...info on whether I should move to Hefei or not

[YetAnotherCanadian]

Hi everyone, very nice to meet you all

What is day-to-day life like for foreign people?  Do you get stared at a lot?  I am Caucasian and have been to small Chinese cities before (I live in Shanghai now).  I might be moving to Hefei with my wife (who is from south An Hui). Personally, the one thing I dislike most is the staring/photographing that the locals do in smaller cities in China.  How about Hefei?  Are people there relatively polite?  Can anyone compare them to Shanghainese people?

Thank you for your help.

[Andy72]

people are very polite i think..
i am italian, moved to china in april.. to hefei.. first time i live in china at all!!

yes they stare, the point the finger, the say laowai.. they smile.. they say hello..
they take picture of you.. and when i smile or do the typical V chinese sign for pics they go all crazy of happiness!!

i am having a good time except for one thing thta i DO hate: people staring constantly in my shopping basket when in shops....
this thing make me go nuts.. and i start staring at their baskets.. 
or i put something obviosuly weird on top (like jumbo box of condoms)..

anyway, this is not shanghai or beijing.. but i do not dislike these kind of attentions.. even if sometimes i would prefer to be a ghost....
but you are married with chinese and probably you speak chinese.. so over here you should not have much troubles..

good luck for you decision!

andy

[Aussie Mike]

When I have to go to Shanghai, I'm always glad to get back to Hefei.

6 years ago it was very strange being gauked at all the time but there are quite a lot more foreigners here now so it's not so novel to the locals now.

[jontsai]

People here are nicer than those in Shanghai,personally,I am a Chinese,I hate people ,they are just always selfish!!

[YetAnotherCanadian]

Thanks for the replies, guys.  Yeah, honestly Shanghai has not been a very good introduction to China for me.  I guess it is true in any big city that people are too rushed to be polite to each other, but I find in Shanghai people are especially rude.

Good too know there's not too much 'gawking' going on over there!  How are people with mixed race couples?  Here, we get rude comments every other week or so (but most people seem not to care too much, which is one good thing).  As I said, Shanghai is so huge that I think the population of arseholes here is a bit magnified and not a real reflection of Chinese culture.

Thanks!

[Andy72]

i think you misunderstood me (and yes, i looked at the meaning of "gawking" for being sure  ):
there is quite a lot of gawking, but of the good kind 

on the other hand i live far from the center, in the "countryside" down south while Mike used to live in an area with quite a few of laowai, especially teachers.. so, i know it is very different!!!

still, i think it is a good place hefei...

good luck for your decision!

[Andy72]

for Jontsai:

i am completely the oposite of you..
after 14 years in norway i just LOVE to see so many people around me!!!!

gawking or not ;-)

gawking a bit more when i stroll around with my chinese gf.....
but mainly i think for the laowai face, not for the mixed couple...

[YetAnotherCanadian]

Thanks for that, Andy.  Very happy to hear you are enjoying your experience!

Mike, I've got a question for you: what would you say is the best thing about Hefei when compared to Shanghai?  What is the worst thing?  (One thing I love about An Hui is:  GUO BA!  (That crunchy rice you can get there.)  Shanghai does not have guo ba, for some reason.   

Second question (for everyone): what do you guys feel about buying property in Hefei?  My wife and I are considering buying the place we will live in if we move there.  Anyone have any experience?

[Aussie Mike]

Mike, I've got a question for you: what would you say is the best thing about Hefei when compared to Shanghai?

The People

Second question (for everyone): what do you guys feel about buying property in Hefei?  My wife and I are considering buying the place we will live in if we move there.  Anyone have any experience?

People talk about a bubble bursting in Hefei property but it has never really happened and hefei is going to keep growing.

Buy smart and you will do well, however, I believe you need to keep the money into property for 5 years before you can capitalise, then you need to find a way to move the money. There are a lot of new regulations for property investment especially for foreigners.

There are quite a few foreigners with property investments in Hefei

[YetAnotherCanadian]

Yeah, I think Hefei is a much safer bet than Shanghai.  When the sh!t hits the fan here (perhaps a decade or more down the road...but who knows?), I think Hefei will have a big heads up.  The mass migration to cities like Hefei I think will also keep growth rapid and I've read An Hui and Sichuan are the two fastest growing areas in terms of income per person, which means the buying power of the people is much more in line with the actual prices of the properties (unlike Shanghai, where you have people speculating on prices that no Shanghainese person really can afford on that time...there are tons and tons of empty apartments everywhere!  It's maddening!)

In An Hui, I'm not sure what city will be the largest magnet for migration.  Hefei seems ideal, as it is the capital, but Xuen Quan (spelling?) is much closer to Shanghai and probably also a good bet for growth.

[irene_hefei]

Andy is so funny. I think what you mentioned is cultural shock   We chinese stared at the stuff in your shopping basket, just because we are curious about what food you like and we do not realize that it is impolite to you. No wonder it is said curiocity kills a cat.

[Andy72]

i know why you do it.. but trust me, it is very annoying!!
especially every single time!!! 
but i decide to pay back staring at all pretty chinese girls, better if their bf is staring at my shopping basket!
i look forward to next summer, so i can stare at the gorgeous long and thin chinese legs 

cheers

[Observer]

I love those 'chopstick' legs and short skirts or pants.

[YetAnotherCanadian]

lol 

[YetAnotherCanadian]

Irene,

Things considered impolite by foreign people:
-staring ... staring ... staring ... staring
-burping/farting aloud in public
-saying 'LAO WAI!' loudly every time you see a foreign person
-taking pictures of foreign people (this is very, VERY rude!  Please do not do this.)
-yelling on your phone when you're in a public place
-spitting

Personally, I do not like it when people I don't know yell 'HELLO!' at me.  It's just my personality, I guess.  I can't remember ever seeing a Chinese person and yelling 'NI HAO!' at them.

Anyway, there is a list for you, Irene.  I'm sure there are tons of things foreigners do that piss you off, too.  Feel free to post in reply.