China is practically as far from the US as you can get, yet plenty of Americans live there. So what is it like to live in China as an American? This post will discuss my answers to this question as an expat living in Beijing.
Thinking about moving to China, or just curious about what it’s like for Americans who live there? Either way, I hope this post will fulfill your curiosity!
What Is It Like To Live In China As An American?
All in all, it’s pretty comfortable! Chinese locals tend to be friendly towards foreigners. There are a few people who get a bit “put off” by foreigners, but they tend to be the older generation. Younger people are usually fine.
If you live in a bigger city, you’ll likely feel very comfortable even though you’re far from home.
Beijing, for example, is very foreign-friendly. Most signs are in English, and there are tons of expats and Western dining.
In smaller cities, you’ll definitely feel more isolated and have a harder time meeting people and making friends. For this reason, living in larger cities tends to be a much wiser decision for new expats especially.
How Do Americans Manage Living in China?
From my perspective, there are two types of expats in China who have two different approaches to living here.
Expat Type 1: lives in communities with lots of other expats, only makes friends with other expats, eats mainly foreign cuisines, and doesn’t speak much (if any) Chinese after several years of living here.
Expat Type 2: lives wherever they need to, regardless of expat population, has friends who are both Chinese and expats, eats local food and foreign food, and works to learn the language.
I would say the majority of Americans I’ve met fall into the Type 1 category. They honestly live pretty much the same life they’d live in the US, just in a different place, with some different factors.
Why I Recommend Aiming to Be a Type 2 Expat
Life for Type 1 American expats is comfortable. They’re surrounded by English speakers and people who are like-minded, and pretty much go from home to their preferred environment, back to home again.
In my humble opinion, while living like this involved much less adjustment, to me it doesn’t appear as if those people are really living in China. They’re kinda just copy/pasting their American life into a different place.
Personally, I came here oblivious to the expat scene, and started living in a teachers’ dormitory with mostly Chinese colleagues. My ignorance of other expats led me to accidentally become a Type 2 expat. I’m OK with it.
Some of my American friends here have commented on how good my Chinese is, or how well I get around. But honestly, if I can do it, anyone can. Plus, I feel like I’ve made the most of my time in China this way.
The issue is simply that we won’t get to this Type 2 level of immersion and experience as long as we keep our bubble of familiarity around us. So we have to have the courage to burst that bubble!
How Do Local people Treat Americans?
As I mentioned before, most Chinese people don’t make a distinction between American foreigners and other foreigners. Some people are more stand-offish towards foreigners. Most are super open and kind.
They may ask to take a photo with you, or try to speak English with you (especially in smaller cities).
The general attitude towards foreigners is one of hospitality. I’ve learned a lot from Chinese people during my time here in this regard.
However, due to some tensions between the US and China during the past few years, there’s definitely been a shift in how people here view the US and Americans in general. It’s subtle, but it’s there.
And unfortunately, even before that, Americans haven’t had the best reputation among both Chinese locals and expats of other countries. Five years in China has made me well aware of why this reputation exists.
Americans tend to be pickier, less flexible, and more entitled than some expats from other countries. (Please don’t take it personally, I have all of these struggles myself).
They also tend to be monolingual and contentedly so, while expats from Europe or the UK are more likely to speak a second language, as well as try to pick up Chinese. Few Americans I’ve met here have learned Chinese.
So yeah…we Americans have our stereotypes. The consequences of those will likely not be noticeable, but if you want to have the BEST possible standing with Chinese and expats here, it requires some humility and flexibility.
Is It Hard For Americans to Live In China?
I won’t lie: there’s a lot of adjusting involved for every expat, but especially for those who decided to try and really immerse themselves here. Some days are frustrating and difficult. But it’s WORTH IT.
After five years, I’m conversational, can meet people to hang out with easily, and can navigate all kinds of situations. It was tough in the beginning, but I’d say I enjoy my life here a lot because of putting that work in.
There are frustrations involved with moving to ANY new country. So be patient with yourself and with others, be a pleasant human, and enjoy the adventure!
So what is it like to live in China as an American? In my opinion, it’s been an overall wonderful experience, filled with bumps for sure, but worth it in the end. Still have questions? Let’s talk in the comments!
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