I'm considering moving to either Shanghai, Seoul, or Japan and teaching English. I'm so torn between all three places and I keep thinking I have my mind made up, but then I read some cool shit about one of the other places and I get confused again lol. If any of you guys have advice/comments on living (or even traveling) to any of these three places, can you please chime in.
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I came to Shanghai thinking there would be a lot more English speakers because Shanghai is usually considered very "international" With that said, barely anyone speaks English here and the best English speakers I've encountered were the Shouhouyuan at the fake markets. If you are not conversational in Mandarin I would not suggest coming to Shanghai unless you are okay with not being able to speak English often besides in class. Also if you look Asian the locals will automatically assume you can speak Chinese and will talk badly off you behind your back when they realize you can't.
Tokyo > Shanghai >>>>>>>>>>>>> Seoul.
Just wondering, weren't you in an Econ PhD program?
Thanks for the input. If you can expand at all, that'd be great (but I have a feeling I might already know why you say that).
Yep. Dropped out after earning the masters, mang.
I have not been to Shanghai or Seoul, but would generally agree with seedy's above assessment (just based on reading, research, stories from friends, and vacation in Tokyo).
Have a few friends who taught English in Japan (typically not in Tokyo, it's pretty expensive to just live there, but close enough to travel to Tokyo in short amount of time). They all loved their experience in Japan. Tokyo's a hell of a place - it's a very unique mix of the modern world and history. But unless you're going to expat centric places, you'll be hard pressed to find locals that speak enough English to string together a sentence. I find that they are very nice to non-locals. I'm Asian and was repeatedly mistaken for Japanese, but once they figured I wasn't one of them (or maybe they thought I was Japanese-American), they usually go out of their way to help me with directions or whatever else (e.g. several instances where locals went out of their way to take the right subway car with me or walk me to my destination).
What I've heard about Shanghai is that there's been a lot of development in the recent years - so a lot of new large buildings (some that are fairly empty) and that the pollution is pretty bad. It might be interesting to go just to see what the big deal about China is... I've personally had bad experiences with the mainlanders visiting HK (tactless, arrogant and rude), but I wouldn't generalize and assume people in Shanghai are the same way until I go there and see it for myself.
Seoul I've heard good things, but is seen as a "lesser" version of Tokyo... That's what I've heard, at least. Though from other forums, I've read that English is a bit more common there than Tokyo, and Koreans there like to practice their English with non-locals. Travel forums described S.Koreans as more 'direct' or in-your-face vs. Japanese, which could be good and bad.
I'd pick Tokyo hands down.
Seoul is miles ahead of both cities - if you actually like beautiful girls.
By beautiful girls you mean plastic surgery
I had several friends teach English in Asia, incl. Seoul, Japan and Shanghai. Make sure you ask others who have taught at the same program as the one you're interested in. I've heard countless stories of foreigners getting screwed over by visa/pay/housing.
lived in all 3 cities, my rankings for fun if youre young are
seoul>tokyo>>>>shanghai
OP here. It's funny, because now I don't think I'll be moving to any of these places. Now I'm planning on choosing Shenzhen or Taipei. I hope to visit and/or live in Shanghai, Seoul, and Japan at some point in my life, but for my first move to Asia, I think Shenzhen or Taipei will be best. I'm really not sure how you guys enjoy this corporate life. I've been working for like 1.5 years now, and I guarantee I'm going to quit within the next 6 months and move to Asia (because this corporate shit is miserable). Life is short, and sitting in a cubicle for 40+ hours a week is such a waste of life (especially when you're somewhat young). Do any of you feel this way?
I lived in Shenzhen for 8 years. It's a good vibrant city that's more young and innovative than Shanghai. Would move to Taipei for the women lol
Cool, man. I hear Shenzhen is good for potential business opportunities (given that it's one of the top manufacturing locations). What did you do in Shenzhen?
LOL @ the Taipei comment -- it's definitely consistent with what I've heard (some even go as far as to say that it houses the hottest chicks in all of Asia).
Seoul!
Haha, I've heard good things about the women (despite the fact that they're fake ass plastic surgery chicks).
I don't know about Japan or China, but Seoul has one hell of a night scene, which is derived from the presence of incredibly hot women, whether they are fake or not. Unless you are looking for a serious partner, why judge what they've done to themselves. Hell, even for a marriage partner, who cares!
Man, I am leaving for Asia within the next two months. So many choices... where to go?
I think I will choose Taipei or Shanghai... probably Taipei haha
So, if anyone has been to Taipei and wants to share their experiences, post them in this thread (or PM me if you prefer).
what are you going to do in taipei?
Regardless of where I go, I'm going to teach English (initially). Teaching English doesn't require too many hours, so I plan on devoting a lot of time to learning some freelancing skills, finding clients, etc. Hopefully in 6 - 12 months I'll be pulling in enough money so that I can work from my laptop and travel all around East Asia.
Shanghai. Most comparable to NYC out of all cities in Asia. There's so much to do there, and the food is amazing.
Or from another perspective - New York is like a Hong Kong in the West while - Paris is like a Shanghai in the West
Shenzhen is vibrant but Hong Kong is better.
I have been living in or visited all of the cities you mentioned except Seoul.
Shanghai: Currently booming, a friend of mine who visited the city 5 years earlier told me he doesnt recognize most parts of it anymore. However, hardly anyone speaks English and several mainland Chinese are often rude constantly spitting on the streets or even have their babys sh*t on the sidewalk, no joke! Also most Chinese stick to themselves and it is hard to make friends with them. On the bright side, there are many expats, the nightlife is pretty cool, Chinese who studies abroad are very social and there are great bars. Check out Bar Rouge, Cloud 9 or M1nt. Living expenses are alright, but the city is full of smog. Easy to travel to some cool locations like the great wall
Shenzhen: The city is growing enormously! It has now more than 30 times the population from 1980. Hence most buildings are pretty new, and the status of a special economic zone gives the economy a huge boost. However, I didnt like the city at all. No history and everyone is only interested in making a fast buck. On the positive side, the prices are dirt cheap, Hong Kong is only 1 hour away by subway/train and Guangzhou is also pretty near. There are some cool locations in southern China to visit, too. Would still not want to live there
Tokyo: What a city! Very modern and still historical at the same time. There is endless cool stuff to do, hiking on Mt. Fuji, visiting one of the countless historical festivals, travel to the old emperial city of Kyoto or just walking through the high-tech district of Akihabara. The Japanese people are superfriendly although they barely speak English. The food is great but living expenses in Tokyo are not of this world. Expect to pay NY rents. Partys are also great but expect to pay $30 entrance fees for the cool clubs. You should also avoid the main strip in Roppongi where many foreigners end up. Can definately recommend going there!
Taipei: The city is somehow a mix of Tokyo and a Chinese city, also the mindset of the people is something in between Japanese and Chinese and with regards to the price it lies in the mid-table. The clubs are similar to Tokyo but not as expensive. The countryside is not that well known but it is probably the most interesting of all East-Asian countries. Just google "Taiwan nature". I guess it is a good tradeoff between the super modern Tokyo and the more wild China.
If you want an adventure and a huge cultural shock, go to China. If you want a safer environment, a much more development country and a lesser cultural shock, go to Japan. If you want a little bit of both, go to Taipeh. Regardless of where you go, you gonna have a hell of a time!
SB for you, sir!
PM me if you have any specific questions
Chinatown, Manhattan.
shit bro are you me? keep us posted, i been thinking about doing the same thing for a while. can't go wrong with either taipei or shanghai. i would pick shanghai just because it's much bigger (23mil vs 7mil) and similar to nyc in a lot of ways
Really surprised that no one here has mentioned Pyongyang....
Best of luck let us know how it turns out. I briefly visited Tokyo, but don't have any real input. Hope to return to the region someday.
Haha, thanks for the insight.
Thanks, man. I made up my mind in the last week or so that I'm going to Taipei (at least initially). I'll be buying my plane ticket soon (I won't fly out until mid-March though).
Go wherever suits you. I think you can mange it.
I'm actually here already haha. I went to Taipei for almost a month, Hong Kong for a few days, and now I'm in Shanghai (I've been here for about two weeks). In a few weeks, I'll also be checking out Seoul for a few days. Within the next month or so, I'll need to make a final decision about whether I want to teach somewhere in Asia, or return back to the US and build a business that will allow me to travel part of the year (because I want to be able to have this sort of life experience every year).
For anyone who's curious about Asia, here's my take on the three places that I've been to so far:
Taipei: The smallest city on this short list (only a few million people, and also feels small geographically), which is actually a good thing in my opinion. Because it's so small, it's easy to navigate on the subway (pretty much everywhere I wanted to go was less than 15 minutes away). The ease of navigation, and the fact that there are restaurants and stores everywhere, makes it an incredibly convenient city. Also, because the population is relatively low (for major Asian cities), it feels more relaxed and less chaotic. It feels like the easiest city to live in of the three, since it's a little smaller, more laid back, and the most convenient. Plus, the cost of living is the cheapest of the three, in terms of rent, eating out, etc.
Hong Kong: The most international city on the list, I saw lots of tourists and expats from many different countries. When I walk down the streets of Taipei and Shanghai, I see very few people who are not ethnically Chinese (like probably less than 1%). This is not the case in Hong Kong, as I saw tons of people that looked like they were American, European, Indian, Thai, etc. It's still pretty homogeneous, but less so than the other places (I'd guess 10% - 15% of the people I saw in Hong Kong were not ethnically Chinese). I also ran into more western restaurants and bars while walking around the streets of Hong Kong. The city is more diverse and international, and therefore leaves you with less culture shock. Hong Kong is also the most expensive city on the list.
Shanghai: This place is huge (population wise and geographically), as well as chaotic. I actually kinda like the hectic feel of this city though. Tons of pedestrians, scooters, cars, and overall noise. Also, the mainland Chinese are a little rougher around the edges. People are constantly spitting on the streets. Sometimes people will even cut in front of you in line, yell on their cell phones, and stuff like that. I heard a lot about this sort of thing when I was reading about China before coming. However, in my opinion, it's really not that bad. The stuff I read made it sound like mainlanders were really uncivilized, but most of that stuff happens very infrequently (aside from the spitting haha). Besides, when stuff like that happens, it's really not that big of a deal, so people need to learn how to get over it and deal with it. So far, I have a positive opinion about mainland China and the people who live here, and would urge any traveler to check this place out. Especially Shanghai, which seems like a pretty happening (and rising) city.
Where are you at the moment?
Whenever I read about South Korea, I hear a bunch of negative stuff. People seem to complain that they're not that happy living there and that Koreans are xenophobic. Basically, they just complain that life is miserable there.
See these two blogs for examples on what I'm talking about: http://www.expathell.com/ http://www.sett.com/AmericanInKorea
Has anybody spent a decent amount of time in Korea? If so, are these guys right? Or are they just over-negative haters?
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