Moving to China
For expats moving to China, the country represents an opportunity to explore the international business frontier in one of the world’s fastest changing economies. Expats with special skills and higher education are especially swayed to make a move east toward cities that are taking growth and expansion to a new level.Although China is an immense country, expats moving here tend to inhabit only a selection of major coastal centres, namely Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Xiamen and Hong Kong. These cities have in the past attracted eager Chinese job hunters from the interior and are more and more appealing to the ambitious expat from abroad. As a result, the once medium sized regional hubs are becoming sprawling metropolises packed with rural populations.
While this can make for surprising diversity and a hotpot mix of Chinese cultures, drawbacks of rapid growth (such as pollution and uninspired building developments) can define large parts of the cities. Yet amidst the rapid development, expats can experience a Chinese way of life still centred around familiar values and traditional family structures.
Whether moving to China for a business opportunity or moving to China for novelty, the new culture and the shifting cities can make unexpected difficulties for newly adjusting expats. Foreigners moving here will find themselves weighing the huge,jostling crowds and the bureaucratic tensions against the luxuries of higher than average incomes and active expat communities.
Regardless though, it is certain that the complex layers of China's cities provide expats and Chinese alike with a colourful culture and a new way of life to look forward to.
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