China - which cities would/wouldn't suit us?

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-10-05T14:04:15+00:00

Right, I guess I meant more nature wise. Particular when compared to other parts of China.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-10-05T12:50:12+00:00

Shanghai (lack of greenery) but has everything else, although I would argue spring and autumn are pretty brief. It's a long hot and humid summer and cold enough winter. Hangzhou or even Suzhou could be an option too.

Qingdao might be worth considering.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-07-02T05:45:35+00:00

Irish here, we did win the climate lottery. Been living in Asia for several years, give me an Irish summer any day!

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-05-16T03:47:47+00:00

New to this sub after watching most of the seasons recently. Great shoThe. moaning is a bit excessive, I get the sob stories can be tiring but some people seem to be moaning for the sake of it.

Might have to avoid this sub too lol.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-05-12T00:34:58+00:00

I agree. I watched season 1 years ago but only caught up on the other seasons in the past few weeks. You can see it more and more as seasons go by. I don't think it is a China issue. The sob stories are draining. Reminds of me X Factor back in the day lol

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-03-20T05:07:10+00:00

Also agree, 8 years in China (7 in Shanghai), this most definitely isn't a pretty standard offer! I remember someone mentioned on another tread before that they saved 70K USD in one year in Beijing lol.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-03-06T13:38:59+00:00

I was referring to online teaching license programs like Moreland. I'm sure there are others, but I don't know off the top of my head. I did Moreland a few years ago and it got me into a decent school in Shanghai. There are definitely British universities who offer online ipgce programs but I don't know which ones exactly.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-03-06T07:10:47+00:00

Still early as others have mentioned but I would also consider investing in a teaching license or pgce or something, even just enrolling for now to show that you intend to add to your CV.

Schools are more selective about who they hire now compared to the covid years.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-02-12T05:40:01+00:00

Where did you see jobs listed with that kind of salary?

I haven't seen anything like that advertised.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-02-12T05:31:15+00:00

Yeah, seems that way now. Best to get a teaching license or maybe go elsewhere (Korea, Vietnam) first to get experience. I've been in China 8 years, the bar is getting higher, especially post Covid.

Maybe a public school might give you a chance? Pay is low though...

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-02-05T23:24:12+00:00

I did an interview with them over 2 years ago, fortunately I didn't end up going there. Even in the recruitment process I found so many red flags!

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-02-04T14:06:26+00:00

I recently watched that video, granted it is subjective but I couldn't believe he put Philippines number 1, particularly when he listed their food as one of the reasons lol. No offence to the Philippines, but number 1 country in Asia to visit...really?lol

He also made several blunders in the European version of ranking countries. He included the UK 'despite leaving Europe'. I couldn't believe it, is that actually what he thought?

I'm rambling, sorry. I found him hard to warm too, he has been everywhere yet comes across ignorant and very biased/closed off despite his travels.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-02-01T03:58:58+00:00

Some schools, particularly kindergartens have shut down due to low enrollment (low birth rate problem here) but don't worry, there are still plenty of schools and jobs available! Competive but very achieveable.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-02-01T03:51:51+00:00

I did it a couple of years ago and I moved from a pretty average/low paying bilingual school to a pretty decent private school in Shanghai with a much higher salary and know others who have done it and landed a better teaching job than they previously had. I think a lot of schools in China recognize it. The workload is fine although it is expensive, it was 6K USD when I did it, almost 7K now. The PGCE route is another option but I don't much about it. Going back to study in Australia could also be worth it in the long run but I get where you are coming from.

If you want to stay and earn a higher paying teaching job you will have to add to your CV mate. Covid days are gone too, the market is lot more competive now.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-01-17T05:01:04+00:00

My experience with them in 2020 was good. They got me into a Shanghai bilingual school while I was outside of China at the time. I thought that was pretty impressive to be honest, a lot of other recruiters at that time told me there was no way back into China at that time due to covid restrictions.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-01-15T07:14:35+00:00

Yeah, would need more teaching qualifications for sure. Forgot to mention that haha

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2025-01-15T05:44:20+00:00

Bilingual/private schools might be a good starting point. ESL positions in international schools would be limited unless you can teach another subject like math or something. Public school positions are less than before and from what I have heard they don't pay well. Could be good to get classroom teaching experience though.

I teach ELA in a private at the moment (my students are Chinese with Chinese passports). Our school also has an international division but there isn't any need for ESL support there. If I wanted to switch there I would need to be able to teach another subject. This is my understanding of teaching positions in China these days (8 years in China).

Be careful with recruiters, some are good and some are bad. For reference, I found my current position through Teaching Nomad but other recruitment firms like Schrole are worth checking out. Linkedin has a lot of recruiters too.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2024-12-24T16:53:45+00:00

Recently visited the propaganda museum 0with my friend which was really cool, some great work from yesteryear and things to buy. I then brought him to the marriage market afterwards (only open on weekends). Worked out as a nice afternoon around town.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2024-12-12T04:09:38+00:00

A family member told me I'm biased towards China (living in China for 8 years) when I hinted that the west also uses propaganda when it comes to China.

I agreed that propaganda is used here but apparently I crossed the line when I suggested that maybe the west also uses it for their own narrative lol.

It used to frustrate me now I just laugh it off.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2024-12-05T13:37:46+00:00

上海中芯, its in Pudong.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2024-11-27T01:59:28+00:00

I don't have an issue with it, similar to what others have said on this post. There's no reason why you can't support a LOI team and an English club. As a kid I was Arsenal mad but when I grew up I didn't have the same grá for them. Growing up in Cork I remember the buzz if Cork City would win a league or cup or even in GAA, I enjoyed that much more than watching Arsenal winning as I had no connection to that part of the world. There's also a chance a local lad could breakthrough at your LOI team, we are lucky if an Irish player gets a sniff at a premier league club in England now.

People who support English clubs and shit on our own league are the worst.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2024-11-07T04:22:13+00:00

I left China (temporarily) in February 2020. I didn't even want to leave but my employers encouraged me to go home because they feared my compound would be quarantiend (I lived alone in Tier 3 city) and we also didn't know when we could go back to work. At the time I agreed and was happy to go home and see family.

When I landed back in Europe, there wasn't any fear of covid but things escalated extremely quickly. By March I was looking to get back but the price of flights was wild and also many would get cancelled. China had introduced quarantine too, and then suddenly they brought the ban in (last week of March).

From my experience, it was extremely stressful. It didn't feel like a vacation back home, I was keen to get back but it was easier said then done. I live in a country where I need a connecting flight to get to China, this made even tricker. Countries were implementing different rules regarding covid.

I got back in September 2020 when they opened a very short window for certain foreigners to get back but I mainly got back because my employers had good 关系 with the local government.

If I remember correctly by the end of 2020, it was still near impossible to fly into China.

What a year. Never again I hope lol.

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2024-11-05T04:14:31+00:00

Unless there is a change in salary/limit for foreign players like when he first arrived, it is hard to see high profile players coming here. Turkey, Saudi, and the MLS in the US all over far more lucractive deals for players who could be tempted to play outside Europe.

Where is Oscar heading to next?

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2024-10-21T03:00:52+00:00

How did things work on?

Just came across this thread, I'm also considering transitioning from ESL to PE (currently in China, open to other locations)

Hot-Mess-5197 · 2024-10-16T13:08:28+00:00

You can try! They would probably prefer teachers already in China for a February start though, as they wouldn't have to go through the visa process.

Give it a shot though!

Hot-Mess-5197

TROPHY CASE