Changsha, Hunan

Welcome to Expat.com franklosingface !

Which advice would you give to people who would like to live in Hunan ?

Depending on where you live in the province and what job you are going to have, life in Hunan can vary greatly.  However, there are some basic things I would suggest:

People say that Hunan only has 2 seasons.  Winter and Summer.  Summer is extremely hot with high humidity and the winter is cold and wet.  I discovered that the winter wasn't nearly as cold as I had anticipated, but it was dark and gloomy (depressing at times).

The food in Hunan is said to be very spicy.  And it is spicy.  Since I was never a big fan of spicy food I was worried...but let me tell you, it's absolutely delicious.  If you don't speak any Chinese, it can be difficult to order food though, so I would suggest getting some sort of translated menu or at least having some sort of translator book.  The food is very cheap also.

I came to China having spoke zero Chinese.  But, it hasn't been that difficult, even living in a small town.  I did a lot of pointing and acting out things..and I picked up quite a bit of Chinese in the process.

Some places in Hunan have very limited access to Western amenities, but Changsha, the capital, has almost anything you can need.  They have a Walmart, Carrefour, and Metro, all of which have many Western things.

If you can tell me exactly what you would be planning on doing in Hunan and where you would live (and if you have any specific questions), I would be able to provide you with more detailed suggestions.

Frank

Reading part of your blog- awesome! I travel to Changsha at least 1x a month for work.  I can relate to a lot of what you have said...the real China is much different from Shanghai/Beijing, etc.

When do you plan to move back?

I get to Changsha on August 25th.  I can't wait.  What kind of work do you do??

hi.. i am living in changsha. welcome to changsha,and i hope you will like changsha,if you have some problems in changsha,you can tell me,i am plesure to help you. my msn:[email protected]
   good luck

Hi Frank and others...

I have just moved to Changsha also, and have found it to be a great place to live. The locals are friendly and helpful and the city, although spread out, is fairly easy to navigate. I am also looking to connect with the local expat community and have established a website at [Moderated] for this purpose. You can join it for free and contribute your voice.

Regards,
David S.

This is a true shot in the dark, but does anyone living in Changsha know any stores to develop film in the city?  The higher quality, the better - I have lots of medium format film.

Thanks!!

@ DaWalker > Hi, welcome to Expat.com.

Do note that you have posted on a very old topic here (2010). I will advise you to create a new topic on the China forum, to introduce yourself first and then to ask your question .

Thank you,

Priscilla