I tried asking on reddit, but tbh everyone is an asshole over there and were not giving me very detailed answers
This is gonna be a fairly complex question with a fairly complex answer, I know. A few things to preface to reassure that I’m not dashing into this without thinking.
1.I am not moving tomorrow. I’m getting my degree in my home country first, and then moving. (Obviously I will ask again when the time comes, since policies and situations can change)
2.I am planning on learning and becoming proficient(if not fluent) in Chinese
3.Im planning on taking internships and will have a degree in an industrial field, so I won’t be completely unqualified for potential positions.
4.I know china isn’t luxury gay space communism
Anyway, what I wanted to ask is a few subquestions in relation to one big overall question.
A.What is the process from getting from my country (the usa) to China going to be like? I mean, obviously I’m flying, but I’ve never moved countries before so I want to know what I’ll need to do beforehand, how long the process will take, and what might prevent me from going in the first place
B.Is there any specific locations in China that you would recommend? Personally I’m thinking either Shanghai or Chongqing, however I generally just don’t know where I’d fit in to start. I understand if I might not be perfect for a recommendation, but if there are some ideas that I could he presented with, I would greatly appreciate it, and I can always move to a different area later
(Edit:I’m also from an area with very few natural disasters. Should I move somewhere more inland, or northern, since I don’t have experience in preparation and evacuation and such)
C.What is the process and what should I expect for getting a job? I live in the US, so how do I go about getting a job offer from a Chinese company to get a work visa. What would make me more viable as a canidate (besides language skills and a degree and experience, obviously)
D.The great firewall and such. How worried should I be about what I say, both in person and on social media? Also, how much access will I have to the non-chinese world? I’ve been told there might be access to VPNs, but I feel like that defeats the purpose of the great firewall, no?
E.Services. How does getting access to Healthcare, legal services, etc. Go when I’m not a citizen?
F.How worried should I be about day to day life and crime? How much more/less worried should I be about getting mugged/assaulted/burglarized (obviously depending on the area.)
G.How do I deal with the inevitable culture shocks I’ll have?
And finally
H.Will there be any possibility of me obtaining Chinese citizenship? If yes, how long will it take, and what will and won’t be available for me for the time im not a citizen? I checked the naturalization law, and it says if I’m stateless I can apply for citizenship if I’m “settled,” but I dont exactly know what that means.
I think that covers everything. I’ll add as much detail about myself as I am willing to share online (which isn’t a ton). Thank you in advance for any help in this matter.
China is a large and diverse country. What you experience will vary depending on where you live.
Since you are not fluent in Mandarin I recommend that you start by sticking to major cosmopolitan cities where you have everyday life survival options where you can speak English. Food markets, hospitals, transportation.
I then recommend pushing your boundaries from there, getting as much practice as you can living without English. You have a safety net but want to avoid using it.
Once you are comfortable with social norms and language, you can contemplate moving elsewhere more easily. You can use travel as a way to get a sense for other ways of living. Traveling in China is inexpensive, you can easily visit many different regions, urban and rural, cosmopolitan and ancient cultural.
And then you can move wherever you want without concern. All of the above can happen within 1-2 years if you work at it.
Okay, so for your questions.
A. You need your visas all set up first. You’ll need a job and a place to live. These are the things that can take time (months) because they depend on one another. Job first, then start the visa, then look for a place to live. You’ll need to update your visa with the place you will live ASAP.
B. It is too large and diverse of a country. I recommend visiting large cosmopolitan cities, medium-sized ethnic cities, rural places, and designated cultural sights.
C. If you don’t already have contacts to get a job, use an agency. Pay attention to their reputation.
D. You do not need to be worried at all, just get a VPN that’s known to work.
E. People with work visas get healthcare at the same location as citizens. You will want to buy insurance. It is not expensive.
F. You should, more or less, not worry at all.
G. Have friends and a cultural safety ney. Cosmopolitan cities all have “expat” communities with restaurants and such (expats are just immigrants from white countries lmao). I would recommend using them as a refuge when you feel overwhelmed but to prioritize becoming comfortable with how most people in the city live, more or less. In many cities you can basically avoid ever leaving the expat bubble and that is very unfortunate.
H. Yes but it takes a very long time. The fastest way is to own a business in China, basically to provide capital. Most people can’t or won’t do that. It takes so long that I would recommend thinking about it once you get there rather than planning it now. But so long as you work or have certain other ties (e.g. a citizen spouse) you can officially live and work there with more or less all the rights and principles of a citizen outside of certain kinds if political involvement.