Hi all ----
We are very close to making a decision to move to Shanghai. My husband and I are from the States, but are currently living in Germany. We have visited Shanghai once already, so we have an idea of what to expect. We will most likely be making our "pre-trip" for housing, etc. at the end of this month or the beginning of April. I have some general questions.......

1) I'd like to know what things surprised people the most after they moved to Shanghai (things you didn't expect, but were pleasantly or not so pleasantly surprised by).

2) What did you wish you had brought with you after you moved there?

3) If you had the chance to plan your move again what would you do differently?

Thanks in advance!!

care wrote:Hi all ----
We are very close to making a decision to move to Shanghai. My husband and I are from the States, but are currently living in Germany.

Where in Germany are you? We lived in the Frankfurt area and have been back in the US for 2 1/2 years and are moving to Shanghai this summer.

We were in Germany (Heidelberg) the last two years before coming to Shanghai too. You´ll be happy to hear that you can get more american products here than in germany (peanut butter, maple syrup, chocolate chips, etc.) - I was thrilled!

Unlike most people, we didn´t ship anythign here, just brough our bags. I wish I would have brought more books with me, but shipping from Amazon is not too bad. Besides that, our apartment was furnished and we bought the extras (pots and pans, etc) quite cheaply, so that wasn´t too bad either.

I´d bring an extra supply of cosmetics - make up is expensive here, and you can´t always find what you want.

I honestly can´t think of many things that you can´t get here though, so unless you need something REALLY specific, you should be okay. If you have kids though, that´s another story.

We'll be bringing our baby boy to Shanghai. Mary, could you be more specific about you said re: kids and another story?

What should we bring for him?

Thanks

Where in Germany are you? We lived in the Frankfurt area and have been back in the US for 2 1/2 years and are moving to Shanghai this summer.

We are living in Cologne. We have been here for almost three years. We have really enjoyed our time here, but it is time to move on to new challenges!

I honestly can´t think of many things that you can´t get here though, so unless you need something REALLY specific, you should be okay. If you have kids though, that´s another story.

No kids, just two dogs who think they are people!!

You can find plenty of baby clothes here no problem - there are 2 market places with kids clothes only (10 Pu an Lu) and the other I don´t remember. But the clothes are cheap, and good. (But in the department stores you´ll be paying U.S. prices)

I haven´t found a great selection of toys - a bunch of stores (the main dept stores, and childrens dept stores) all carry the same stuff, so if you want a larger range of toys, you migth want to bring them. I´ve seen english kids/baby books at one store in Xujiahui on Hong Qiao Lu, I don´t remember the name. But that´s the only place I´ve seen with english books for kids, and there was one shelf. So I´d definitely bring more books for your son.

I´d also bring any medicines you need. My husband was in Germany, and he picked up everything we needed like Mycelin, baby tylenol, etc. I´m sure they have it here, but if you can´t read chinese you´re screwed. Someone mentioned you can get any medicine from Worldlink, but it´s quite expensive, and you might have to wait for shipping. So I´d bring enough of a supply, just in case!

The basics - diapers, wipes, etc you can find everywhere, so that´s no problem.

I hope this helps!

Bring those OTC medicines that you are used to for adults and for the kids. I believe they are all available here but not the same. Going to VIP section at local hospitals are expensive, (hey, I've never seen clinics run by one or two doctors here? did anyone see them?) so don't want to go to hospitals with minor disposition that you can deal with by yourselves.

If you have big feet, bring extra shoes. Skin care products and cosmetics. Import goods are expensive and doesn't always have the full range. So you will want to stock up some until you have a chance to go to HK for replenishing.

Thanks Mary. Sigh...once we accepted our positions, we went out and bought warm clothing for our son cos they told us winter wear is not good in SH. Now, after what you said, I wish we hadn't. But instead should get more space in our luggage for toys and books. Someone had said amazon works but I am not sure if the rates are astronomical or not. Guess we'll be shopping for toys and books in the next while....

Books you may want to ship your favorites.. DVDs and toys should be readily available here.

care wrote: 1) I'd like to know what things surprised people the most after they moved to Shanghai (things you didn't expect, but were pleasantly or not so pleasantly surprised by).

2) What did you wish you had brought with you after you moved there?

3) If you had the chance to plan your move again what would you do differently?

Thanks in advance!!

1. Taxi scams at the airport, when your ass isn't hot on the ground. That sucked. But the pleasure of being mostly anonymous in the biggest playground cum city I've ever been in.

2. Sunscreen and more white t-shirts for the summer.

3. Gotten laid in Korea a lot more before coming here.