hold an interesting conversation and tell jokes by 18 months. It's constantly evolving. Stick with it and never let yourself get discouraged.

Electricity costs are so variant it's tough to say for certain. But, yes, during summer months, if you spend a decent amount of time in your home, you can spend upwards of $100 USD.

Soccer is everywhere. I am not a sports fan myself and often leave an establishment if I see the clientele immersed in some game projected on a big screen, but whatever your poison, I am sure you can find it here.

Broadband is fine here. I got 1000 MB/s installed in my home for about $65 and now pay around $17 a month. Last I checked, that website is blocked. Many others are not, though.

China Airlines? Are you sure you don't mean Air China? China Airlines operates under the laws of the Republic of China and the Province of Taiwan, not the Chinese mainland and the People's Republic of China. China Airlines operates exactly ZERO flights from Shanghai to Hong Kong. DragonAir and Hong Kong Airlines operate a bunch, plus Air China, and China Eastern Air. There are many airline choices. I almost never travel outside of business and thus am unfamiliar with cheaply accessible travel destinations.

What do you bring from home? Aside from clothing, anything you're dearly, dearly attached to and can't bear to part with. Everything else can be found here. Stella Artois is a beer I enjoyed in New York, but I have never gone looking for it here. That said, you could probably find it in "City Supermarket," a chain of shops selling imported sundries from around the globe. Plenty of other Belgian beers are available, Duvel and Chimay being particularly popular in many supermarkets.

Yes, people do engage in Tai Qi in the early mornings and "ballroom dancing" in the evenings. Yes, you can join in, though hardly any foreigners do. I am sure the locals will be thrilled to have you. Yes, it's free, or if not, it shouldn't cost more than five yuan. (US 65 Cents)

Hope this helps.

Rufus T Firefly
"Hail, hail Freedonia"

annabg

Seeker

Joined: Aug 23, 2005
Posts: 48

Status: Offline

Posted: Oct 23, 2005 - 07:09 PM

Phew! A lot of questions! I'll pick a few of the easy ones off;
Driving/ traffic, yes it's a bit of a free for all, although scooters and bikes tend to travel at the side of the road on mass. Puxi has traffic lights at most intersections so the traffic doesn't get up much speed but I think Pudong is less hectic?
Where to live? If you have kids Pudong seems to be a good option, it seems cleaner and there are plenty of expat compounds, but if you're looking for nightlife and a more Chinese environment I'd recommend Puxi, we live by the French concession and really like it, $800USD a month for a 3 bed apartment with pool downstairs.
Yes you English premiership out here, well certainly the big games.
Broadband access is fine, same as UK I would say.
Beers, yes I think you can get Stella in the Carrefour supermarket, certainly other European brands.
What to bring, nothing much, you can buy everything here (- including all the usual femine hygiene products!) The only thing I can't find are shreddies. Damn I miss them!!
Ok, thats my effort for what it's worth!
Goodluck with the move!