Moving to China! A few questions...
Apr 15th, 2016, 10:58 AM
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Moving to China! A few questions...
My husband has taken a job in the Fujian province of China so we will be moving there in the next few months - we are American. I was hoping for some advice about a couple of issues:
1) Cell phones. We currently have phones that are ~4 years old and off-contract. We are AT&T customers but I have read that since we are no longer on contract it shouldn't be any issue to have them unlock our phones. Both of them have started to become glitchy so we are planning on replacing them. Should we buy new phones in America or wait until we get to China? I have read about dual-SIM phones and think it would be great to have our current SIM cards *AND* new Chinese ones, but didn't know how that actually would work. I would like to keep my current American phone number if possible.
2) VPNs. I understand the Great Firewall of China exists and VPNs will be pretty essential over there. Which VPNs are good? I know some of them are paid subscriptions and that is not a problem. Should we subscribe to 2 so we'd have a back-up or is 1 enough?
3) Western food. I am very excited to get to consume vast quantities of traditional Chinese food, but I have to be honest with myself and know there will be time I'll crave the flavors of home. I have read that there will be plenty of grocery stores with "International" food sections (we will be in a major city) so most things will be available, but if I need to bring some things from home I want to know in advance so I can pack it. I'm pretty flexible on most things like chips, cookies, and cereal, but sometimes only a specific flavor will do; on that note, could someone tell me the probability of finding things like mayonnaise, ranch dressing, sour cream, bacon bits, grape jelly... basically all condiments, haha.
Thank you very much!!
1) Cell phones. We currently have phones that are ~4 years old and off-contract. We are AT&T customers but I have read that since we are no longer on contract it shouldn't be any issue to have them unlock our phones. Both of them have started to become glitchy so we are planning on replacing them. Should we buy new phones in America or wait until we get to China? I have read about dual-SIM phones and think it would be great to have our current SIM cards *AND* new Chinese ones, but didn't know how that actually would work. I would like to keep my current American phone number if possible.
2) VPNs. I understand the Great Firewall of China exists and VPNs will be pretty essential over there. Which VPNs are good? I know some of them are paid subscriptions and that is not a problem. Should we subscribe to 2 so we'd have a back-up or is 1 enough?
3) Western food. I am very excited to get to consume vast quantities of traditional Chinese food, but I have to be honest with myself and know there will be time I'll crave the flavors of home. I have read that there will be plenty of grocery stores with "International" food sections (we will be in a major city) so most things will be available, but if I need to bring some things from home I want to know in advance so I can pack it. I'm pretty flexible on most things like chips, cookies, and cereal, but sometimes only a specific flavor will do; on that note, could someone tell me the probability of finding things like mayonnaise, ranch dressing, sour cream, bacon bits, grape jelly... basically all condiments, haha.
Thank you very much!!
Apr 15th, 2016, 04:15 PM
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1- Depends on what brand. iPhones will be cheaper in the US. Chinese phones can be found once you get there (like Xiaomi) and they are good and cheap. I think that dual-SIM phones are less popular now. I have not seen one for a while.
2- Yes you'll need a VPN especially for the suite of Google products (mainly Google maps and Google translate which you will find essential there). Make sure that your provider has a special support for China. The authorities are trying to block VPNs. so those of us fortunate enough to have one that work prefer not to publicize them and attract attention. If you send me a message I can point you to mine privately.
3- It depends on where you are. In Beijing I could find pretty much everything including good cheese, bagels and even (real) maple syrup. But I am quite sure I could not find these things in Fujian. Xiamen has a decent expat group so you should find some international stuff there at Carrefour or Metro. But not quite everything. You may need to have a trip to HK once in a while. You should find most condiments (not all) at those chains that I mention above.
Finally google for expat groups in Xiamen.
2- Yes you'll need a VPN especially for the suite of Google products (mainly Google maps and Google translate which you will find essential there). Make sure that your provider has a special support for China. The authorities are trying to block VPNs. so those of us fortunate enough to have one that work prefer not to publicize them and attract attention. If you send me a message I can point you to mine privately.
3- It depends on where you are. In Beijing I could find pretty much everything including good cheese, bagels and even (real) maple syrup. But I am quite sure I could not find these things in Fujian. Xiamen has a decent expat group so you should find some international stuff there at Carrefour or Metro. But not quite everything. You may need to have a trip to HK once in a while. You should find most condiments (not all) at those chains that I mention above.
Finally google for expat groups in Xiamen.
Apr 16th, 2016, 03:52 PM
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McDonald's in every Chinese town: be glad. It's often the only place to find a cup of coffee in the morning. And the EggMcMuffin is great.
Regarding chinese food, you will generally need a local along to really get into the food as the names given for dishes defy understanding without cultural adaptation. And you will also need a strong will power to get over your cultural dislikes for eating dog meat, donkey meat, snakes, insect larvae and so forth. The food there is really outstanding in terms of novelty and originality, even if invented 300 yrs ago.
I know nothing of smartphones, and i do enjoy my ignorance.
Regarding chinese food, you will generally need a local along to really get into the food as the names given for dishes defy understanding without cultural adaptation. And you will also need a strong will power to get over your cultural dislikes for eating dog meat, donkey meat, snakes, insect larvae and so forth. The food there is really outstanding in terms of novelty and originality, even if invented 300 yrs ago.
I know nothing of smartphones, and i do enjoy my ignorance.
Apr 18th, 2016, 10:40 AM
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CCT - if we purchased cell phones in China how difficult would it be to access our American sites/apps? I know we need to do the VPN on our computers before going, so how would we handle cell phones since we'll definitely want full internet on our phones.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Apr 18th, 2016, 01:00 PM
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If you are buying phones you will take back home with you, buy in the US. Internet access from your cell phones will be censored just as from your computers.
We use Witopia for VPN. I have not used it in China. It's a subscription VPN, we pay for it by the year.
We use Witopia for VPN. I have not used it in China. It's a subscription VPN, we pay for it by the year.
Apr 19th, 2016, 06:32 PM
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> We use Witopia for VPN. I have not used it in China.
It's one of the few reliable services in China in my experience, and the subscription includes free additional VPN for your phone, which you set up via a messaging system on Witopia's site once in China.
It's one of the few reliable services in China in my experience, and the subscription includes free additional VPN for your phone, which you set up via a messaging system on Witopia's site once in China.
