As an expat, I’m constantly on the lookout for places to live when we’re ready to move on. As much as I’ve loved every place I’ve lived, I know there’s always another country to explore just over the horizon. So when we go on our vacations one of the first things I do when I get home is decide if I could live there for a few years.
For example, I could totally live in:
- Laos
- Dubai (but only for a few years)
- Italy (of course!)
- Denmark
- Singapore
- Taiwan
And, as of one week ago, I thought I could live in Shanghai, China. I had such a great time there last year and was so amazed at how vibrant and cosmopolitan the city is. Another great place to live in Asia, or so I thought.
I just went back again for the wonderful Learning 2.008 Conference (where I presented three formal sessions and two informal sessions) and boy did I get a eyeful. Or perhaps I should say a “lungful.”We were only there for five days, but goodness, I really could not live there. The pollution was horrifying. So bad that when I got back to Bangkok and was walking on Lang Suan (a busy boulevard in the middle of the central business district) I was taking especially deep breaths to enjoy the “clean” air.
I don’t know exactly what was in the air in Shanghai (and I’m guessing the locals don’t know either), but it was disgusting. My throat and lungs actually burned for days afterward. It was like the “haze days” in Malaysia, but I guess it’s standard for Shanghai. The air was so fuzzy (for lack of a better word) that it was a cloudy white color. Yuck.
And then there’s the joys of the tainted food. I’m off milk now for a while just in case, but friends that lived in China last year were telling me that there are always tainted food scares (which of course is kept hidden by the government but eventually gets around to the expat population).
So there’s the bad air, the bad food, of course the restricted internet access, and the tightly controlled media. I guess I’m crossing that one (and a pretty big one at that) off my list….
Image from: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjlynam/FirstWeekInChina#5059788477298388306
[...] of the milk scare, consumers are changing their diet, while others refrain from drinking milk. As expected, milk companies are assuring customers that their products are safe. A consumer from [...]
I found your site by blogsurfing and I love it! My family & I are also expats living right now in KL and enjoying it! I have to agree that Singapore would DEFINITELY be on the top of my list of places to live! (and of COURSe switzerland and italy). We also love to travel to Thailand and that could possibly be on my list. Ick about China, though. Shanghai (and others places around China) are awesome in some ways but the the smog/pollution FAR outweighs any benefits. I’m glad I found your site and am excited to read more!
I loved Shanghai too – as a place to visit for a few days but if I was to go back to China I would visit Beijing again – although I wouldn’t want to live in either place.
Of the places we’ve visited I could live in KL, England – but not in a big city, The Netherlands, New Zealand and there are probably one or two more. However there’s no place like home and after a lot of travelling I like Perth better than any other place I’ve visited. Small population, lay-back lifestyle, beautiful weather, stunning beaches …..
I think I’m more of a traveller than a person that stays in another place for more than a few months.
living right now in KL and enjoying it! I have to agree that Singapore would DEFINITELY be on the top of my list of places to live! (and of COURSe switzerland and italy). We also love to travel to Thailand and that could possibly be on my list. Ick about China,