Rick in China

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  • in reply to: Am I asking too much? #49993
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    @Aston

    I live at City Spring, across the road from Ikea/Auchan/Galleria in the south, and I know there are some foreigners around this complex and the others nearby, another nice one nearby is 1818. I also know that at least 1 of my friends who owns a place at 1818 has it decorated very nicely (from a western perspective), although owners and rentals may be different. The apartments are relatively new, and the expressway that would lead you to Pixian (or 3rd ring if you prefer) is a straight shot away. I don’t know the rental prices at these places but I’d imagine relatively nicer rentals would go for maybe 5-10k/mo, and Tongzilin is a few minutes drive away (or, walkable..).

    In summary: City Spring / 1818 may have what you’re after, they’re pretty new and in a relatively convenient location, but I don’t have information on how to rent them (useless, right?) Maybe something like 21st Century RE has an office nearby.

    Another thing, if you find an apartment that’s suitable in terms of layout, location, etc – but think that it’s “abused” as in walls are dirty or furniture is ratty, perhaps negotiate with the landlord and you may be able to get them to refresh the place with a portion of the cost being paid by you. Just a thought, it’s heavily landlord dependant but I know it happens.

    in reply to: Good place to buy baby clothes? #49936
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    I agree H&M is pretty good for baby clothes, and often has common items on discount (like buy 2 get 1 free) for useful things like onesies etc.. also we tend to buy some stuff from Zara in Kaidan (altho there are others) which is often pretty nice. Also the Decathlon near Kaidan in the south has some pretty good kids clothes.

    in reply to: Is it Healthy/Recommended to Exercise Outside? #49905
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    A recent article from runner’s world magazine said, “A bit of good news, finally: It turns out the positive effects of running are usually sufficient to outweigh the negative effects of pollution. On average, regular exercise extends life more than increased exposure to pollution shortens it.”

    Yeah. Look at the study they’re referencing, here: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1408698/ and read it. Then pass some advice.

    The only reference to China was regarding pottery, it was about pollution in Denmark, not pollution in China, and I think we can all agree that there is a VAST DIFFERENCE between the two. Here’s Danish AQI: http://aqicn.org/map/denmark/

    If you’re running, cycling, or whatever in Chengdu during 300 AQI days and recommending it as a positive gain for personal health, I’d have words. Masks..masks, and more masks, get a great mask, and if you can still exercise successfully outdoors with a great mask then maybe that’s fine, but please don’t suggest exercising outside in Chengdu regularly as it may affect people’s health in a very negative way. Rather: if you don’t want to exercise with a mask insulate yourself indoors with a good air purifier and sealed doors/windows, or get a good mask and do whatever you want anywhere, but keep in mind masks aren’t comfortable for everyone and make some forms of exercise infeasible for some.

    in reply to: Seeking 2BR or Studio Apartment in Chengdu #49808
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    Or do i have to prepare a mandarin dictionary

    Likely no English and likely need to have a local along, I don’t know if the process is the same but long ago it was typically just provide a pack of cigs and ask about apartments for rent, and they’d give you contact info for landlords renting. The other option is the agencies, but again, likely not much English. If you’re looking for apartments only in English you’ll probably only find higher priced apartments.. really is suggested to seek help from a local/colleague – or ask the company that’s hiring you if they can get someone there to help on your behalf, surely they’d be willing to help prepare an apartment for someone they’re hiring/moving to China, no?

    in reply to: Seeking 2BR or Studio Apartment in Chengdu #49798
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    Apartments near the software park can be pretty cheap, from what I know – just perhaps the online site you’re browsing doesn’t display cheaper apartments, it’s always better / better deals if you find a place when you’re here in person and go to the complexes directly (ask guards) or the little rental agencies near the complexes (most have them). I’d expect a smaller apartment decorated reasonably nice to cost no more than 2krmb/month, I know a foreigner who pays much less than that there.

    in reply to: Seeking Chengdu Friends (and Some Help) #49754
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    I have to pay for a rent rate, which is approximately 700 USD, so I’ve got only ~ 2 000 rmb remaining for all other expenses.

    Do you mean the initial cost before you start to receive salary? That would be extremely tight, if you just moved here it’s more than likely your first month would be much more expensive than future months (lots of initial expenses you need to buy..basic necessities to settle in). If you mean you need to pay ~700USD for rent, and the salary remainder would be ~2000rmb, I’d suggest you find a much cheaper apartment or even consider looking for a roommate, because that’s on the high side for an entry level apartment in Chengdu, depending what area of course but, pretty much any area, you can find a much cheaper apartment (if that is per month). If that’s a 3month initial payment+deposit, then it’s cheap.

    I would not recommend anyone to move to Chengdu with 2000/month for living expenses beyond accommodation, that’s almost poverty level for anyone who isn’t living with their parents or without other benefits some companies provide (like food/other stuff)..

    in reply to: Places that Sell Aquariums and Fish? #49709
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    That’s the same street I bought my fish from, and occasionally other pet things..

    in reply to: Seeking Lost Parcel Info #49624
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    If you find a ‘lost letter’ place of sorts please update, I know of at least 3 different mailings of birthday/xmas cards sent to me that did not make it – while several packages to the same address have.. even went to a mail sorting place to search but came up empty.

    in reply to: How to Hire Chinese Programmers? #49614
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    hiring local programmers to work on non-Chinese applications is a nightmare

    Especially if your goal is to hire interns or lower cost devs.. quality devs exist but are few and far between, and the ones with language skills to match are even fewer – and expensive!

    in reply to: Chengu Air Dirtier than Beijing's in January #49535
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    Yeah, this isn’t surprising to me at all.. in past years it was the same – Chengdu a terrible average but not often extremely high or low, Beijing often extremely high or low – but over the course of years past, almost the same average.

    in reply to: Transferring money INTO China? #49316
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    It completely depends on the amount. I can’t recall the amount, but for example, I transferred cash back to China to buy a house – around 250k USD at the time I think, maybe 200, and it required some footwork to allow the transfer via HSBC. I used HSBC because I could use my overseas premier account and open the same here leveraging that one – then not have to pay any transfer fee at all. I assume between different banks couldn’t be a simpler process, but don’t imagine it would be much more difficult. Here’s what I had to do:

    Bank (China side) provided a list of documents required. I had to get the house contract (deposit was already paid) and it included me having to take some other documents to the People’s Bank of China (it’s the one on I think 2.5 ring road south?) which is the gov’t bank, and get a paper from them. Also had to get some additional papers signed and approved by the bank. I forget all the documents, but it did need me to run around a little. You should go to ICBC and talk to a manager and they’ll let you know whether the amount you are transferring requires any of this or not, but I’d imagine it’s around 50k USD which is the outgoing restriction for paperless transfers..but ICBC guy should be able to give you the details. I’d imagine for a car you’d need to provide similar.

    There was no additional 7-8% fee as you mentioned, but again your bank should be able to tell you about that part as well, the fear should be how they do the exchange. In my case I transferred USD into my China side USD account then did the conversion directly on this side, from USD>CNY account here, so the transfer itself between USD accounts held no conversion whatsoever, and the USD>CNY conversion was at the banks actual rate for buying USD with CNY, which was fully acceptable. If you’re transferring from USD (or GBP?) into a CNY account, I’d want to ensure that they didn’t have a special fee, as I know for, for example, when you take money out via ATM overseas and there is a conversion there is often a lot of fuckery in their rate.

    Good luck with it 😀


    @Charlie
    re: “Now might be a good time to be buying RMB though since the value is going down.”

    I’m doing the opposite. Buying all the Canadian dollar I can afford to right now. The rate is fantastic, better than I’ve ever seen it all my years in China.

    in reply to: Buying the Xiaomi Air Filter #49258
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    I bought mine on jd.com – I don’t recall the price and it’s not in my history… often JD seems to have a tiny premium over mi directly, but it should be tiny…

    in reply to: Heightened Security Lately? #49224
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    Around 3rd ring south there wasn’t any significant (or abnormal?) police presence from my perspective in post-dinner-time travel. Maybe it was different in specific areas.

    in reply to: Does this machine wash AND dry my clothes?? #49223
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    I wish I had a pic of my first drying rig.

    Ok, you’ve out-MacGyvered. New people in the ‘du need support too, sometimes let wins feel like wins. 😀

    in reply to: Does this machine wash AND dry my clothes?? #49214
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    Nice MacGyvering!

    in reply to: Does this machine wash AND dry my clothes?? #49211
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    @Chris We have washer/drier combos, but they’re not cheap – I think one was ~6k and another was 7krmb. The drying isn’t a hardcore spin dry, but a relatively slow drying mechanism that doesn’t seem to do the same rough 1hour dry cycle damage to clothing, but it does take like 3 hours to go through the cycle.. it’s a Toshiba. One downfall is that the ‘computer burnt out’ according to their repair guy, and it cost 1300rmb for a really basic-bitch of a board to fix, which occurred just after 2 years after purchase.

    I agree that a clothes drying rack is a good immediate solution, and even better if you use a radiator as heating and keep it nearby – shouldn’t take days to dry anything.

    in reply to: Will Working Weekends Have a Large Impact? #49076
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    I agree with 897934-884 about weekends sucking for getting out of town or even to places in China, we don’t like to take our baby out on weekends because there are always swarms of people and traffic is worse.

    Defecation on subways? I don’t ride the subway much but, really, this happens here? That’s brutal.

    in reply to: Thanksgiving Turkey? #48807
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    I suppose it’s not that cheap, I’ll take that back, but for an imported bird that’s a lot of leftover sandwiches for me. 😀

    in reply to: Thanksgiving Turkey? #48805
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    http://waifood.com/product/view/id/1278.html

    It’s cheap too. I’m getting one NOW. 😀

    in reply to: For the Foodies/Food Lovers Out There #48797
    Avatar photoRick in China
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    I think enjoying Chengdu will be easier if you have an open mind and try new things

    Charlie hit it on the head. This whole thread is kind of silly – good food exists in Chengdu, and if you have survived in another China city and think the food was great, then you’ll likely do fine in Chengdu, or perhaps palate isn’t as refined as you’d have yourself believe. No matter where someone is in the world they’ll crave particular things, probably mostly nostalgic or selective memory, I’ve returned to restaurants that at the time I thought were the best (particular food) I’ve eaten, to find that even though it’s the same owner/chef/staff, it just wasn’t the same. The obvious suggestion for anyone who has such a seeming particular worry about moving to a place is take a trip, visit, find out if it’s survivable, and then determine your life course accordingly rather than expect to get any sort of understanding from a forum about something so subjective as ‘food taste’.

Viewing 20 posts - 21 through 40 (of 1,534 total)