Life in China: Living as an Expat

Living in China as a foreigner cannot be summed up in a short article. How could life be summed up in that short of a text? Living in China as an expat comes with its obstacles and exciting adventures. This article is part two of a series on living in China as a foreigner and will discuss some of the pros and cons of living in China. The daily life in China for foreigners can be quite interesting, from the smog to the throngs of people crowding you all the time. There’s always something to learn and adjust to in this unique country.

Lower Cost of Living

For local Chinese, the cost of living may not seem affordable, but for expats, it’s extremely cheap! Many teachers have their apartments paid for as part of their contract. You can opt out of it and decide to obtain your own apartment with a housing allowance. My monthly budget in China was significantly lower than in America. I spent roughly 60 RMB on my phone per month. Groceries ranged in price depending on whether I was getting Western products or not. I will admit, buying groceries in China costs more than eating out all the time. My budget increased when I cooked more. If you want to be cost-efficient, eat out all the time, but then again, it can be extremely unhealthy. In addition to all of this, there was enough money to cover a cleaning lady once a month. I could have easily done it once a week, but I still liked to do my own cleaning for the most part. The cleaning lady cost roughly 100 RMB per visit, and she did a fantastic job!

One of the major concepts to keep in mind is where you’re located within China. While it’s overall cheaper than living in Western society, some places are more expensive than others. Cheap places to live in China are the Tier 3 cities such as Danzhou, Weifang, Qujing, and Zhuzhou. When I lived in Xuzhou, it was classified as a Tier 3 city, but it is now a Tier 2. That means some of the prices have increased. Your tier 1 cities include places like Beijing and Shanghai. Those are generally more expensive, but are also more westernized. Those places will make you feel like you’re living in New York City or Chicago.

Accessible Transportation

Another fantastic perk is the public transportation in China. It’s easily accessible and quick to travel to numerous places. In the US, you can spend days traveling somewhere, especially if you’re going by car or train. Flights? Those still take quite some time as well. The great thing about China is that everything is created to move people quickly between places, which makes getting around in China a million times easier.

While in China, many people use the metro and bus systems. These make it easy to hop to different locations, whether it’s within the city or to other major cities. But heads up! Look for the snowflake sign on the bus during the summer. If you don’t see one, there is no AC on there.

In Xuzhou, the metro system has continually grown and made it easier to access all parts of the large city. If you don’t want to take the metro, using Didi in China is another easy form of transportation. This is their version of Uber service. You can also call a taxi, but I would suggest a Didi. Taxis are notorious for scamming foreigners and dropping them off at random locations to get more money. Using Didi ensures that you know where you’re going, you can have an estimate of the total, and make sure that it is paid exactly how it appears on the app. No more tipping!

Grocery Shopping/Markets

Grocery shopping in China can be a unique experience, sometimes challenging, sometimes infuriating, and sometimes full of wonder. One thing that surprised me about grocery stores in China is the escalators designed for your shopping cart! It hooks and everything to ensure that the cart doesn’t go flying down, even when it’s loaded to the brim full of goodies. Supermarkets in Xuzhou were more expensive than the traditional markets you’ll find around the city. When it comes to lines in the market, they honestly don’t know what those are sometimes… I had several crazy experiences with those.

When shopping, be ready to get run over by other carts and people! I found that people tended to not to look where they were going and refused to move out of the way for others. You will get the occasional respectful people, but that can be difficult to find sometimes as well.

One of the biggest culture shocks I had when I arrived was my first time going to the supermarket in Xuzhou. I remember looking at the frozen chicken that was unwrapped, mind you, and having to pick some out to take with me. This kid was crying next to me, and the next thing I knew, the mom was holding him over a small trash can next to the open chicken while the baby pooped… I put the chicken back and never got it from there ever again. What was even weirder was that the baby had those pants that had the split, so she just split them open, and it went to town. No diapers, no nothing!

If you want more traditional Chinese food shopping, try the local markets. You can get extremely good prices and fresh food. It will be dirtier in the area, the food hasn’t been washed, and you are getting the raw materials, but the food is good all the same. It’s not like the United States at all.

Now, there is a lot of bargaining at Chinese markets. I never bargained in regard to the food, but definitely make sure to bargain when it comes to the household items, clothes, trinkets, and other items.

Healthcare

Seeing a doctor in China can be a challenging and even difficult experience. Being in Xuzhou of all places, there aren’t many English speakers which makes it difficult to communicate especially at the hospitals. When arriving there, most expats don’t deal with Medical insurance in China. The standard for most ESL companies is the accident insurance they have for us. That’s about it. Now, I’m not saying you can’t have health insurance over there, you definitely can! You just might have to go and find an independent healthcare provider overseas.

Healthcare in China for expats is a tricky balance between the old and new. People have to remember that during the Cultural Revolution, numerous professors, doctors, and educated people were murdered. This means that the knowledge was essentially wiped out, and a lot of people were starting from the ground up again. For me personally, I noticed they struggled with some basic areas yet excelled in others. It was an odd thing to wrap my head around.

When in hospitals, you have to be ready for it to be an all day event. If you hated lines at the amusement park, you’ll hate the hospitals here. There are lines for everything, and no one seems to stay in their spot. You will have a line to check-in, a line to pay before seeing the doctor, a line to wait to get in line to see the doctor, a line once you’re about to see the doctor, and then a line again to pay for it all, and yet another line to pay for the prescriptions, and yet another line to pick up the prescription. Let’s count how many times I said LINE!

One of the culture shocks for me was how run-down a lot of their hospitals seemed. It wasn’t as bad as Thailand in the more rural areas, but it was not fun at all. One thing to get used to is the lack of privacy. Many of my personal appointments weren’t private. There would be someone sitting in the chair watching in the room as they waited for their turn. Sometimes there would be privacy, and that was a miracle.

One thing to keep in mind is that hospitals in tier 2 or 3 cities are different than Tier 1 cities like Beijing and Shanghai. I went to some extremely nice hospitals in Shanghai. Granted, one of them was a private hospital and focused on expats more. With that being said, that also means the price went up exceedingly. That is one perk about living in a Tier 2 or Tier 3 city and being in China: the price to get health checkups or even see the doctor is a lot cheaper. For the locals, it might not seem so, but if you’re an American expat, it is amazing! I know a lot of my Canadian or English friends complained about it, because they had free healthcare and such. But for Americans, it’s cheap!

When it comes to pharmacies in China, they are pretty good about getting you what you need. In America, getting an inhaler would require me to go to the doctor and get a prescription. China… nah! Just walk in, and they’ll let you buy one when you need it. I loved that! You could also describe your symptoms to the pharmacists, and they would set you up with medication to get over the illness. They could do Chinese medicine or Western, or even a mixture of both. This way, you can skip the whole event of going to a doctor, but you might want to download a translation app to explain everything.

Being a Foreigner in Xuzhou

Foreigners in Xuzhou, China, are slowly growing. When I arrived in the city back in 2018, there weren’t a lot of foreigners, and the city was classified as a Tier 3. Numerous foreigners loved going to Tier 2 and Tier 1 cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, and Nanjing. Those are the places where you can feel as if you’re in New York or Chicago and still get some of the feel for China.

Expat life in a smaller city such as Xuzhou can be challenging and a bit different, especially when you’re trying to meet other foreigners. You’ll find that there is a smaller dating pool in Tier 3 cities. It’s almost like being in a small town in the USA. Everyone knows everyone, and believe me… EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYONE.

I remember I went to the gym once and kept having my photo taken by someone. I didn’t know who they were, but about two hours later, when I arrived at work, it seemed everyone knew I was at the gym in the morning. They showed me that the guy had posted on WeChat that he met a foreigner at the gym. It spread so quickly!

On top of that, many people tend to date the same partners. This could cause drama with work and friends. Sometimes it’s not even worth it. Popular dating apps such as TanTan, Tinder, and Bumble work, but you’ve got to have a VPN for the last two.

If you’re looking for friends, work is the first place to check out. Besides that, there are numerous local places that foreigners frequent. We had a bar called Laogai, which all the foreigners went to for a good drink on the weekend or afterwork. Their Halloween parties were always top tier as well. Ask your friends or coworkers about local WeChat groups. There was a group for Xuzhou Foreigners that people could join, where they could meet up with new people or get help navigating a new city/country. They’re always helpful, especially if you need some good information on where to go for things.

One thing to keep in mind is that you need to get ready to be a STAR every time you go out. Many people will be taking photos and videos of you wherever you go. They will stare, talk, and get up close to you. A lot of the time, the people are genuinely fascinated and want to know more. You’ve got to remember, some of them aren’t used to seeing a foreigner. For others, it’s not always the same sentiment. Sometimes the Chinese will ask to take a photo with you, and other times they’ll just do it without your permission. It can get annoying sometimes.

Living in a smaller city, it’s best to learn survival Chinese to make it easier to get around, order things, and have some small talk with people. While Xuzhou is smaller and you might miss seeing more foreigners or experiencing fancier attractions, you gain so much more cultural experience. You get to see more of the real China and delve into their local markets and daily activities. For me, that’s what I loved most. I got to be surrounded by the culture and not cushioned by luxurious comfort in a larger city.

Disclaimer: The views, experiences, and opinions in this article are those of my own. They do not reflect anyone else's.