Looking for buddies in Dalian (or so) ..

Hi, don't worry about your accomodation or anything else. Your colleagues in Dalian are very friendly to you, I believe. When you come to IBM Dalian, you will make friends and they will arrange much of things for you.

Fews days ago, I joined a Dalian Mountains-climbing club where I chat with people from IBM china. I felt they were very nice.

By the way, I suggest you study a little Chinese. You know when you are a expatriate, the language is a barrier between two peoples in daily life, though your colleagues in dalian can speak english.

Good luck

Hi Helen,
thanks for your comments ... I'm sure I will meet lots of nice and friendly people in China, I'm actually very looking forward to it.

Do you have an idea what's the average monthly rent for a room (while sharing flat) or a 1-bedroom apartment ? Doesn't have to be city center locality but somewhere close would be great

I definitely intend to study Chinese when I'm there, my assignment will be an excellent opportunity for doing so. I need to start learning also some basic phrases / words in Chinese ahead of my relocation ... you're right, knowing the other people's culture and language at least slightly can greatly improve relations.

By the way, I tried to open the link for tourist club in your profile but it did not work, can you maybe re-send ... I'd love to take part in exploring the surrounding nature as I'm a passionate hiker.

Hi,

I heard that IBM Dalian has been moved to another place, a little farther from city center. Maybe there is a company's shuttle bus/commuter for staff to downtown. 1-bedroom apartment can be rented near the company,or in Dalian Hi-tech industrial Zone. I think the latter is better, less than 20 minutes by bus to IBM and convenient for you to hang out in the city center.

Monthly rent for a bed apartment is about RMB1500($240)and it costs less if you share a room with others.

About the link for tourist club, maybe there is something wrong with it. It is a new website for communication between members, built two weeks ago, so not perfect. I will talk about it with the leader of club or you can also try it in one or two weeks.

Thanks Helen,
very much appreciated ... do you know of any reliable webpages where to look for accomodation / flatmates ?

My pleasure, very happy to guide people to live in Dalian.

I surfed the webpages yesterday, but they are all in Chinese without pictures. Usually when we want to find an apartment,we called the owner of the apartment, to make sure if it is Ok.
Sometimes some information about renting the house is pasted on board in the company, which will be more reliable, I think.
It would be better for you to come to Dalian before April next year, for many students will graduate from their universities from May to June. That means many students need rent the apartments and therefore apartments will be not enough, monthly rent will be increased too.

By the way, doesn't your dompany arrange something for you such as accomodation or your contact in Dalian? It will be easy for you to live in Dalian if you have contact person.

Anyway, good luck.
Any questions, feel free to contact me.

I shall have a place arranged by my company for two weeks however after that I should look for my own place. I'm also sure there will be opportunities such as notices on board, contact person from HR, other colleagues and I'm sure also other expatriates as its IBM ...
Currently I'm just doing some research, gathering info ahead of my relocation. This really is huge for me and I am very excited and very keen on getting prepared for what will come.
I am really looking forward to moving to Dalian, China and just getting to know this magnificent country and culture.

I am planning to travel a lot and see as much as possible, which means of transport would you recommend ? How is the transportation network in general ? quality, prices etc. ? won't I get lost as I assume most of the signs in inland will be in Chinese and not English ??

Ahh, can't wait

Hi Pavol, totally understand how excited you are now. If I were you, maybe I would be more excited than you.

Indeed China is magnificent with vast area and a large population, so plane is the best way for you to travel around  China, otherwise you will be tired due to a long journey by train. You like natural scenery or city's?

If you just travel within the Dalian, bus and taxi are main transportations. If you really get lost, you can call the police, Ahh~~joking~~you can learn some simple Chinese words about how to take a bus ahead, or ask young people around you, for most of young people can understand a little English.

Of course, you can also take trains or intercity bus when you travel within a province, such as Liaoning Province. Dalian is a city of Liaoning Province. There are three provinces in the northeast of China, Heilongjiang province, Jilin Province and Liaoning Province from north to south.

Many expriates like to travel in the south of China, many places of intereting there. I believe it will feast your eyes.

Oh, there are much delicious food in China, very very delicious~~Ahh:D

Hi Helen,
thanks for the info. I indeed plan to learn some basic words and phrases in Chinese. I'm even planning to start some lessons when I am there ... hopefully I'll be able to find some good lectures

I'm looking forward to my travels and as you have mentioned food ... can't wait !!! I've already traveled to some parts of Asia and loved the food. I'm a big food lover and I also love cooking so I'm sure I'll have a chance to learn a lot also from this perspective of Chinese culture

Currently I'm still waiting for information about my relocation and to start my visa process but I hope I'll finally make it to DaLian by end of Q1 2012 ...

Take care

P.S. I'm sure I'll have much more questions to ask in due time but I'm sure you won't mind. You've been great in advices and I really appreciate that

Hi Pavol, two webpages for you:
dalian.xpat.so
runsky.com
but they are in chinese, try them to find if they are useful for you.

If not useful, it doesn't matter. To ask me questions directly is also Ok.

IBM is consist of two buildings.the first one is located in NO.2 building of Dalian Software Park,it's very closely the north gate of Dalian University of Technology;the other is located within Huangnichuan developing area.