Living and Flying in China

[grrowler]

Hi all,

Can anyone shed some like on what it is like as an expat living and flying in China? The flying to me sounds very interesting, but I know nothing about day to day life. The job I am looking at is based in Tianjin, and I am married with a young child. Is Tianjin a livable city for a family, or is it worthwhile or practical to live in Beijing? Are the health risks very high if you live a normal (expat) life? Is the water drinkable in the major cities or is it bottled/ boiled water only? What is the cost of living? Any other considerations?

I'd love to hear people's experiences...

[MaintainYourHeading]

most of it will depend on the job you are having, which company are you looking at ? which job ? instructor, fo, captain ??

tianjin is a very modern city jsut like Beijing, a little smaller though... and yes developped. so you can live like in the west... but again it would depend on the job you are getting and for how long.

Julien

[JotaJota]

Well said, China is China. You can make the best of it, but do no expect the US... It's better if the conditions are right... Right company, great city, good treatment! I love it here...

[GlueBall]

Everywhere you look you'll see people who are working their balls off 50+ hours per week. The Chinese are way too busy and self absorbed to feel envious of foreigners. Expats are save to stroll about in the streets. And if you don't like pork fried rice you can do Pizza Hut.

[grrowler]

Thanks for the replies. The job I'm trying for is with Grand China Express as a E190 FO. From a flying point of view I am really looking forward to it, and living in China interests me also, my main concern is the health of my family.

Any further experiences people would like to share would be great!:ok:

[ReverseFlight]

grrowler, I think the main issue is whether your partner shares the same enthusiasm as you do in living in a foreign land where English is not yet widely spoken in the local population. Without social contacts your partner may feel isolated and this can cause tensions within the family. Try and find some expat family in Tianjin (before you go) and spread out your network from there. This applies to any overseas posting, not just China.

Make sure your health insurance cover is adequate for your family's needs. Read the small print. Always have your medical card on the person, as most hospitals require a hefty cash deposit (even for ER) unless it is one which is affiliated with or recognises your insurance company.

Cost of living is low compared to Oz. Live where you are based. Commuting can be a touch and go affair due to frequent changes and cancellations in domestic flight schedules.

Oh, to add, only drink bottled water from reputable manufacturers and bought from the larger supermarket chains.

[Rotorhead1026]

Here's a faily recent thread ...

http://www.pprune.org/south-asia-far-east/348697-if-you-want-work-china.html

[KAG]

The living in Tianjin is very acceptable. This is a very modern city, one of the biggest in China (after Shanghai and Beijing I believe). It is possible to stay in the "western bubble" in Tianjin, because many expat work there, there is even Airbus industry building airplanes here, in addition, many western shop down town.
You can possibly live in Beijing and work in Tianjin, there is a train connection between the 2 cities, it takes only 30 minutes, the train travels at more than 300 KM/H and it is quite cheap.
Concerning the cost of living, it is quite cheap, but if you want to rent down town in the western part, the rent could reach the 500$-1000$ range easily.
Tianjin has some famous university, including an aviation university.
In China we drink water from bottles, maybe I have been here too long, but I don' t see it as a problem.
Concerning polution, even if Tianjin is close to the sea, the problem is the same as the remaining industrial part of China. Concerning the health risks due to the polution, that is your call, personnaly I guess I have accepted it, but I have no children... And I don' t really know the rate of cancer here, maybe it would be interesting to know...

I have been living in different cities north east China, and I found Tianjin nice, modern, quite "clean".

Now I cannot tell you wether it will be easy for you or not, it all depends on what you are looking for, and how much you are ready to accept a big change. Maybe coming here first for one week or two would be a good idea.

Concerning the flying, I don' t know in wich airline you will fly, but where I am I like it, the colleagues are nice.

[grrowler]

Thanks for the info people, much appreciated.

[ReverseFlight]

Regarding commuting to Beijing, it is a huge city and it really depends on where you live in relation to the relevant train station. Getting from one end of the city to the other during rush hour can easily take you a couple of hours, and that's assuming it's not mid-winter, when all the major arterial roads can become inaccessible due to heavy snow.

I agree the best thing is to go there and find out first-hand.