Some expats in the West are being forced to relocate overseas or get fired - "Shanghai, Dubai, Mumbai.....or Bye Bye!", as the saying goes.

How would you rate the three "ai"'s? Comments please. You might want to consider some or all of the following:

(1) Cost of living;
(2) Weather;
(3) Culture;
(4) Food;
(5) Environment;
(6) Healthcare;
(7) Schooling;
(8) Local people;
(9) Shopping;
(10) Entertainment scene.

Let's hear your views.....

Shanghai wins for me except for Food (I am a veggie hence Shanghai scores down), Healthcare and Schooling. Mumbai would be tops in Healthcare, Food and Schooling. When I say that I am talking of exapts and not a local Mumbai person.

from top to bottom - Bangkok, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ho Chi MinhCity, Nairobi, Shanghai, Jakarta, New Delhi, Dubai
bottom basket - Sao Paolo, Manila, Johannesburg, Dacca

Jakarta under Shanghai?? NAIROBI?? Are you a photographer for National Geographic?

Have you ever been to Jakarta?

Jakarta may not look good (better than the other National Geographic cities like Mumbai) but it is a really cool place to be... Maybe you were not in the right crowd if you had been there.

Out of the three "ai"s its

Shanghai

Dubai

Would not even consider Mumbai as an option unless I am a photographer for NatGeo...

And yes, I have been to all of these...

I've heard terrible things about working in Mumbai- the traffic, the dirt and the difficulty of getting the locals to listen to you.

Dubai? Only for the money honey.

sandeepbudhiraja wrote:Shanghai wins for me except for Food (I am a veggie hence Shanghai scores down)

Are you serious? My friend is vegetarian and he says that Shanghai is an excellent city to get veggie food. He once took me out around the town to try the immitation foods they make from soy or something like that. It was really good and apparently very cheap compared to Melbourne. There are plenty of restaurants catering for only the veggies... One particular restaurant that I went to was on Nanjing Road, not far from the fake market. Anyway, my friend gives it the thumbs up as a great veggie city... perhaps you need to look around a bit more.

Agree with tihZ_hO on this one. Shanghai wins hands down. Mumbai would not even figure on my list.
Though must admit that my experiance of Dubai has always been that of a biz traveller (never actually lived there).

Swiss-James wrote:I've heard terrible things about working in Mumbai- the traffic, the dirt and the difficulty of getting the locals to listen to you.

So what's the difference with Shanghai then? Only that the climate is worse here.

Andreas wrote:

Swiss-James wrote:I've heard terrible things about working in Mumbai- the traffic, the dirt and the difficulty of getting the locals to listen to you.

So what's the difference with Shanghai then? Only that the climate is worse here.

This is what I've heard from people who work in both cities, apparently Shanghai is cleaner with less traffic and more reasonable people in charge!

I was in Mumbai before, but that is years ago already. So I do not have the latest experience there. Guess it also has changed a lot.
I never really liked Dubai. It's all so artificial there. Even more than here. And even though I don't mind the heat, in Dubai it's just insanely hot part of the year.

Are you serious? My friend is vegetarian and he says that Shanghai is an excellent city to get veggie food. He once took me out around the town to try the immitation foods they make from soy or something like that. It was really good and apparently very cheap compared to Melbourne. There are plenty of restaurants catering for only the veggies... One particular restaurant that I went to was on Nanjing Road, not far from the fake market. Anyway, my friend gives it the thumbs up as a great veggie city... perhaps you need to look around a bit more.

I am a veggie and seriously struggle here... oh and I do get out and about - Yes I agree there are nice veggie restaurants here, but it is definately not a place where you can just go and try a new restaurant without checking the menu first, because I have been to many restaurants where I had to just sit there and watch everybody else eat...

I would pick Shanghai first then Dubai for the money, of course... but never even thought about Mumbai - doesn't really appeal...

Bangkok, i think , is good for the price.

Andreas wrote:

Swiss-James wrote:I've heard terrible things about working in Mumbai- the traffic, the dirt and the difficulty of getting the locals to listen to you.

So what's the difference with Shanghai then? Only that the climate is worse here.

I can see you have either never been to Mumbai OR you went straight to your hotel from the Airport head down and back again the same way.

I would take Mexico city any day of the week over Mumbai! Hahaha!

If you want to talk about being cheated in China well India is The BUDDHA by comparison. I know of many companies who quote 20% HIGHER to all Indian companies - they have to just to try to cover the costs of the endless emails, phone calls for any order. HAHAHA! Think Apo from the Simpsons - where did they get that from?

I laugh when I think of Chinese companies complaining about Indian companies like we complain about Chinese companies. Yep Karma in action! HAHAHA

I used to work in Mumbai, so I actually know what I am talking about.

RussianBear wrote:Bangkok, i think , is good for the price.

I think Bankok is the best value for money right now. I love the place.

Andreas wrote:I used to work in Mumbai, so I actually know what I am talking about.

Uh-oh... you're not Indian are you? hahaha

I am REALLY curious on why you think Mumbai is better in any way than Shanghai (as long as you are not Indian).

Please explain

And yes I have been to India many times....but never working there. Kill me first.

Mumbai is the worst! You can not compare Shanghai traffic with Mumbai's. Mumbai's public transportation system is a clusterfcuk of sh*t, smell, and fighting. There has to be 10 times as many cars on the road in Mumbai than in Shanghai. To get anywhere, you are going to have to sit in traffic for at least 2 hours. All the roads in Mumbai are covered with dirt and dust. It's very smelly. The nightlife is AWFUL and non existent. The food is amazing.

I feel much cleaner in Shanghai than in Mumbai. Oh yes, in business you have to fight over everything in India more forcefully. It's not the face game in China where you smile and nod and play around. It's the "Give me a fair price or I will kill your children" to be taken seriously.

1. Shanghai
2. Dubai
3. Mumbai

tihZ_hO wrote:

Andreas wrote:I used to work in Mumbai, so I actually know what I am talking about.

Uh-oh... you're not Indian are you? hahaha

I am REALLY curious on why you think Mumbai is better in any way than Shanghai (as long as you are not Indian).

Please explain

And yes I have been to India many times....but never working there. Kill me first.

Hmmm, I had a good time there. Nice food, good climate, friendly people. Traffic? Yeah of course it's busy like any other Asian city. But not too difficult to drive there. The mentality is not as **** up like here in China. I would go back there any time.

What about Moscow

But not too difficult to drive there. The mentality is not as **** up like here in China. I would go back there any time.

When was the last time you were there? It's awful driving there!

Andreas wrote:I used to work in Mumbai, so I actually know what I am talking about.

Mumbai is ok place. But scared by terrorism and early closed bars, restriction for drinks..

txaggie07 wrote:

But not too difficult to drive there. The mentality is not as **** up like here in China. I would go back there any time.

When was the last time you were there? It's awful driving there!

This is the only country where I have never been driving, and never will. Any other big Asian city, absolutely no problem.

The best place to be in Mumbai is in a five star hotel, and only leave to eat somewhere nearby.

Few of the bars are nice, but if you are single man, it's pure hell.

If you like Cricket, it's heaven.

I'd much rather drive in Shanghai, than in Mumbai. I was there for a month, and I saw five major car accidents involving fatalities; including a cow fatality. Have you ever heard a cow dying? It's not pretty. All seeing this from Mumbai's ever so efficient auto-rickshaws, where you have to argue with the driver to take you somewhere.

txaggie07 wrote:

But not too difficult to drive there. The mentality is not as **** up like here in China. I would go back there any time.

When was the last time you were there? It's awful driving there!

Well maybe it was when Gandhi was around...

Because if you believe that then you will believe this...

tihZ_hO wrote:

txaggie07 wrote:

But not too difficult to drive there. The mentality is not as **** up like here in China. I would go back there any time.

When was the last time you were there? It's awful driving there!

Well maybe it was when Gandhi was around...

Because if you believe that then you will believe this...

He actually looks like a previous boss of mine. Priceless!

What's the food like in Dubai? Presume actual "local food" is non-existent, and they just serve up everything you can get in the West, but in a taller building, without pork I presume. What are the bars like there? Presume with cocktails, Sex on the Beach is not widely available?!

I think those cities are 3 completely different approaches to expatriation.

As for Shanghai, I guess it can be more DIY. It's still cheap by Western standards, Chinese authorities will welcome Western foreigners, it's safe and rationally Westernized. So I guess u can live as in London or NY (for instance, using a 1st world public transportation), and u can choose from very different lifestyles (from the engineer expatried with a good package by his company, to a young Western looking for something different and with just a few hundred pounds in his pocket)

As for Dubai, cost of living is very high and you don't have much choice (unless u live packed in a slum with Indians). Visas are more restrictive (U'll welcome to spend your money for a few days, but if u plan live there, it means you're fired = you have to leave the country). U need a car as well. So if u go to DXB you need something more secure (in job terms) and more money to survive that in SHY (as there are less choices).

As for Mumbai, I guess u'll live in a more old-fashioned expat lifestyle, just mixing with local upper-classes, expats and disconnected to the vast majority of the local population.

Shangstar wrote:What's the food like in Dubai? Presume actual "local food" is non-existent, and they just serve up everything you can get in the West, but in a taller building, without pork I presume. What are the bars like there? Presume with cocktails, Sex on the Beach is not widely available?!

Alcohol is served in hotels and private clubs. But it's forbidden to drink in the streets, for instance. As well as having sex in the beach (a couple of Britons were jailed a few months ago for that reason).

Alcohol restrictions vary depending on the country (Kuwait or KSA is forbidden, Bahrain and UAE allowed).

Good points there. I haven't been to Dubai but have worked in Mumbai. I have always said that Mumbai is chaos, while Shanghai is organised chaos. I think the biggest difference is the class divisions in Mumbai. The poorest are the untouchables and stay that way for generations, whilst the whiter looking upper crust dominate politics and business. At least in China, they tried to remove class divisions and to a certain extent succeeded in that poor farmers in the city are not treated badly in the street for example. I am sure class divisions exist here but not as much as in Mumbai where it is ingrained in culture and society.

The desirability of white skin however is stronger in Mumbai than in Shanghai. I think that's because, China has a better education system than India.

LondonSW1X wrote:As for Mumbai, I guess u'll live in a more old-fashioned expat lifestyle, just mixing with local upper-classes, expats and disconnected to the vast majority of the local population.

And believe me, there's nothing wrong with THAT.