The 5 Stages of Expat Life in China
In China, you meet other expats from all walks of life and
stages of their China experience. We've mapped out five of the key stages of
expat life in China:
1) The Study Abroad Student:
Bright-eyed 18-year-olds who come to China for the first time,
these China dwellers are too temporary to really be considered expats who are
usually temporary themselves. However, they dive in deeply, and change their
Facebook locations to their new Chinese home city promptly upon arrival, even
if they'll only be there for three months. They don't have much money- or
they're Saudi princes; there isn't much of an in-between- and what they do have
they spend on overweight baggage fees after cramming shampoo and first aid kits
into their duffel bags because who knows what China will have. They make best
friends with their Chinese tutors (or date them, and it's a big scandal) and
live two to a room in a shabby university dorm where everyone smokes in the
hallways.
This stage in an expat's time in China is characterized by
eating the exact same thing every day, being shepherded by university staff to
events like dumpling making classes at 8 am on Sunday after a night of sweaty
Chinese clubbing, thinking sweaty Chinese clubbing is the pinnacle of
nightlife, and never actually getting over jet lag. It's a time of partying, of
wonder, of feeling homesick and hours and hours of Chinese study.
2) The Young Teacher:
With fresh degrees in their hands, these twenty-somethings roll
into China with teaching jobs lined up. The unlucky ones end up getting duped
by a tutoring center to work too many hours for too little pay. The wiser ones
find a sweet gig that pays them to roll into class a few times a week, yawn,
sing a song, and return to bed (and then they stay at the job forever because
who wouldn't?). These expats have evolved from university dorm life to … teacher
dorm life. And their school won't fix their wifi, or leaky pipe, or hole in
their ceiling, but that's OK because they get to work with awesome/terrible
children every day.
This time in an expat's life is characterized by trips to
Boracay, sleeping in past their alarm and running into class in their pajamas,
starting to get sick of Chinese food, realizing they can't drink fake alcohol
like they used to, and strange origami gifts from their students. It's a time
of experimenting with adulthood while staying in touch with your inner child.
2) The Young Professional:
Mid-twenties, early thirties young adults working for magazines,
international schools, start-ups, what have you. These expats can usually be
found in first-tier cities as they can't go a week without a cheeseburger at
this point in their China career. They can often be found riding expensive
fixed-gear bikes when you can get a junk one on the corner for next to nothing,
job hopping at alarming speeds, and opening weird businesses like video game
bars and grilled cheese shops (this is real).
This time in an expat's life is characterized by spending too
much money on alcohol and cheese, traveling to obscure parts of the country to “discover
real China,” planning on moving to Dali, and being
ignored by their Chinese landlords. It's a time of real independence and being
kind of a douche.
3) The Professional Professional:
This is an expat who wears a suit. They're actually pretty hard
to find these days, and often spend half the year in China, and half the year
in a country where they can actually breathe. These are the actual “expats,” in the traditional sense of the word. The men and women with
Western salaries. The ones that China is so desperately trying to attract more
of. Honestly they seem like a dying breed nowadays, and soon may even be
extinct … kind of like the unicorn.
This time in an expat's life is characterized by purchasing billion-dollar
air purifiers for their minimalist downtown apartment, buying Starbucks every
day because they can, eating really fancy salads, having a driver who hangs out
with them all day and becomes their best friend (sitcom idea?), being torn
between leaving China and the small fortune they rake in every year, and
marrying a Chinese local. It's a time of career growth and developing
country-induced stress headaches.
4) The Family Expat:
The professional professional with a family in tow. In most cases, their
company sets them up real nicely in a villa in a compound that looks like a
creepy fake version of California. They send their kids to international
schools and feel guilty on every polluted day. Their bored spouses wander
around the city aimlessly with no work visa and no Chinese language skills.
Their teenager gets into trouble because the drinking age in China is about
four years old.
This time in an expat's life is characterized by buying billion
dollar air purifiers for their minimalist suburban villa, stocking their
kitchens with Cheerios and goat cheese, fighting over the family driver, and
letting ayis raise their young children. It's a time of both extreme comfort
and extreme anxiety.
Key Words: Expat in China, Shanghai Expat, Life in China
Key Words: Expat in China, Shanghai Expat, Life in China
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