I can't believe I've been living in Shanghai for over a month now. The key I think has got to be the creature comforts that have made life feel just a bit more like home.
APARTMENT
Apartment hunting is a strange affair. Unlike SF, where move in dates are generally the 1st or 15th of each month, apartments in Shanghai is pretty much available whenever they are available. Everything that is expat-suitable is on one-year contracts, with pretty high move-in costs: minimum of first month's rent plus a deposit of two months' worth. Don't be surprised for requests of three months' chunks of rent at a time (it's just a less hassle thing.)
If you want to live near the city center, the areas you will be looking in are: Huangpu (includes the Bund), Luwan (older district by the old city), Xujiahui (large district consisting of chunks of former French Concession), and Jing'an (also a large district with nice parks and chunks of former French Concession). If having larger more suburban-style living space is more important you should look into areas near Hongqiao and of course Pudong (expats here call it Pu-Jersey but really it isn't that far - 30 minutes driving without traffic, and up to 2 hours with traffic; if you're near a metro line, you can get into downtown in half an hour).
A great agent is key to a successful apartment hunt. There are generally three types of housing in Shanghai for expats: 1) Modern apartments in high rises, 2) Older apartments in French Concession area in various stages of renovation, 3) Renovated Shikumen homes, classic court-yard based homes. The older apartments are extremely charming - like San Franciscan Victorian homes. In the end location and creature comforts were the most important to me, so I went with option 1.
The housing agents I used were from move2shanghai.com. While they were fine in the upfront portion of the hunt - taking me to see various apartments, negotiate with the landlord, etc., from what I hear they're not the most aggressive negotiators and deal finders, so if you're on a strict budget they may not be right for you. On the other hand, their after-sale service has been absolutely impeccable, arranging everything from Internet and TV installation to recommendations of gym membership, local parks, DVD stands, etc., and tracking down the landlord to issue the all important Fapiao. Use their website to look around and get a sense of how much things cost where.
INTERNET
Having Internet is all-important in Shanghai. It's a rare bit of respite to catch up on news and events from home, keeping in touch with friends and family via Facebook and Skype, and watch clips of your favorite shows that are no long on your TV. Unfortunately Internet is heavily censored in Shanghai, a strange sampling of things blocked in China: Facebook, Twitter, Tiffanyco, TalentZoo, Google.com (not the .hk / .tw versions), etc., and other sites which won't let you complete transactions are Netflix (can't stream anything), Macy's (can't place an order), etc.
Luckily it's not too difficult to get around the censors, all you need is VPN service. The VPN service mirrors servers in other parts of the world so the websites are fooled into thinking that you're not in China, and from the Chinese censors' perspective they just see a harmless server, not the destination sites. I used Astrill at a friend's recommendation and it has worked out really well. Cost wise, it's $70 for a year, plus $60/yr to be able to use multiple devices at the same time, plus $70/yr to be able to connect your router so you con't need to connect each new device.
To get Internet, you will need to have broadband service. You will need to go to China Telecom and ask for it to be installed. Payment is 1,800 RMB for a year. Unfortunately the process is a bit convoluted: you show up in person with your passport to put in the request, then call a phone number for the next week or two to see if the request has been processed yet, once the request has been processed, you can show up again to pay for the service, and then wait for an installer. Other than showing up with your passport, your agent can handle the rest for you. On the upside, once arranged, you will receive the cell phone number of your actual installer (it's on the invoice), who will call you around the time of installation to verify your whereabouts, so you don't have to wait around all day! Amazing!
TV
There are two English channels on the Chinese cable TV, both are propaganda crap. You need to install English Satellite TV. I ended up with the popular Dream package, which is streamed from Philipines. A solid dozen of English channels with American and Australian programming - HBO (no original programming like American HBO, so maybe more like a Cinemax), Showtime (not quite like the American Showtime, with older movies), AXN (Australian? TV with plenty of American programming - The Voice, Glee, etc.), History Channel, Animal Planet, National Geographic, etc. I've caught many episodes of CSI: Miami and Ice Road Truckers, so all in all not too bad.
SHOPPING
Just about everything delivers in Shanghai - it's kind of like NYC in that way I guess. Because credit cards aren't common, the online shopping experience is actually quite interesting. Once you order stuff (e.g. from Taobao or Yihaodian), they will be delivered on a day of your choosing. The delivery man will give you a call before they drive out to your home (you'll see them on the street - HUGE stack of boxes strapped to the back of a little moped) to make sure you're home. Once your stuff arrives, you can inspect the goods to make sure nothing is missing or broken, and then pay the delivery man. If anything is damanged, you just hand it back and you don't pay for that part of it.
A note about IKEA - there are two of them in Shanghai, and delivery is very cheap, something like 80RMB (less than $15), and you can get someone to put all the furniture together for you for a small incremental fee - something like 50RMB.
Food is another matter, more on that later.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Fapiao
Any expat in China will very quickly be confronted with Fapiaos (发票), essentially an official receipt issued by the local government. This is a necessity for anyone who needs Individual Income Tax (IIT) deductions, as well as for all reimbursement requests. However, this is generally not willingly given out by businesses (except for the ones that exclusively serve expats) since the giving of the fapiao means that they now must pay tax on this sale, sometimes they even have to pay the local government a percentage (generally 5%) of the sale to obtain the said fapiao.
While there are certainly some abuse of Fapiaos amongst the expats, the worst is something that I heard over this past week. While traveling to Amsterdam, a relative of mine had visited the Red Light district as a de rigueur sightsee item. As he was a part of a group of Chinese tourists, the ladies in the windows beckoned to them the best they can. At first he couldn’t make out what the ladies were saying, but after a few minutes he realized that they were saying “有发票，可报销”, which roughly translates to “have fapiao, can reimburse”. This could only mean that Chinese customers were requesting fapiaos (most likely marked as for food / drinks) for these services. And what kind of Chinese tourists requests fapiaos for reimbursement? Officials.
While there are certainly some abuse of Fapiaos amongst the expats, the worst is something that I heard over this past week. While traveling to Amsterdam, a relative of mine had visited the Red Light district as a de rigueur sightsee item. As he was a part of a group of Chinese tourists, the ladies in the windows beckoned to them the best they can. At first he couldn’t make out what the ladies were saying, but after a few minutes he realized that they were saying “有发票，可报销”, which roughly translates to “have fapiao, can reimburse”. This could only mean that Chinese customers were requesting fapiaos (most likely marked as for food / drinks) for these services. And what kind of Chinese tourists requests fapiaos for reimbursement? Officials.
Lost in Translation
The past week has been a non-stop eating festival. Chinese New Year might as well be known as Eating Like it’s 1999. There was the requisite CNY eve meal that required the serving of fish, since “鱼(fish)” is a phonetic synonym of the word “余(plenty)”, hence having fish = having plenty. But the greater damage was done by the requisite visits to various aunts and uncles and cousins, each of which involves a meal – lunch or dinner. The younger generation (i.e. the cousins) have also adopted the British tradition of afternoon tea as a meal sans parents. Hence one literally eats 4 meals a day.
What’s contradictory to this semi-forced feeding (to refuse would be impolite) is the constant commentary about weight. This is primarily targeted towards the girls, but certainly not exclusive. On one hand, eat eat eat! On the other hand, wah! 胖了！(you’ve gotten chubby / fat!) Geez thanks. I wonder why.
Which brings me to the semi-forced topic of boyfriends and marriages and children. There were numerous posts on Weibo going around (for several years apparently) which stated something to the effect of “for Chinese New Year, the ones without boyfriends must rent a boyfriend, and ones with boyfriends must rent a girlfriend.” Perhaps due to the generational gap, the topic that the older generation turns to after the favored topics of retirement and housing has been exhausted is the love life of the younger generation. Something has been lost in this single generation. In private (or in English which serves as a kind of privacy), my cousins and their friends all have pretty vivid albeit complicated love lives, but not the kind that is on the straight and narrow path towards marriage and children, as hoped for by the parents. So they pretty much just keep mum and suffer the barrage of kind invectives until the older generation tires itself out. The Chinese word for finding a spouse is 找对像，literally “finding an appropriate reflection”, focuses the match on appropriateness – i.e. family and educational background, incomes, location, and maybe physical attractiveness. Nowhere to be found is the concept of love.
Which brings me to the semi-forced topic of boyfriends and marriages and children. There were numerous posts on Weibo going around (for several years apparently) which stated something to the effect of “for Chinese New Year, the ones without boyfriends must rent a boyfriend, and ones with boyfriends must rent a girlfriend.” Perhaps due to the generational gap, the topic that the older generation turns to after the favored topics of retirement and housing has been exhausted is the love life of the younger generation. Something has been lost in this single generation. In private (or in English which serves as a kind of privacy), my cousins and their friends all have pretty vivid albeit complicated love lives, but not the kind that is on the straight and narrow path towards marriage and children, as hoped for by the parents. So they pretty much just keep mum and suffer the barrage of kind invectives until the older generation tires itself out. The Chinese word for finding a spouse is 找对像，literally “finding an appropriate reflection”, focuses the match on appropriateness – i.e. family and educational background, incomes, location, and maybe physical attractiveness. Nowhere to be found is the concept of love.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
It's Okay La!
The first week has been an interesting mix of life's small humiliations as well as great expectations.
Upon arrival at PVG (Shanghai's international airport), I was picked up by a car service who efficiently delivered me to my corporate housing. Or so I thought. The receptionist couldn't find my reservation, and when I finally dug out the confirmation it turns out that I was at the wrong place. Apparently I was dropped off at a hotel with a very similar name that is on the street which very closely crosses the street that the correct hotel is on. I've committed my first "assume" sin in Shanghai. The driver said he knew where he was going, and I didn't question it. Lesson learned. Luckily a quick visit to the ATM armed me with RMBs and a helpful cab driver who whisked me to my correct nest.
I found out very quickly that restaurants that service locals shut down around 9PM, so that the only way to get something to eat after that is to go to an expat restaurant. This lead to a ramen noodle and mini tangerines (fruit stands, on the other hand, are open late) dinner. Boo.
On the upside, it turns out most restaurants do deliveries, free! And ordering with the receptionist @ work was a breeze, food arrives in less than 10 minutes and is steaming hot. And my work has heated toilet seats. I never knew how essential that is. Amazing.
Shanghai so far does fulfill its Work Hard Play Hard reputation. My first week and I worked past 8PM for 3 of the 5 days, although the efficiency of work certainly leaves something to be desired. On the other hand, I've gone out 4 of the 7 nights so far, and it's really a blast to be joking around with a group of people switching freely between English and Mandarin.
Upon arrival at PVG (Shanghai's international airport), I was picked up by a car service who efficiently delivered me to my corporate housing. Or so I thought. The receptionist couldn't find my reservation, and when I finally dug out the confirmation it turns out that I was at the wrong place. Apparently I was dropped off at a hotel with a very similar name that is on the street which very closely crosses the street that the correct hotel is on. I've committed my first "assume" sin in Shanghai. The driver said he knew where he was going, and I didn't question it. Lesson learned. Luckily a quick visit to the ATM armed me with RMBs and a helpful cab driver who whisked me to my correct nest.
I found out very quickly that restaurants that service locals shut down around 9PM, so that the only way to get something to eat after that is to go to an expat restaurant. This lead to a ramen noodle and mini tangerines (fruit stands, on the other hand, are open late) dinner. Boo.
On the upside, it turns out most restaurants do deliveries, free! And ordering with the receptionist @ work was a breeze, food arrives in less than 10 minutes and is steaming hot. And my work has heated toilet seats. I never knew how essential that is. Amazing.
Shanghai so far does fulfill its Work Hard Play Hard reputation. My first week and I worked past 8PM for 3 of the 5 days, although the efficiency of work certainly leaves something to be desired. On the other hand, I've gone out 4 of the 7 nights so far, and it's really a blast to be joking around with a group of people switching freely between English and Mandarin.
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