Five things I have learnt since moving to China

Everything has a Process

In China, whatever you want to do there is a proper way of doing things and actually there is very little way around that. For example previously when moving to new countries opening a bank account has been fairly straightforward. A piece of ID and some money and "yeah sure we'll look after that for you". In China I had to tick the boxes first. One of these was the need for a local phone number. Easily resolved but not something I had considered before going to the bank. Luckily I had lots of help from my employer who was able to give me advice of what the bank would require and that set me on my way.

Technology is King

In China everything is performed using a mobile phone. From the standard communications between friends and colleagues to payment for pretty much all services. There are two main ways to do this, WeChat and Alipay. Both work off an individual QR code that you can link to your bank card. There are three main ways to pay using WeChat. One, the vendor scans your code and this automatically debits your card or balance. Two, you scan the vendors QR code which brings up a screen where you type in how much you need to pay them. Three, you can send a Red Packet. This is essentially sending money through chat, great for it you want to split the bill or pay a friend back. In addition to paying for everything on your phones, technology allows you to book taxi's, find your way around, communicate in other languages or dialects, convert chinese signs into legible english. Really so far China is the place I have relied on technology the most.

Bring your own fork

Eating out in China is so affordable almost cheaper than eating at home but you wont find western cutlery anywhere. So it leaves you with two options, first of all become a dab hand with a pair of chopsticks or secondly bring your own. I haven't quite stooped to taking my own fork with me for a meal out but I have met a few people that have. I am still working on my ability with chopsticks and some foods are easier than others, but with a little patience you can do anything.

The sky is blue Before moving to China I was constantly asked why would you want to do that? The sky, the pollution, the air... So when I arrived I came with a fairly open mind. Now I know it wont always be this way and some months are worse than others but so far the skies are blue and clear. The city within which I am based, Ningbo, is a coastal city and due to its proximity to the sea has fairly regular occurrences of high wind, rain and storms. This seems to me to keep the air clear and clean. I have heard that when winter comes the storms are less frequent which may mean days when the pollution is worse. Time will tell I guess.

Cost of living

To maintain my standard of living in China is much more affordable than in the UK. This may sound fairly straight forward and expected but I didn't quite understand how much of a saving I would be making here in China. To start with renting a 2 bedroom flat, something that would cost over £1400 in my hometown of London is costing under £500, and thats not taking into account that my employer is covering that cost. But its everything, I went on a little rant at apple the other day after changing my itunes account to the chinese app store. For the past year I have paid £14.99 per month for my apple music subscription, meaning in a year I would pay just under £180 in the UK. Since changing my app store it now costs me 15rmb per month an overall cost of £20 per year, a saving of £160! Buzzing. I couldn't believe how much we are overcharged for the same service in the UK. Add in the cost of bills, living and eating out, having a cleaner and I still come in under my UK expenditure meaning a nice budget for travel this year!