Moving to Shanghai and stress

Hi guys so I might move to Shanghai for work and wanted to ask for those of you who are already there what did you have to do to get settle I.e accomodation and setting up bank account and health care was it a stressful process and how did you manage . Thanks

Hi Mimi,

It's the company you will be working for who deals with most of that. Some can assist to help you find a residence and the contract stuff, the health insurance is definitely offered to you from the company and some banks let you open an account without work. It varies. Hope this helps.

Thanks Vince 🙏

You need to work with your company. You ask the manager that your report to and they will assign a person to help you deal with all the various issues. It's not a big deal.

This is NOT the West. You aren't some lonely individual trying to find the "perfect" app to get things done. This is China. You make friends, and you network. In China the community is bigger than any of us individually. Use it.

To be blunt. If you are unable to make friends, then you will have a very difficult time in China. The path to success in China is your ability to make, keep and maintain friendships.

As a rule of thumb, you should have at least two dinners / meals with local Chinese a month. Of that, you should initiate the invitation. Other than that, you will be destined to live ina a closed expat community and your only friends will be other expats.

Sanity Check.... You should have spent at least one KTV party by your third month, and should have at least 6 - 9 shared meals by that date. Of those, you should have at least one shoukou (BBQ), and one Hotpot, and one hunan  meal. Other than that, you are well on the road to being an isolated foreigner.

China is about friendships. If you cannot make friends, then you cannot integrate.

great suggestion :)