mattbankeruu
American expat in China
Forum posts
24
About me
American
Lives in Beijing
Registration: 31 May 2010
Does anyone know a good western Psychologist in beijing??
The Agape Center has licensed counselors. You can go en.aizairenjian.com/node/69]here I would highly recommend Stephanie Tebow as a great counselor. Read More
Texan moving to Beijing by alexhill06
Greetings everyone, Born and raised texan moving to beijing for fiance's new job in October. I am very excited but have a lot of questions about finding a job, how to best search for an apartment, and banking over there. I have read that the ...
Alex, With a budget of $3000 for housing you shouldn't have too much trouble finding something in your neighborhood of choice. Xicheng is on the west side of the city, and there tend to be fewer expats over there, so if a high expat concentration is ... Read More
Texan moving to Beijing by alexhill06
Greetings everyone, Born and raised texan moving to beijing for fiance's new job in October. I am very excited but have a lot of questions about finding a job, how to best search for an apartment, and banking over there. I have read that the ...
I'm no expert, but I think that the options for 'western' plays and theater gigs is going to be pretty limited. The Beijing playhouse is the only thing I know of. You should keep your bank account in the states. Most things operate on cash here, ... Read More
Wangjing District?? by gemsoady
Hey everyone, Im due to move over to Beijing in 5 weeks time. Originally I was going to be living in Beijing but the school im working for has had to find alternative accommodation. Im now movin to Wangjing District. Any info people can give me ...
My wife and I live in WangJing and we like it. I'm actually in the process of putting together a WangJing neighborhood guide, if you want I can send you what I have done so far. It's got a map of the area and highlights some of the apartment ... Read More
Salary with 13,000 RMB by Waynelcy
Hello, I was offered a job in Beijing and the pay is 13,000RMB/month. Here are my concerns before I accept the offer: 1. What is the decent accommodation cost for an apartment located in the central of Beijing for? Preferably for a single person ...
13,000 is reasonable if you're going to be here for a short amount of time (1 year), but if you're here longer term and are wanting to save money, pay for health insurance, travel, it's probably a bit low. I actually just wrote a long post about ... Read More
english church by angelapalace
hey anyone know english church in BJ...and it will be great if i can make friends with more christins here
Wow, I was going reply to this question as well, but Manlin gave just about the most thorough answer possible. The only other thing I would add is that there is a Christian young adults group that meets on Thursday nights at BICF, it's called "The ... Read More
Z work visa for Relocating to China by robwo
I am looking to relocate to China from the US. I currently have a L Tourist visa. Because I assume it will be difficult to find employment without a Z visa, I am trying to obtain one before I relocate so that I can start my job search from my ...
Yeah, it's a tricky situation. Most of the employers who are looking for someone with a valid Z visa are looking for a spouse of someone who is in the country and working and therefore has a Z dependent visa. The reason they want someone like that ... Read More
basic questions about driving in Shanghai by Lifeisgr8
Hi, We are moving to Shanghai this summer and are coming down to some last minute decisions. We have 2 small children, and drive our car with 2 car seats for them. I have questions, I hope you can help: How do most expat families travel? Our ...
I'm not sure how helpful this is for Shanghai (we live in Beijing), but I wrote a guide for getting your Chinese driver's license- (themiddlekingdom.org/chinese-drivers-license-guide/) that should be able to help you understand the process for ... Read More
Z work visa for Relocating to China by robwo
I am looking to relocate to China from the US. I currently have a L Tourist visa. Because I assume it will be difficult to find employment without a Z visa, I am trying to obtain one before I relocate so that I can start my job search from my ...
Here's the plan of action you should have: 1. Get L Tourist visa 2. Go to China, find a job. 3. Employer will convert your L visa to a Z working visa. Z visas are given through legitimate employers. Employers that do not offer you a Z visa are ... Read More
Any opinions on the following schools? by geenasiedu
Hello, My family & I will be in Beijing next week to check out the following schools for our girls. I was wondering if there any of you would not mind sharing their experiences or opinions on these schools: 1) Western Academy of Beijing 2) ...
ISB would probably be considered the best international school in Beijing. It's been here the longest (since 1990 or something like that). They have a really large modern campus. The student population is very diverse (many international schools are ... Read More
Little one by kantchr
Reposting for my wife Jchirstie. hello everyone,my husband is going to work in beijing soon and he want us to go with him my concern's are where is a good place to take my littleone so she can enjoy the day? and what is beijing really like? pls let ...
If you live at Upper East Side you can go to the Lido Park which is just north of there, or you can walk down to the north gate of ChaoYang Park (which is south of you a little ways). As far as what Beijing is like, that's a really big question. ... Read More
American family moving to Beijing...
I hope your trip this summer goes well. My wife Kara and I have been living here for over three years now and we really love it. It's great to move overseas and expose your kids to a different culture and worldview. Here's a link to an article ... Read More
Seeking Housing Advice Near Work Place by wonghm
I will be coming to Beijing middle of May. My company is situated somewhere at Lido Place, No. 6 Jiangtai Road, Chaoyang District (no idea where it is yet, if someone can tell me that would be great). I am looking for Studio ...
You could also look for a place in WangJing, which is the neighborhood just north of Lido. There are a lot of decent apartment complexes in the area that would fit your price range and would be within a bike ride of Lido Place. Read More
Western shops- Beijing?
Beijing has Carrefore and City Shop. Also Jenny Lou's and April Gormet are good for western food items. You should have no trouble. Read More
Home-schooling in China by gghouston
Possibly moving to China this summer and I'm looking into my children's education. I have 3 girls (16, 14, 10). Are there any international schools that charge less than $10K USD per child? How common is home-schooling? I'm considering ...
I was homeschooled while living in Beijing from 1997-2000, and I know there is currently a fairly extensive homeschool network in Beijing. There are online/homeschool hybrid programs too. Some kids report to teachers via email, some even attend ... Read More
Ex pat community in Beijing by HeatherKeane
Hi there, my partner has just been offered a job (2 year contract) in China, most likely to be in Beijing. I have been told there is a great ex pat community there and if so can anyone give me more information. Apart from the obvious, what did you ...
In the end a lot of it will depend on what part of the city you'll be in (and I see in your earlier posts that you don't know that yet). There is a pretty strong expat community here. There are a variety of book clubs and luncheons that meet around ... Read More
5 questions to ask yourself before moving to Beijing by Dave H
What,in your opinion,are the 5 most important questions to ask yourself before you decide to leave your home and move to Beijing to begin a new life ?
I wrote a post on our blog along these lines a while back. It was titled "7 Questions You Should Ask Before Moving to Beijing" The questions I came up with were: 1. Can I live on the salary I've been offered? 2. Can my spouse/partner find work? 3. ... Read More
what do you think of beijing? by survival #13
give me your opinions about BEIJING.. places to go, things to do, what you like and dislike from beijing and all you want to share :)
This is more about living in China in general, but these are the five things I love about it here: An Electric Bicycle. I love riding my e-bike to work and around the city in the summer time. I love that it聮s quiet and fast (comparatively) and ... Read More
Newbie! by PeregrinatorPractice
Hi! I'm living in Daxing (about an hour by subway South of Beijing) I've been here about 6 weeks on a 15 month contract. I try to make it into the city as often as I can for some sense of normalcy since it's pretty remote down here. :) Nice to ...
PeregrinatorPractice, i see you're from Minnesota (same here) so I'm sure you're used the cold. I'm not sure what your religious beliefs are but there are several international churches that meet on Sundays (bicf.org for info), it's a good way to ... Read More
moving to Beijing with young children by Beth73
Hi, my family and I are moving to Beijing (date to be confirmed) with my husbands work. I am writing to enquire about information about what it is like to live in Beijing, we currently live in Melbourne Aust. My children are 3 yrs old and 18 months ...
What it's like living in Beijing is a big question and sort of impossible to answer completely. I don't want to be too much of a self promoter, but my wife and I keep a blog and try to cover real life in Beijing (themiddlekingdom.org). My wife ... Read More
China questions ???? by gee-man
Hi, Just a short post. Where is the best place to learn Mandarin in China ? Where has the best weather, for example the NE (Beijing) is very cold in the winter and Shanghai is very hot and sticky in the summer. In Guangzhou, it's warm all ...
Re: Learning Chinese. By far the best way to learn Chinese quickly is to move to a smaller city with a minimal foreign presence. Make Chinese friends and hang out with them. You can easily get by in Beijing and Shanghai without speaking any Chinese. ... Read More
They're offering 130,000RMB / month....what do you say? by spiribizki
Hi friends, I have been offered to relocate to Beijing for 3-4 years with my three kids and wife (family of 5). The company would be paying for the house and the international school and 130000 RMB per month after tax (plus the trip back home once ...
I agree with Manlin, Beijing is a safe city and concerns about being a kidnapping target is ridiculous. It's not necessarily easy to raise a family in Beijing, but I grew up here and now work with teens who are living here and it's really a great ... Read More
Coffee in Beijing is crazy expensive! by chinagbud
I just spent 95rmb on a half pound or less of coffee, does anyone know where I can buy some bulk coffee where I don't have to get a 2nd job to pay for it? I visit Changping and Chaoyang regularly, I would greatly appreciate any help, thanks:)
If you're wanting bulk coffee you should check the DongJiao Market, near the Dawanglu Line 1 subway stop (in between Dawanglu and 4th ring road along the river). You can get bulk beans that are roasted in China or several Italian brands, but nothing ... Read More