So how about Shanghai... "The Whore of Asia" (no offense, found this at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai)

where to start... looking for a holistic, intoxicating impression of this myetrious place. Considering coming over from beautiful California ..

Curious about the cost of living... things like 1) a 10 km taxi ... 2) local, healthy eats 2) a cold beer from the market 4) a Cape Cod at a swanky downtown bar (you see where my prriorities are) ...5) various groceries

what to bring? what not to bring? legal concerns? xenophobia? how are foreigners treated? ... thanx!

Dogstile,

Bring a lot of money and you will be treated very well....

what not to bring here?

let see.................. some one told me one day a while ago before you come china, forget 90% of what you know from western countries.

in some cases it would more like 100%
so for sure do not come here bringuing fake ideas of what you could find or expect in china.

if some people told you something about china in the states before you come here, before trusting them about it, make sure they lived here long enought to know what they are talking about, and, do not listen to most of the people that will tell you about china.
as i said, unless you are sure they know.
not the guy that came here to visit for a month, or even stayed here for 6 months or a year.

things change so fast here that, what is good today will be already gone tomorrow.

if you come as an english teacher, do not bring too much expectations. but i know some, that made it a long way too. so you never know

good luck.

What to leave behind: any idea of what you THINK China is like.
What to bring: An open mind and a good sense of humour.

That said I think you can find pretty much everything here (real or fake)....except maybe a COLD beer from the market. You can buy it warm and stick in the fridge for a while

1) 11 rmb
2) Not sure that "healthy" eats exist however you can pick up dumplings on virtually every street corner for about 2rmb each or onion pancake about the same.
3) A cold local beer from the Alldays (24hour 711 type store) 4rmb or a Heinekin for 7rmb.
4) 30-90rmb
5) box of imported cereal 70rmb, carton of milk 6rmb, half loaf of bread 7rmb
hope that helps

10kms taxi is not 11 rmb for sure.
the 11rmb is for the fist 3kms i think so 10kms must be a lot more

DogyStile wrote: 4) a Cape Cod at a swanky downtown bar (you see where my prriorities are)

You won't even find a "Cape Cod" in Houston, let alone the actual drink called a "Cape Codder" (Vodka with a splash of cranberry juice). Unless you meet a woman from Chatham, you'll have less chance of enjoying a Cape Codder in Shanghai.

me_myself_&_i wrote:let see.................. some one told me one day a while ago before you come china, forget 90% of what you know from western countries.

in some cases it would more like 100%
so for sure do not come here bringuing fake ideas of what you could find or expect in china.

Forget 100% what you know about any Asian countries also, because this place is different.

And expect a lot of 'fake' and rip-off. Most of all, in order to avoid disappointment, make sure to lower your expectation level enough.

Andreas wrote:

me_myself_&_i wrote:And expect a lot of 'fake' and rip-off. Most of all, in order to avoid disappointment, make sure to lower your expectation level enough.

Buy fake things knowing they are fake rather than buying real things and finding out they are fake.

This process always works.

The only time I strayed from it I got screwed. I bought a PSP for my fiancee and the battery that came with it was fake (and the battery died after a couple months).