Originally posted by lil bitchiness
Like I said, until you live there, it's all ''communism, death and poverty'' to everyone...🙁I lived on almost every continent, and the country I loved the most was China...contemplating moving there forever.
not to pass judgement or anything, but I'd say they probably face more legitimate issues than does Canada atm... not that this is really a disagreement with your opinion, just that, to someone who hasn't lived there, it might be easier to identify things that are problematic with China than Canada
Originally posted by lil bitchiness
Like I said, until you live there, it's all ''communism, death and poverty'' to everyone...🙁I lived on almost every continent, and the country I loved the most was China...contemplating moving there forever.
I don't think China is all about poverty, communism, and death. I do however see that for it's size and wealth it's one of the least free nations in the world and has reckless, unsustainable growth (ghost cities and all that).
You could certainly live a happy life where neither of those things would effect you or impact you much, I just can't imagine that the same can be said for everyone or even most of everyone.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
It's also the most environmentally unfriendly place on the planet. I'm too used to sparkling fresh crystal-clear glacier water from Canada's Evian distributor to handle the Yangtze.
Originally posted by inimalist
not to pass judgement or anything, but I'd say they probably face more legitimate issues than does Canada atm... not that this is really a disagreement with your opinion, just that, to someone who hasn't lived there, it might be easier to identify things that are problematic with China than Canada
How is that? Knowing of China only by what you read vs being in China.
I lived there, as in, I had a job, paid taxes, bills, rent, had to deal with atrocious Chinese bureaucracy as well as immigration at the same time and all with the language barrier.
I also did the same in Canada and the same thing in England and I studied in America all without the language barrier and I'd still pick China over any of these countries to live.
I think being able to compare the life of ordinary people by living with them is worth a lot more than reading what the news have to say.
Given, I visited many many other places around the world, but visiting isn't the same as living there, so I won't be able to comment.
Obviously, this is my opinion only, and while you will struggle to find foreigners who have hated China, I'm sure you'll find some who have.
There is a pattern as far as foreigners in China are concerned and that is, that many left China after a year or two of living there, and then ran back to China in less than 3 months of living in the West.
When I first moved to China and got involved with the expat community I was shocked that many people have been in China for 5, 6 some even 10 years or more without any intention of going back...
I think one of the things about the "living there" argument is that living in a place is usually a very localized thing, often it's also a thing that keeps you shut off from other groups you are not a part of. Say, I live in Bamberg, Germany, now first lets assume I know what living in Bamberg, Germany is like, that does not mean I know what living in Freiburg, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden (Germany) is like. Additionally, though I live in Bamberg, Germany, I don't necessarily know what it's like to live in the poor parts of town, I don't necessarily know what it's like to live on the campuses of the university, I don't know what it's like to live in the center of town, etc. I'm sure my experiences may be similar in some regards, but still I am just an individual and just one person having experience from a very localized and limited perspective (just like everyone else).
Now, I think living somewhere does give you new insights and is a very valuable thing to have, but it's just not enough without either a) travelling and mingling with other parts outside of your place of living and outside of your usual group of people you live around and b) the vast information through media and observers from other parts of the world, sharing their experiences and observations with you, giving you a much better and much broader overview over the world than just living in many places alone can ever give you.
Originally posted by Bardock42
I think one of the things about the "living there" argument is that living in a place is usually a very localized thing, often it's also a thing that keeps you shut off from other groups you are not a part of. Say, I live in Bamberg, Germany, now first lets assume I know what living in Bamberg, Germany is like, that does not mean I know what living in Freiburg, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden (Germany) is like. Additionally, though I live in Bamberg, Germany, I don't necessarily know what it's like to live in the poor parts of town, I don't necessarily know what it's like to live on the campuses of the university, I don't know what it's like to live in the center of town, etc. I'm sure my experiences may be similar in some regards, but still I am just an individual and just one person having experience from a very localized and limited perspective (just like everyone else).Now, I think living somewhere does give you new insights and is a very valuable thing to have, but it's just not enough without either a) travelling and mingling with other parts outside of your place of living and outside of your usual group of people you live around and b) the vast information through media and observers from other parts of the world, sharing their experiences and observations with you, giving you a much better and much broader overview over the world than just living in many places alone can ever give you.
Basically what you're telling me is that you don't actually know what it's like living in Germany as a country because you only lived in one city there?
Interesting look on the pitfalls foreign businessman face in China: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4337053.stm
Basically it isn't impossible to make it in China, just don't expect them to care about contracts the way Western or Japanese businessmen would.
Originally posted by lil bitchiness
Basically what you're telling me is that you don't actually know what it's like living in Germany as a country because you only lived in one city there?
France is stupid easy to live in, good health care, excellent pay -as long as you have a job, which is kind of the downside of being in France, but hey, I have a job 😛 -. If you're willing to live by the countryside, is quite heavenly. Not very cold unless you live... Where I currently live...
Just don't live in Paris, the quality of life you get for the money you pay... Not worth it.