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phiota
Rocker
Joined: Nov 01, 2005
Posts: 680
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 Posted:
Apr 18, 2009 - 03:43 PM |
 
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| Post subject: Outdoor Fun/Active Places to Live in China??? |
What places in China do you think has the most Fun/Active Outdoor Places. Since I do most of my work over Internet thinking of moving to a less crowded/better environment place that has more to do outdoors.
Been to Sanya which is nice but getting crowded/expensive...Welcome any pro's/con's for any other areas/places in China.
John |
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chunki
Barker
Joined: May 13, 2005
Posts: 178
Status: Offline
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Apr 19, 2009 - 12:25 PM |
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We were in a similar situation about eight months ago. We'd spent ten years in Shanghai, and we were doing most of our work online. We wanted to move to somewhere in China with a healthier lifestyle, countryside and clean air. We looked at several places. For a while, we were fairly serious about the idea of opening an adventure/activity centre on a lake in southern Sichuan. We found a suitable commercial property there, but the main problem for us was the near impossibility of finding an apartment that we'd consider even vaguely habitable. We have a young son, so we were especially concerned about the poor quality of the paintwork (and the presence of lead and formaldehyde).
The other thing is that in most parts of China, it doesn't matter how far away you go from the cities or how high up in the mountains you are, you're still going to find yourself slap bang in front of some old belcher of a cement factory/steel factory/lead mine.
In the end, Sanya was the only real viable choice as far as we were concerned. Apartments here are good quality, but not cheap, as you say, but the air is clean and life is good. We live by the beach. We swim every day and we're only an hour's drive from virgin beaches and tropical rain forest. There's a community of maybe 100 expats in Sanya and after seven months of living here we've found that we have many more genuine friends here than we had after ten years of living in Shanghai.
It's true that bits of Sanya get very crowded in Winter, but already our apartment block here is probably less than 10% occupied and we get the pool to ourselves on most days.
I can't really think of anywhere else in China I'd recommend for a healthy, outdoor lifestyle, except perhaps for some other city in Hainan. |
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Doctor of Bounceology - www.sanyabounce.com - www.surfinghainanopen.com |
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phiota
Rocker
Joined: Nov 01, 2005
Posts: 680
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Apr 19, 2009 - 02:49 PM |
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Thanks for the feedback...One other thing that worries me about moving to Sanya vs. Big Cities is thinking of starting a online business so am worried would I be able to find English speaking workers at the same wages as in big cities .....have you found it to be a problem?
Do you know whats the going monthly rental rate for about 100 sqm apartment/condo (close to beach, good quality but not luxury)
thanks,
John |
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chunki
Barker
Joined: May 13, 2005
Posts: 178
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Apr 19, 2009 - 06:48 PM |
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We've managed without local employees so far, but an American friend of ours who has the Hawaiian Tropic distribution rights tells us that a starter salary for a decent local would be in the region of 2,500 yuan. He doesn't speak much Chinese, so I'm assuming that's the price for someone with English skills. There are English speakers about, because the hotels all need them.
If you're looking for an apartment, you have to make sure you sign the contract in Summer when the rents are low. You ought to be able to find somewhere of that size (furnished) for maybe 3,000 - 4,000 yuan. |
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Doctor of Bounceology - www.sanyabounce.com - www.surfinghainanopen.com |
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Adrienne
SuperStar
Joined: Mar 01, 2003
Posts: 1433
Location: Shanghai, China
Status: Offline
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Apr 19, 2009 - 07:12 PM |
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I think you'd find some nice green places in Yu Nan Province or you could do Yang Shuo which is near Guilin. I am in love with the farm land areas surrounding Yang Shuo (not the town as it has become far too touristy over the years). That's where I'd build a house if I had a "Green Change", for sure to be sure.
Adrienne |
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chunki
Barker
Joined: May 13, 2005
Posts: 178
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Apr 19, 2009 - 09:43 PM |
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It's true that it would be nice to be able to build your own house in the countryside somewhere, but the land ownership laws prohibit it. They've been cracking down as well, so you're always going to face the risk that your beautiful house will just be repossessed one day and you'll lose everything. We looked into that for a while before we realised it wasn't going to be viable.
We like Yunnan too. Our first choice would have been somewhere on the Sichuan/Yunnan border, where the countryside is beautiful. But we couldn't find any habitable apartments. You might have better luck in somewhere like Lijiang or Dali. |
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Doctor of Bounceology - www.sanyabounce.com - www.surfinghainanopen.com |
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phiota
Rocker
Joined: Nov 01, 2005
Posts: 680
Status: Offline
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Apr 20, 2009 - 11:24 AM |
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Also a little worried about building in the countryside unless like in the West there is many well off neighbors next to you otherwise it would feel weird and maybe unsafe to be the only one well off (especially when economy is in recession). Also to live well in the countryside you will need a lot of help (servants) both inside and outside which in China unlike a lot of other places will make you stand out and for many feel uncomfortable.
John |
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