Big City vs smaller city

[gretch]

For all those of you who have had the fortune (or maybe misfortune ) to experience life in a large, major city and a smaller, lesser city:

Could you tell me 3 "things" you loved and 3 "things" you hated about each?

I know that means 6 whole "things'' total, but I'm sure you can do it. Do half at a time if you need!

Thanks!
Gretch

[George61]

Hard to answer that.....for me, anyway. Most of the places I have lived here have been small cities, swallowed up by big cities. If I had a car, I would have explored these places more. Sitting on a bus going somewhere and back again, is something I have yet to do.( I keep promising myself) The locality where you live becomes your home, and I explore that. Cities suck, generally. I would prefer a small place out in the country.

[Jollyjunklass]

Three things about small cities that are good:

It could be cheaper.

Easier to get to know the city and find your way around.

You get to know more people.

Three things that suck:

You are in the spotlight, therefore no anonymity.

Girls are more gurlie and naive, small town mentallity - can be very boring.

Gossip, gossip and more gossip.

Big city:

Good,

Much more to see and do.

More anonymity.

People do not bother you as much, this can get to you after a while.

Bad,

Harder to learn to get around.

May be more expensive.

People may be less willing to help you out.

[joe]

Small Towns:
- immersion in the culture
- cheaper, better, tastier and much dirtier food
- the students include kids who work hard because they want to get their break and get out.

Bigger Cities:
- Western foodstuffs
- relative anonymity
- better salaries, and bigger schools.

In either one you'll be lonely if you don't make friends, and small towns being pressure cookers for both friends and loneliness.

[Lotus Eater]

What is classified as a big city? Where I am is way bigger than any city in my home country - but is not seen as big here!

I don't like the Shanghais, Beijings, Shenzhens, Guangzhous because they are too western - not because of their size. I figured if I wanted western I could have stayed at home.

But even in those cities you would soon be relatively well known around your own living area - because no matter what is available you will still opt for quick and easy at least 60-70% of the time. Restaurants/bars/shops next door will get most of your custom, other stuff will be saved for a 'big night out'. And those nights will take planning for taxis etc etc. Nuisance value more often than not.

The teachers will live around where you live - you will not want to commute 2-3 bus rides each way each day to go to work because you want privacy. If you are offered a position in a university/college you will be likely to be offered accommodation as well on or near campus - close enough to the other foreign and Chinese teachers. So you will be around near them. They will talk about you - but guess what - they talk about each other just as much!! The things I have found out about my Chinese colleagues are interesting! The students will talk about you, because you are exotic. Mine spent an entire evening chatting about me (they TOLD me they did!!) after they saw me with makeup on one night when I was going out.

The type of institution you teach at will also impact on the type of students you come across. If it is a reasonably well rated tertiary place then the students will be a little more sophisticated than those attending a less highly rated institution. They will in general be good to teach - there are exceptions - ask Hairy! - but most students will be polite and quiet for you. but they will also be happy if you spend time with them - and that always helps unfold their characters. Once you get to know them the contradictions will be apparent - innocence personified will become the wild one that you spend a fair bit of time trying to subtly give more solid sexual safety information to etc.

I like where I am - 7m. people, but made up of hundreds of 'villages'. I have my favourite shops, restaurants (they give me discounts or free food), the locals know me and we chat. Much the same as at home. But I am given NO regulations or rules. No instructions on behaviour with students etc. Whether it is because they figure I am a good guy, or they aren't interested I don't know. I do invite them (waiban and Chinese teachers) to the parties, but the older teachers don't stay as late as some of the students (post/grads) from my old university or other peopel's studets from here, or a couple of the younger teachers. So they don't always see how wild they can get!

But I have been out drinking and dancing very late at night when I have travelled with some of the older female teachers and they just comment on how much energy I have!! And tell me about their private lives if I am sharing with them. After one such evening, while we were away at a competition, they insisted that I get into the ganbeis with male teachers from the Airforce university - because they don't drink, I had to uphold the face of our group!

Wherever you choose will become a community for you. And it'll be much like the one back home, apart from a sense of surrealism.

Remember the story about the traveller who met a local resident on the road and asked him about the people in the town? "What were people in your previous town like?" came the answer. "Well, they were really great, friendly, helpful, good to be with." "Well that's just like the folk in this town."

Next traveller met same local - "what are the people like in this town?" "What were they like in your last town?" "Well, that's why I am leaving - they were mean spirited, wouldn't give you the time of day, gossiped all the time". "Well, that's just what they are like in this town."

Sorry to get 'folksy' on you, but I figure wherever you go will have good and bad - you just need to find the good stuff early on! The bad will show up of it's own accord.

Small
*close to country and villages - most interesting parts of China.
*Become much closer to the community and get accepted very quickly if they see you making an effort - you become 'their' laowai.
*Culture and customs are more traditional and so you gain a better insight into 'old' China (the stuff most of us think we came here for).
*Your Chinese will develop faster


Larger
*close to transport to country and villages.
*Night life more available
*Bigger shops.
*You won't need to learn much Chinese

[Stil]

I've worked in Guangzhou, then a small city in Hunan and now in a very small town also in Hunan.

Large city
Good:
People from all over the world
Night life
Greater variety of food
Bad:
People are less friendly (generalisation)
More likely to get cheated
Money is the only important thing, people come and go.

Small city
Good:
Honest, very close friends
Beautiful and much less pollution
Students are wonderful, not at all spoiled
Bad:
More difficult to travel (I have to go to a city with a train station first - about 2 hours by bus)
Everyone is asleep by 10:00 (but it's quiet)
No cheese

I much prefer small cities, but then again I was like that in Canada too. I think it depends on you. I have many friends who would hate it here. I like the slower pace of life, seeing the same friendly people all the time. In big cities I tend to drunk all the time. ;D

I like my situation. I'm in the middle of nowhere about 30 minutes to a small city (no train station) only 10 RMB by taxi. If I want to hit a large city I can go to Changsha about 2 hours away, but whenever I go to a big city I find myself getting annoyed at the rudeness, the constant price gouging. The pollution, the noise. Here I'm spoiled. No foreigner prices (sometimes cheaper for me because they know I'll come back and have money to spend) Stores see I like something, they make sure to order it in, I don't even have to ask. No jealousy or attitude with co-workers because I earn much more. People are kind. I don't get called 'laowai' they say 'waiguo pengyou' or use my name.

Hmmmm... I think I'll re-sign

[Jollyjunklass]

For sure, in a small town, they will know exactly what you like to eat, how you like to eat it and give you the royal treatment so that you will come back to entertain them They will give you lots of freebies and things they wouldn't give others. The love to invite you to drink their home made poison water , so you can entertain them even further into the night. Like Stil says the students are sleeping and the locals love to have a laugh or two.

Stil, you can get all types of cheese at Metro in Changsha.

[Ruth]

The others have said it so well. Gretch, it really depends on what you want out of your China experience.

I have no experience living in a big city. My city is considered small by Chinese standards.
good: celebrity status. My husband and I are the only foreigners in town.
sense of community
ease of finding my way around
transportation is cheap
close enough to a larger city to have KFC occasionally, should the craving arise

bad: celebrity status (see above). Depends on your attitude. Mostly I'm okay with it, but there are days when it gets old. Been here two years now and people are mostly used to us.
I miss cheese and pizza. Have to go to the next city to get butter, although good peanut butter has arrived in town.
Lots of litter flying around. The big cities I've visited seem cleaner.

[nolefan]

to sum it up, an "it depends" is what you should get out of this one. Some small cities can have all the comforts of a big one ( bars, western food, groceries....) while some big anonymous ones can be more devoid than a mountain village.
My wife and I live in a city that's medium sized by Chinese standards and it really comes down to the people around. Whenever we have other teachers around to hang out with, it's a lot of fun. Other times, not as much.

Beijing is only two hours away so we pop in about once or twice a month and shop, see friends and what not which makes life more pleasant. We now have an SPR coffee house that keeps us pretty happy here.

[Stil]

millana said:

Stil, you can get all types of cheese at Metro in Changsha.

Yeah, I know. Carrafours too, but it's not exactly convienent. About 2 and a half hours each way. Taxi then bus then taxi and by the time I factor in the travel cost.... well, that's some expensive cheese. No big problem though.

[gretch]

:PGreat insight everyone! That all helps alot!

And Lotus, I love the folky stuff!!!! your post is very true and to the heart and I completely agree w/ that little "story" there!

I think the somewhat smaller city is more for me, but not in such a rural spot that Jolly is in. I grew up in Illinois and moved here to New Jersey about 7 yrs ago. The people here in NJ are very rude, materialistic, hurried, and uptight! Not all of course, but definatly the general "feel" of the place. (And dare I say a touch ingorant, not stupid, but ingnorant....ever see the Sopranos, it gives you a good idea ) And my experience in Beijing was a bit like this. The kids, and I had what I call high school, but middle school there....14-17 yr olds...they where very spoiled, overall. Like little spoiled suburbinites here! I don't teach at a school here like that, can't tolerate the attitudes of the so called privliged few. I grew up poor and humbled and look for that same good, natured, humlbe side in others. I can do w/ o the poor part though ;D

One last thing. Am I correct in thinking that no matter where in Hunan, other than major cities like Changsha, that it's more rural than say your neck of the woods, Lotus (Shaanxi). Even in Shaanxi's smaller cities?

Almost "there"

[Lotus Eater]

China is still a nation of farmers - fairly major percentage of the population live in rural areas. Once you are out of the cities, rural takes over pretty quickly. Xi'an has a couple of what I would call satellite cities - Xianyang and Chang'an that were previously completely separate, but now only minimally so. But once beyond them you hit farming territory.

From my travels this seems to be a fairly common pattern. Some provinces (Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Inner Mongolia - and the other 'wild places') make it to rural so fast you only have to blink and you've missed the city. Even Beijing is fairly similar - once you are actually beyond the city, rural rules.

The poorer provinces are the most rural in overall aspect. Don't know how Hunan rates on the province scale.

[Stil]

If you are thinking of someplace like Zhuzhou, then outside the city is rual but the city itself is not.

[Lotus Eater]

I went shopping today in the centre of the city - this place has hundreds of waiguoren tourists all of the time. But I went to my favourite shops - and they know me. At the camera shop as soon as I walked in - "ah - your camera is not ready yet ( ) we will call you as soon as it is." I wanted to buy another camera bag - here , you are a friend and they immediately took the price down for me - no arguing!

Went to my scroll shop - collected 3 paintings I had framed and bought another scroll - super low price - I have seen this shop sell the size scroll I bought to a tourist for 3-4 times the price they charge me!! Then to a tea shop - plenty of different taste testing with all different teas. Bought 4 - low price, then the owner tossed in a large pack of different tea as a freebie because he said it tasted good mixed with one of the teas I had bought - and then GAVE me a painted pottery teapot.

Once you know people - you can have a fantastic time in China!! The friendliness and generosity is overwhelming. (Works both ways - they know I'll come back and bring friends - but they still do more than I expect for the occasional friend I bring along).

[Stil]

Yes Lotus. Sometimes what we think of as foreigner prices are not really that, but are tourist prices. They might charge a Chinese tourist the same higher prices. Seems resonable to me, as they are not expecting repeat business from tourists. I swore under my breath at a clothing vendor last month and he immediately lowered his price by a third. He was smiling and said that my local language was good. Haggled some more and got a really good price.

Anybody new to an area should mention that they are a teacher at the local school. It will help the bargaining.

[gretch]

Yeah Stil....that does work, I often told vendors that I was a teacher there and they went a bit easier on me. Got a lot of good deals, even in Beijing's Silk Market. And the fact that SARS was around helped too!