Originally Posted by
Hodor
1: Lifestyle - Any advise on the best place for a family with young kids.
2: What carrier would you go for if looking for a residential contract with a high salary?
3: What agency would you recommend or avoid?
4: What do you wish you knew before coming to the far east?
5: Pollution - Is it possible to avoid?
6: Hainan group seems to offer best deals, but will they survive?
I appreciate any inputs, thank you for your help :-)
As someone who has worked in China for a number of years, let me just give you a few rules of thumb:
-PVG is probably the most fun, but most expensive. You'd be making big bucks in China, if it costs a couple grands more for better lifestyle then so be it. Its far better than cramping it up in a 3rd tier city and pack it up in a year.
-Pollution: avoid the China's coal belt cities. Basically draw a line connecting Chengdu, Wuhan and Beijing. Any cities near or West of that line is not your friend.
But be mindful that air pollution is only one of many forms of pollution in China. The food (fake rice anyone?), the questionable chemicals, the NOISE pollution with its constant car horns...Those are unavoidable.
- My advice is if you have a stable job and making ok cash, stay where you are. If you must try China, try on a commuter term basis before taking the whole fam along. The rest of Asia aren't paying that much ($13K Net??) with the exception of Hong Kong Airlines. But subtracting 2 kids in international schools ($2K each per month before activities and equipment fees), and $4K for a 1000 sq ft apartment, you wont be much better off than staying put.
Oh also, make your selection carefully for China. You can ONLY apply to 1 (ONE) airline. Once that process is started, even if you havent made 1 red cent from your future employer, that airline owns your Chinese credentials. Your Chinese license etc belong to that airline and they dont have to transfer it to any other airline if they dont want to.