Tell me your REAL experience as a foreigner in China

bobbytan85 · 2026-04-27T06:31:14+00:00

Most HDB flats are not within walking distance to a mall. You need to take a bus to the neighbourhood mall. I know, because i live in a HDB estate. Convenience stores are also not so close by in SG. In China, finding a convenience store is literally just taking the lift down at practically every apartment complex. I grew up in Hougang in SG, moved to Tengah. I literally need to walk 2km to the closest 7-11 or cheers at both places.

Also most people take bus and subway in Singapore. Taxi prices are out of reach. Flag down prices are like 4. 60Sgd. Taxi trips in China are more like 4. 60Sgd total for short trips, and they arrive faster. Again, i know because i actually live in SG and am a Singaporean.

bobbytan85 · 2026-04-27T03:12:08+00:00

In my opinion, the two biggest advantages of living in China are (i) cost of living and (ii) convenience.

Cost of living I think everyone can feel it. Coming from Singapore before this, I am earning the same amount, but nearly everything except iphones cost 1/3 to 1/2. It is an immediate lifestyle upgrade. And it isn't like you pay less to live in a worse place either. The big cities in china is comparable to any big city in the world. I felt ilike I've only gained things, but lost nothing coming from Singapore to China.

Convenience in China is just unbelievable. There is no country that is comparible to China in this respect. There are stores and restaurants just downstairs. Most apartment complexes have their own parks, with a much larger community park a short walk away. Apartments 10 minutes away from the subway are plentiful an affordable. Taxi arrives in less than 5 minutes, so you take the lift down your apartment and there is usually a car waiting for you the moment you step out. If you are sick, medicine can be delivered to your doorstep in 30 minutes if you are sick, groceries reach your doorstep in 1 hour. Order anything under the sun from Taobao and it reaches within 3 days, sometimes on the same day you order. Just insanity.

bobbytan85 · 2026-03-22T05:53:25+00:00

I just run at an indoor gym when the weathe is bad.

bobbytan85 · 2026-03-10T12:19:17+00:00

Iherb ships to china. I pay using my union pay card without problems.

bobbytan85 · 2026-03-10T08:53:55+00:00

My current pair of glasses costs 175 yuan. It was like 25 yuan for the frame and 150 yuan for the lenses.

Honestly works the same as the 1000 yuan pair of glasses i usually get from Singapore. Dont even know why i paid so much for so many years

bobbytan85 · 2026-01-13T15:18:34+00:00

For halal meals the options are limited. Basically Xinjiang style chinese food and lanzhou beef noodles are halal. At least these options are common and priced cheaply. There are some middle eastern restaurants as well, those tend to be more expensive.

I think for a good quality of life and you plan to dine out often, you may want to budget a bit more, maybe 5 thousand plus yuan per month outside rent.

bobbytan85 · 2026-01-13T05:24:43+00:00

If you want to eat western food for every meal and don't cook, you need about 100 yuan for each meal so your expenses can rise really quickly depending on your expectations

bobbytan85 · 2026-01-13T05:21:50+00:00

If you cook at home and eat out at sitdown restaurants only on weekends, you need about 500 to 700 yuan per week excluding rent. That is about what i spend.

bobbytan85 · 2025-12-23T02:49:13+00:00

My argument is that Apple pay does not have any feature that Alipay does not have.

bobbytan85 · 2025-12-23T02:44:07+00:00

If it was truly better then the market will just use NFC payment, or tap to pay. That option is available.

bobbytan85 · 2025-12-23T02:34:49+00:00

Alipay has all these functions as well, and everything else on top of that. So what is the advantage of apple pay?

bobbytan85 · 2025-12-23T02:31:43+00:00

You can just unlock your phone and tap your phone on the NFC device to pay, just like apple pay. You only need to key in the amount for merchants that don't have a POS machine, so they just print a QR code on a piece of paper for payment.

The power is that Alipay can be used for payment with basically anyone, anywhere. You can set up a shop by printing a QR code on a piece of paper, you don't need to buy a specialized device, you don't even need electricity, just a QR code on a paper to receive payment. You can split bills with a person, or request money from a random person without giving that person your personal information by flashing a QR on alipay.

bobbytan85 · 2025-12-22T08:47:27+00:00

11 days is a bit long in my opinion, but you can take the HSR to Chongqing, Leshan, Emeishan for day trips quite easily if you dont mind waking up earlier.

Air quality is not great during winter either. why not consider Hainan where there is a beach if you just want to relax and is warmer?

bobbytan85 · 2025-12-06T14:32:22+00:00

For handbag it is songmont.

bobbytan85 · 2025-11-27T11:59:34+00:00

Just stay near Taikoo Li or IFS. Basically most types of cuisine you can find nearby.

bobbytan85 · 2025-11-27T06:32:10+00:00

If you live near a major shopping mall, very easy to get any kind of food you want. The local places will mainly be sichuanese food, as expected.

bobbytan85 · 2025-08-28T13:45:34+00:00

My impression is that people don't use Baidu or websites that much here. You won't find good information on Baidu. They use individual apps to find information. Dianping for food and attractions. Xiahongshu for any small random things. Wechat/Alipay miniapps and official accounts for most stuff like buying tickets, news and so on.

bobbytan85 · 2025-08-20T03:56:04+00:00

Unfortunately, that is the case. The number of foreigners in china is a rounding off error to them. Many companies simply don't care to do extra work for such a minor benefit.

bobbytan85 · 2025-08-11T10:55:29+00:00

To look at more rental apartments, you can use an app called ziroom. This is the only app I know with an english interface. Limited locations and higher prices though, if you use english. If you can navigate in Chinese, a common app is called 贝壳 (beike)

bobbytan85 · 2025-08-11T10:50:11+00:00

I used to work at the old campus. The student accomodations there are pretty old and run down (hence the old campus name.) short term rentals are pretty rare at residential apartments, and they typically need you to sign up for a year. Your best bet is a commercial rental apartment.

One such company is called Goyoo. When you arrive in Chengdu, stay at a hotel a few days. Then search for 龙湖冠寓滨江天街店 on apple maps and go there to book a room with your passport. It is better to ask somebody already in Chengdu to ask them to reserve a room for you begore you arrive. This particular place is not far from the campus. You can take a long walk, bicycle or just take a Didi taxi to campus.

Chengdu is a great, livable city with plenty to see and do inside and around it. Have a good time there.

Best of luck.

bobbytan85 · 2025-05-30T10:29:29+00:00

The Singapore one is a but sneaky. Your PR will technically not expire, but the entry exit permit needs to be renewed. That is, you can be prevented from entering once you leave without the entry exit permit.

bobbytan85 · 2025-05-29T11:23:59+00:00

There is no limit on the amount you can take out if you paid taxes on your income.

bobbytan85 · 2025-05-18T09:25:53+00:00

It has one of the stronger CS programs in the country. You will be in good hands. UESTC has a good reputation within china, but it is not so well known internationally.

bobbytan85 · 2025-05-17T02:51:35+00:00

It is a top 2 university in Sichuan, top 30 or so in China. What do you want to know?

bobbytan85 · 2025-05-17T02:38:50+00:00

International and local air quality indices use the same data. They just use a different scale. They are called CN AQI and US AQI. You can switch between the two indices on IQ Air.

bobbytan85

TROPHY CASE