After seeing Carl Pei’s article over at To Be Rich Is To Be Glorious, I had to follow-up with my own list with some taken from his as well. First the good reasons:

1. Food: During 4 months, I ate out for lunch and dinner every day. Everything is available for a cheap price there. Japanese? No problem, 5 minute walk to Aeon Jusco (Japanese supermarket chain) where there’s a really nice Japanese restaurant on the third floor with a sushi bar (the rolling band type), good tempura and ramen too. Phad-thai, Korean barbecue? No problem. Also, there’s a host of Chinese restaurants for all Chinese flavors; Cantonese, Sichuan & Northern. Fast food was close at hand too, with KFC and McDonald’s within a 5 minute walk.

No doubts about that, could get any type, anywhere, for cheap.

2. Transportation: Taxi everywhere, all the time; have a chat with the taxi driver and you’re at your destination. Effortless. Especially useful when out late.

Yeup, had a great time chatting with them as well, good at practicing your Chinese in addition.

3. Nightlife: Nightlife in Southern China rocks. Party like a Rock Star (you’re free to interpret that ;) ), party until 6 AM. Anything is possible. Clubs and bars are much better renovated, and staff are much friendlier.

Nothing could beat the nightlife like Shanghai from food to bars and ‘discos ‘ (clubs essentially).

4. Civilization: Zhuhai is situated close to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau & Hong-Kong. Whenever you need some fast-living, you know you’re never far.

Heck, even the suburbs around Shanghai are bigger than San Francisco.

5. Fan Following: Sorry guys, but I’m a very good looking guy by Chinese standards. Female attention is inevitable. I sit quietly eating my food in a restaurant, then I look up and immediately all female heads turn away from looking at me. Rinse, repeat. Guaranteed fun.

That said, gotta mention the downsides:

  1. Non-Cosmopolitan: As much as the city likes to claim it is, Shanghai is still very one-culture mindset unless you go into the 老外 (foreigner) areas, and then it’s just very much just a foreign area. The Silicon Valley takes in culture from around the world and integrates them all extremely well.
  2. Humidity: How I hate humidity after spending a raging summer at 100+ degrees Fahrenheit with 100% humidity. Spoiled on California weather.
  3. Smog: Along the same lines, the pollution is a huge deal-breaker when you live in California outside of LA area. Yes, they’re working on it, but it’s still bad.
  4. Arrogance: Not Chinese arrogance, but rather letting the “princely” status of being a foreigner make you arrogant. It can be very easy to have the money and power corrupt one’s sense of self there.
  5. Sitting on Grass: Gotta love seeing lovely shades of green for grass with a sign saying “No walking/sitting.” Defeats the whole purpose of having grass in the first place (although I understand why with so many people would effectively kill the grass).