Where to go? What city should I choose? Why?

There are several matters you should consider about where to go.
1.  Weather.

 China is freezing in the winter and humid and hot in the summer. Most of the country has adequate heating and cooling, air conditioners are standard for hotels and most apartments.   North China is very cold for several months, snow and ice the norm.  The south is much warmer, but also hotter during the summer months.

2. Size of city.

Do you want to go somewhere big or small?  Big cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou have 10 to 20 million people.  These are BIG cities, but they are also much more modern than many of the smaller ones.  Of course work is more plentiful in the larger cities, but they are also more choosy about who they recruit.  Not everyone wants to go to smaller cities so it can be easier to get work in a smaller place.  English is more widely spoken in large cities.

3. Do you know someone in China?

If this is your first time there, consider going with a friend, or when you are negotiating with your school make sure there are other teachers you can pal up with for company.  Get an email address from the school and email another teacher there to be sure there is a foreigner you can sometimes hang out with.  Loneliness can be a problem otherwise.  I had one school where I was told there were 3 foreigners...and it was true, and I never spent any time with them socially, the three comprised one married couple and one young single man.  It was fine at school, but I had no social contact with any of them.

4.  Are small cities ok?  Yes, they are.  Maybe they are not as modern, but China is modernising so fast, that the smaller cities can be more appealing.  If there is a larger city within an  hour or two by train or bus, then these can be your weekends away.  Travel and accommodation is so cheap you can go away for weekends often.  There is not so much English spoken in smaller cities.

5.  Earthquakes.

One of the things I seriously considered was earthquakes.  Along the Eastern seaboard, there are few earthquakes.  The western part of China is much shakier.  Research earthquakes in the region  you might go to.

6.  Getting extra work.  Probably any city over 500,000 will give  you quite a few options for extra work.  They will have language schools looking for part timers, giving you the opportunity to do some evening or weekend work if you want.  It can be a good top up for the bank account.

7. Do I need a car?

NO!  The public transport system is wonderful.  They move millions of people a day from anywhere to anywhere.  So don't consider such things as buying a car etc.

8.  Is there an expats group in the city you are choosing?

Most cities have expat groups, just google and see what you can find.  These can be wonderful sources of information and friends.   Check out the one for  Shanghai here  www.shanghaiexpat.com.