….so you wanna move to China???

Packing:

·         Hair Products

·         Shoes

·         Coats

·         Pants

·         Deodarant

·         90 day supply of prescription meds

·         120 day supply of over the counter meds/vitamins/supplements

·         90 day supply of your favorite toiletries, cosmetics, hair care products, lotions

·         Portable Chargers

·         Usually your first two suitcases up to 50lbs are included in your flight. Anything  after that you will have to pay for. Pack tight! I used zip-space saving bags.

·         Download digital books to save space Favorite Snacks- bring some of your favorite snacks to help you over the hump while getting settled and learning online shopping and your local stores

·         Favorite spices/seasonings

·         Clothes for each season

Money/Banking:

·         Have more than one bank account

Transferring Money home:

·         Bank Wire Transfers – This can take a long time. Take your passport, resident permit card, have all your banking information home ready (account number, routing number etc.) Be prepared and ready. I have heard that if you go to the same person it can become easier and quicker. (I have not done this – but I know it works)

·         PayPal – You can transfer money PayPal to PayPal. If you don’t already have an American PayPal account I would open it and connect it to your American bank account. When you arrive you can open a Chinese PayPal account and connect it to your Chinese bank account. Then you can send money between your accounts.

·         AliPay- AliPay is an app that you will use here. If you make friends with a Chinese individual they can send money from their AliPay account. You can’t send money from your AliPay to your American Account. What some people do is have a friend send money for them – treat the friend to dinner/lunch or give them a small fee for sending money home for them.

·         ATM Card- Once you open your Chinese bank account – you could ask for two cards. Send a card home and have someone withdraw money for you and deposit it for you into your American account. (I have not tried this but I hear it works just fine if you have someone you trust with your banking card).

·         MoneyMan/Friend- you will soon find that there are “Money Men” who can- or will – for a small fee – send your money home for you. I have not used a Money Man but I have heard good things about them! Use at your own discernment.

Language:

·         Learn the language. Here are some links and apps to help you learn some basic/useful mandarin phrases

·         Practice-Practice-Practice the language

·         If you can start practicing the language now- DO IT

Taxi Drivers:

·         Know your location destination. Have it in English and Chinese.

·         They may not stop for you. Ugh! I know.

·         Keep some cash on you. Some taxi drivers will accept WeChat/AliPay but cash always works

Navigating Daily Life:

·         DON’T be afraid to ask for help.

·         People will look, point, and stare. You’re not the first one it has happened to. BE prepared for the cameras and the pictures.

·         Water here is damaging and will dry your skin and hair.  (I have not had this issue)

·         Write your questions down

·         Keep toilet paper/hand sanitizer/wet wipes on your person at all times

·         Always have portable charger for your phone/tablet with you-charged

·         The AQ (Air Quality) isn’t the best- get a mask to wear for bad AQ days

·         Harassment and discrimination- sadly is normal.

Hospital Visits:

• BE sure to have insurance with your job! That’s a must.
• Take your passport and resident card with you
• Be patient
• Research a hospital/doctor/dentist that caters to foreigners – this is your body and something you shouldn’t budge on.

Mailing packages home:

• This shouldn’t be too hard but I took a Chinese friend the first time I went. They needed some things written in Chinese so that was helpful.

Having packages sent you:

• This has worked for me. I haven’t had one issue with a package arriving. Have your family label your package with your address in English and Chinese (Example Below). Sending priority will cost more. Just have them send it regular mail via USPS and expect it to take 4-5 weeks. I have received my packages in 3 weeks time but I do understand that it can take longer.
• Send your address to your family once you have it. Tell them – Copy and paste it into Word – print it out- tape it on the package- you should be good to go.

Example:

陕西南路388号,近复兴中路

_________________________________

Happy Buddha (Your Name)

388 Shaanxi Nan Lu (Your street address in English)

District (I have the district I live in right here- Everyone doesn’t do that I am just very detailed because I don’t want my items lost)

Shanghai, China____ zip code (City, Country you live in)

Chinese Address

Name/Street Address/District/City, Country Zip Code

*this is information of a local restaurant*

Apps:

·         Chinese Skill

·         Baidu Translate

·         Google Translate

·         WeChat

·         Whats App

·         Skype

·         TaoBao

·         QQ Music

·         PayPal

·         Your personal banking apps/credit card apps

·         CTrip

·         XE Currency

·         SmarShanghai – I think there is one for the other major cities in China

·         DiDi (China’s version of Uber)

·         Air Matters

·         VPN – to access blocked sites from home

Its good to have these already on your phone- you can set them up when you arrive. You will need your international number to set a lot of these apps up.

Work/Work Contract

·         Doesn’t hurt to negotiate this if possible. Make sure you’re getting paid what you’re worth. Do some research for what teachers/trainers are making in the city you’re moving to.

·         Keep all your emails of everything and copies of everything.

·         Always show up to work early. At least 15 minutes. There is no excuse for being late.

·         Take initiative at work

·         Record the events of your day- good and bad- record the times and dates of arriving to and from work

Apartment

·         If you get to choose on your own – shop around. China is a buyers market. There are so many apartments – you will find what you like.

·         Negotiate. You can negotiate prices. Crazy right? IF the rent is $865.00 at home its $865.00 – Negotiate. Don’t be afraid to say no or that you don’t like something.

·         Dryer- not common – but it doesn’t hurt to ask. People hang their clothes to dry here- and outside on communal drying racks. I do not do that. (My apartment building has communal dryers and I have my own washing machine)

·         You can negotiate/ask for pots/pans/kitchen utensils/toaster oven (ovens are not common)

Shopping- Food and personal:

·         Refunds- getting a refund for something can be tough. Make friends with a co-worker who can help translate for you if you need to return something somewhere (I haven’t had an issue returning items)

·         A lot of shopping happens on TaoBao – you will learn this app very soon

·         There are Western stores – which will cost more because you are purchasing imported products but you may be able to find what you need

·         There are so many malls and street shopping

·         The food in the markets will look and smell different. It’s okay. You’re in a totally new and different country.

MISC:

·         Everything isn’t efficient

·         BE prepared to wait

·         People may seem rude- compared to home- they are

·         Learn some of China’s history to learn more about the culture (I should have done this)

·         People spit- everywhere- its normal

·         Everyone doesn’t wash their hands – ugh!

·         Soap isn’t in all bathrooms

·         It is hard to tell you what to expect because every experience is open. Be ready for the adventure of a lifetime. Nothing will compare to this and if you can live in China you can live anywhere!!!

·         BE open to new

·         Try new things

·         Remember you’re not at home so it won’t be like home

·         Your life will be run by your phone and technology – be prepared for that

·         All Western Restaurants wont taste like home

·         Be brave and try new things

·         There are tons of restaurants from all around the world.

·

Contacting home:

• Skype (Voice calling)  – I pay a small monthly fee and I can make unlimited calls home each month – Skype Video should be free
• We Chat – I use the video and phone feature often – sometimes the calls drop so its not 100% reliable
• International Phone Plan – I don’t think its wroth it but it is an option
• Whats App – VPN needed
• Facebook – VPN needed

PMA: Positive Mental Attitude:

Beef up your PMA before boarding the plane. Start now.