Full Version: Canadian expat Ryan describes his laowai life in Suzhou, China

Canadian expat Ryan describes his laowai life in Suzhou, China

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Moving from Canada to China was something that Ryan didn't really plan to do. But love intervened, and marriage is in the air. Here, Ryan talks a bit about working in China, the cost of living, and the benefits of learning the language among other things.
  
Ryan McLaughlin  



September 18 2006

-Where were you born?
I was born in a mid-sized Canadian city, but generally consider Canada's Niagara Region home.

-In which country and city are you living now?
I live in Suzhou, a second-tier city of roughly 5 million people, about a half-hour train ride from Shanghai on China's eastern coast. It is called "The Venice of the East," as it is crisscrossed with numerous small canals and peppered with historic and scenic gardens.

-Are you living alone or with your family?
I live with my fiancée.

-How long have you been living in China?
We've actually just relocated to Suzhou, but I was previously living in China's north-eastern province of Liaoning in a city called Dalian. I was there for about a year and a half.

-What is your age?
I'm 29.

-When did you come up with the idea of living in China?
I chose to move to China somewhat on a whim. After returning from some global backpacking several years ago, I was looking forward to making my way down to Australia. I decided to ship off to Asia for a bit and teach ESL to help save some cash. China was simply the easiest country to get into quickly. After being here for eight months, and with an Aussie visa awaiting me at Sydney airport, I screwed up all those plans and fell head over heels in love. I stayed on and it's the best thing I could have done - we've recently gotten engaged and will be married in the New Year.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
Not at all. If you have the right paperwork (supplied by your employer) and all that jazz, it's pretty routine. It is generally also not too difficult to arrive on a tourist visa (easy to get) and then have it changed to a suitable working visa upon arrival.

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
Most employers will provide reasonably comprehensive medical coverage as part of a standard contract - whether you choose to use it with a visit to a Chinese hospital is a decision I've been fortunate enough to thus far avoid.

-How do you make your living in China? Do you have any type of income generated?
I've had a series of teaching jobs since arriving in China. There is absolutely no shortage of such work for native English speakers. Though a degree (in anything) is sometimes required, I've met many who only have a college diploma (such as myself) or less and they've not had any problems landing teaching gigs.

Now having a bit better lay of the land, I tend to find work through referrals of friends and such, but when I first decided to come here I used the Internet extensively. There are a number of good sites that list English teaching jobs in China. It's a good idea to be wary at first as there are a lot of cheats. By and by though, finding out an English school's reputation online is getting easier and easier - reducing the risk for us ESL teachers.

-Do you speak Chinese and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
China is a country full of a multitude of dialects with a common writing system. Though Mandarin (putonghua) is the official language, and taught in schools country-wide, such is often not the case on the street here in Suzhou. That said, most everyone understands Mandarin and so being able to speak it is a huge asset. It tunes you into aspects of life here that are just completely off-limits to you otherwise.

My Mandarin learning has been slow and painful, but nearly completely of my own doing. Only recently have I been considering formal schooling in it, and until now have been doing it the self-study way (which, in my experience, tends to mean lots of book buying and little actual work). The learning curve for Chinese is steep, but where it is tough in the beginning, it levels out quickly (somewhat the opposite of English).

Being able to speak the language here not only brings you closer to the people, but it provides you insight into local customs and promotes better cultural understanding. I missed that in my first few months here, but it is a lesson I'm learning over time. It's easy to say something is silly or stupid when you don't understand it, but those silly and stupid things become tougher to find when you know what's going on.

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
The Internet has brought home to me, and often curbs my homesickness. It's quite easy now to have video chats with my friends in Canada, and I get e-mails from my family on a regular basis. However, there are times when life here is just too different, and I start longing for the things I know.

China, though dubbed 'developing,' really is picking up the pace when it comes to Western comforts. I can buy most foods that I would buy back home, and there are no shortage of Western-themed bars here in Suzhou. However, Western feel comes with a Western price tag, and that's often too expensive for an ESL teacher's limited salary. What teaching doesn't offer in cash, it makes up for in free time. I have a lot of time to explore the area around Suzhou (lots of historic and natural areas to keep me busy), as well as develop my interests - namely Web design, Chinese learning and song writing.

-Do you have other plans for the future?
As mentioned, I'll be getting married in the not so distant future. We're planning a small tropical beach wedding either in Southern China, or Thailand. After the wedding we plan to trek through S.E. Asia a bit. Otherwise, most travel will be limited to the area where we live. Having just arrived here, there are lots for us both to see in and around Suzhou and Shanghai.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
I currently live in housing provided by my school. It's a simple two-bedroom apartment, and more than suits our needs. I'm not sure what local rental or purchase rates run, but it's reasonable to assume you can rent a nice two-bedroom apartment in most places outside Shanghai and Beijing for between 1,000 RMB and 2,000 RMB ($125-$250 USD) a month.

-What is the cost of living in China?
The cost of living in China is quite low, provided you live like locals live. If you're at the bar every night drinking imported beers or spirits, and prefer to eat at swanky restaurants, you'll burn through your earnings pretty quick. However, one area where China is very unlike my home in Canada is eating out. Eating at any of the variety of small restaurants that serve Chinese food will often not cost you much more than cooking the meals yourself ($2-4 USD per two-person meal). Also, taxis are much more affordable here, and a ride will rarely cost you more than $1 to $3 USD.

Big supermarkets like Tesco, Walmart and Carrefour are widespread and offer quality food at a fraction of the cost of Western countries. For an even cheaper, if a bit less hygienic, option - markets selling everything from pets to produce are also easy to find. A basic knowledge of Chinese and local pricing is a must though, as there is often a huge "Foreigner Markup" that needs to be negotiated down to something reasonable.

-What do you think about the Chinese people?
Generally speaking I would say most locals are friendly and extremely curious about foreigners. They may have their own (sometimes negative or racist) opinions about foreigners, but Chinese culture is not a culture where you would ever openly insult someone - so foreigners are often made to feel very welcome and special. If you don't like being looked at though, you'd best stay home. Even in a city as used to tourists and foreigners as Suzhou, you will still pull long stares from most pedestrians.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in China?
I'm sure these are different for everyone. Personally, I hate red tape, and China's cluttered with it. There is a lot of bureaucracy for darn near everything, and it can be stifling at times. Customer service is still a relatively new concept in China, and is bound to improve as the country moves away from State-run enterprises to private business, but it's just not there yet.

Also, despite having a culture and history that dates back roughly 5,000 years; it can be tough to find authentic historical things that don't have a plastic or fibreglass veneer.

But, life is generally pretty easy here. An ESL teacher with a modest (by Western standards) salary is often making 2-3 times the average local income, and is definitely not working full-time hours to earn it. I work between 16 and 21 hours a week, have a comfortable apartment, can afford to go out for dinner at a nice restaurant whenever I'd like, have money to travel and still manage to save for my impending wedding.

It is also an interesting time to be in China. There is lots of talk about China being "on the rise," and though personally I don't completely buy the hype, it is still a vibrant time to be in a country that everyone is so interested in talking about.

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in China?
Many, and I suggest they visit my site on the subject that is listed below. Basically my only advice is "come with no illusions." Expats in China constantly joke about newcomers and how they hop off the plane with images of how they feel China should look or act. The only thing you can bet on is that it won't be what you expect. China is a land of contradictions, and that makes it an interesting and sometimes frustrating place to live. Things change daily here, and it can be hard to keep up with it, but it does keep you on your toes.

-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about China?
I've recently started building a site called Lost Laowai with the purpose of providing information to foreigners who are coming or have recently arrived in China - topics include day-to-day life, language, teaching, travel, etc.