Mr_Globe wrote:One word "Sherpa's"

Always a disappointment. Too expensive, portions too small, lots of food doesn't travel well. You need to get out more!

Bad: hot in summer, overpopulation.

Good: huge market for everything.

Humac wrote:

Mr_Globe wrote:One word "Sherpa's"

Always a disappointment. Too expensive, portions too small, lots of food doesn't travel well. You need to get out more!

Maybe, but I was talking about Sunday afternoons with a major hangover, due to being out all night including the morning.

But yes, I only order junk-food anything else is a disappointment.

Chinese are good at
1. Bargaining!
2.Making beautiful carvings out of their food
3. Finding the most COMPLICATED way to do something

Chinese are bad at
1. Swimming
2. Understanding Western humor
3. Dancing...at least my husband is but, god love him, he still gets ot there and TRYS!

Mr_Globe wrote:

Humac wrote:

Mr_Globe wrote:One word "Sherpa's"

Always a disappointment. Too expensive, portions too small, lots of food doesn't travel well. You need to get out more!

Maybe, but I was talking about Sunday afternoons with a major hangover, due to being out all night including the morning.

But yes, I only order junk-food anything else is a disappointment.

That's different. You're forgiven!

Five Best:
1) Freedom to walk, drive or bike without paying attention to rules or traffic signs.
2) The massage parlors
3) The cost of living
4) The metro system
5) The economy

Five Worst
1) People trying to rip me off
2) Chinese yelling on their mobile phones
3) Expats complaining that Shanghai is not like their homeland
4) Overcrowded metro trains
5) Same sex touching (I just can't get used to my Chinese mates trying to put their arm around my shoulders!)

All in all, I love it here

Two bad things to list here, which I need to get off my chest:

(1) People who spending friggin ages at the ATM - what the heck are they doing - sending an email through it?

(2) Why oh why do conveyor belts at supermarket checkouts never work here?

Best:

My job.
The women.
The food.
Cost of living.
Dragonfly.

Worst:

Arrogant laowai.
Xintiandi.
Metro closes early.
Never enough time.
I'm smoking again.

Having moved here a few months ago from Taipei, the capital of the 'renegade province', I'll provide a different angle on this topic:

Best about Shanghai (compared to Taipei):
* Authentic regional cuisine (for example, Sichuan food made by a chef/cook actually from Sichuan). This is nearly impossible to get in Taiwan nowadays.
* The old French Concession: one of the better looking neighborhoods I've seen anywhere in Asia.
* A growing, diverse population of foreigners. Not as international as say... Singapore, but much more so than Taipei.
* Convenient plane/train access to just about anywhere in the country, including little nearby 'gems' like Suzhou and Hangzhou.
* The Shanghai dialect... haven't learned much of it yet, but I like the sound of it much more than the harsh Mandarin of the north or the Cantonese/Taiwanese of the south.

Worst about Shanghai (compared to Taipei):
* The women: frumpy, unsophisticated, and somewhat ignorant with too much 'China is greatest country' on the brain.
* Spit, urine, and other bodily fluids we see in public.
* Public transportation: overcrowded buses that come all to infrequently and a dirty subway system designed for crowd control more than for getting people where they need to go quickly and easily.
* Taxis: old, worn-out vehicles driven by maniacs.
* Censorship (nation-wide)

Very late, but @ Shangstar

"....the expat community in Shanghai is miles more fun than in HK"

After 6 years, 9 months and 5 days here (excluding 3 sanity trips back to Oz) I've met and befriended many expats from around the world. A friend (to me) is someone I'll call and tee up a meal, a night out or an invite to share some Jack Daniels at my place for a chat and a few laughs.

Taiwan
Canada
Finland
UK
Ukraine
France

Sadly, China is not on my 'A' list. Doctor Bob (Chinese Orthopedic Surgeon) tries to sneak in to the list, but that's very rare.

Most friends are Canadian - overwhelmingly.... strange. I'd never get the chance to meet and form genuine, mutually trusting relationships with so many overseas folks back in Oz.
That's in the top 5 about Shanghai / Suzhou.

well peace its like that

victorinchina wrote:Moving to Shanghai soon, after 4 years in Shenzhen.
a mix of smiling with all your face and finally laughing with tears in your eye
&
covering your eyes/head with both your hands, while shaking your head and whispering "F**k...... why?.... Sigh..." then putting both hands on top of your head leaning slightly back looking with wide open eyes up in the grey sky above taking a deeeeeep breath and a final heavy *Sigh*, while once again telling yourself that you should stop being an idiot asking Why, seeing you already know there is absolutely no answer waiting for you....

It started out as a 3 month assignment. Now I have been here 4 years, getting married to a Chinese woman next month... So good things must outweigh the bad things by far

hahah, victor u just burst me into laughter, funny guy u r

victorinchina wrote:Moving to Shanghai soon, after 4 years in Shenzhen.
a mix of smiling with all your face and finally laughing with tears in your eye
&
covering your eyes/head with both your hands, while shaking your head and whispering "F**k...... why?.... Sigh..." then putting both hands on top of your head leaning slightly back looking with wide open eyes up in the grey sky above taking a deeeeeep breath and a final heavy *Sigh*, while once again telling yourself that you should stop being an idiot asking Why, seeing you already know there is absolutely no answer waiting for you....

It started out as a 3 month assignment. Now I have been here 4 years, getting married to a Chinese woman next month... So good things must outweigh the bad things by far

hahah, victor u just burst me into laughter, funny guy u r

Other than the pollution (air and noise) and the blocked internet hassle, I like this place a lot

^ Short list huh?

E8L,

Goods
1) Agree that Shanghai has convenient public transport, but not cheap!!
2) Wide range of food available
3) Clubs and karaoke are cheap
4) Shopping kingdom..cheap clothes, massages and DVDs

Bads
1) Manners, especially traffic manners and people walking on the streets suddenly flem out a spit!
2) Expensive rent

shanghaicitylife wrote:
1) Agree that Shanghai has convenient public transport, but not cheap!!

3) Clubs and karaoke are cheap

2) Expensive rent

wtf..... where are you from???

good things:
(1) Never a dull moment whilst walking anywhere. Even in a short 5 min walk, youre bound to see something that will make you chuckle.
(2) Cheap food (for the most part)
(3) Great for buying pretty much anything (although the quality may be questionable)
(4) The nightlife (including incredibly cheap open bars and deals that you cant get anywhere in europe)
(5) Theres always something to do on a weekend

bad things:
(1) Spitting, urinating (in public), nail clipping on the subway, coughing in other peoples faces... to mention a few of the unhygienic things ive seen/experienced
(2) All the awkward stares i get pretty much everywhere i go for being a foreigner
(3) Being pushed on the subway even though its very obvious im getting off on the same stop
(4) Communication barrier
(5) People selling stuff on the streets that wont stop following you

Luckily, Ive learned to just shake my head at the bad things and hope to someday find them funny. As for the good things, theyve made the three months ive been here so far incredible.

all guys, the good always come from the bad, while the bad from the good.

1, the good thing of marrying a Chinese girl is from the bad thing of fetishism to foreigners
2, cheaper foods or others is from the copy
3, being crowded is from the cheap thing absorbing foreigners to here
.....

Best:
1. Food
2. Plenty of good clubs and KTV
3. Girls, girls, girls
4.CHEAP!!! (public transportation, shopping, etc.)
5. Lots of job opportunities

Bad
1. Manners/ hygiene (people here need to show a little more respect and be considerate to each other. example: coughing or sneezing without covering the mouth in a crowded subway train)
2. The Thieves and Beggars Guild (for those who don't know, be very aware of their networks. its the largest network i've ever seen, innocent victims maybe killed by chance)
3. China's Great Firewall
4. The strange stares from people

Ninja_Yong wrote:2. The Thieves and Beggars Guild (for those who don't know, be very aware of their networks. its the largest network i've ever seen, innocent victims maybe killed by chance)

jeeeez....

Hydro wrote:

Ninja_Yong wrote:2. The Thieves and Beggars Guild (for those who don't know, be very aware of their networks. its the largest network i've ever seen, innocent victims maybe killed by chance)

jeeeez....

its no bullfeces, when i first arrived, i needed to know the gang networks for safety precautions. i heard a foreign couple caught a thief in Qipu Lu and the backup members came in, killed them and fled the scene. i even had personal run-ins from a street fight and a series of attempted theft. Outsiders will always be the primary targets to these people.

come on boy... go to some other places in the world. organized crime wasn't invented in shanghai

The gangs operating here are nothing compared to the triads that operated here in early 1900's, who only fled (to Hong Kong) when the Communists took power, and who only fled Hong Kong (to London) when it was handed over in 1997.

yea i know.... i just don't like the thought of evil taking advantage. don't u feel the same way?

Ninja_Yong wrote:yea i know.... i just don't like the thought of evil taking advantage. don't u feel the same way?

That's one ripped groin.

Good at:

Art galleries (sanitized for mental hygeine of course)

Assuming you just stepped off the plane and are oblivious to their designs

Conversing at the next table about "foreigners" when they see you. Trying to guess your nationality. When you look at them they continue unabashed.

Assuming everyone on the sidewalk will jump out of their way at the last second, while they imperiously enter your vector, or speed up to cut you off and then suddenly slow down, and act indignant when you "accidentally" kick them because you didn't play along.


Mocking you to their girlfriends, who laugh along but would probably go with you if you asked.

Creating a society based on race so that any contradiction can be cast as "racism".

Denial.

Criticizing all others in the world, especially snap judgments of appearances.

Bothering me almost wherever I go when I just want to live my life.

Superiority/inferiority complex

Short term friendships




Bad at:

Long term friendships

Customer service!

Hygeine, personal, public and common sense (like let's not stack the vegeatables beside the toilet)

Acquiring applied skills (I'll just think about it)

Criticizing themselves

Genuine friendship without a cost

Integrating "foreigners", who must all be tourists

English (while some actually believe they speak it better than native speakers - until you ask them to prove it by taking a dictation - ha!)





In fair balance, about Shanghai I like:



The human endurance

The Glitter (no glamor, though, sorry)

PEople watching

Walking down old neighborhoods on a pleasant summer evening when the neighborhood is all out.

Some really good food (though far too little international menu variety for my taste)


I have mixed feelings about how nice people are. On the one hand, beats a kick in the teeth. On the other hand, you will never, never, never be integrated. YOu could live here 50 years and people would still ask your Chinese wife if the foreigner is rich - since being Chginese supercedes all other social contracts, apparently?

Bad:

1. Cold water washing machines that also rip up your clothes
2. When shopping having to take your item to one counter for an invoice, then a different counter to pay, then back to the original counter to collect.
3. Lack of big shoe sizes.
4. Firecrackers being let off at strange times which then set off a chain reaction of car alarms.
5. Lack of spacial awareness. They walk like they drive.

fortune_nookie wrote:5. Sorry, and I will take crap for this but.... Expats, and I am one…. More so recently, the quality has gone down in recent years and I notice there are more from 2nd and 3rd world countries that think they are entitled to God knows what?.

i dont think it is proper to say that the quality of expats has gone down, then mention there are more from 2nd and 3rd world countries..

all countries have all types of people.
some people from the 3rd world might be more educated than those from developed countries