On average, it's fine. I'm not bored, I don't have problems with the food, I don't feel 'very regulated', and I don't find it hard to make friends. The climate is good. I've been here over 10 years, simply from choice.

I have found there is less to do, less places to go than other cities I have lived in. I also don't see many foreign children here. However, the mild weather makes up for alot. I don't miss the months of gray skies and freezing winter weather. But there are alot of old people here; not sure if that's good or bad.

Note that, like most places, there are too many cars, and a lot of construction going on, mostly for rather boring modern buildings.
"Development".
One thing I like, is that,compared to other places I've lived in China, people here usually don't go out of their way a lot, either positively or negatively, to make a big deal about the fact that one is a foreigner.
Many interesting, and often beautiful, places to go within the province, and the geography involves just about everything other than deserts and seacoasts.
Relative to other areas also, a fairly large percentage of the foreigners here speak some, sometimes good, Chinese, though this is less the case now than before. And that a lot of the foreigners here are here simply by choice. And access to international frontiers is a plus.

lot of KM bashing going on haha. It isn't that bad. There are several places to eat decent western food now, thanks to foreigners opening a few restaurants. You can get a variety of Chinese food. The overwhelming local bowls of rice noodles in soup get boring after a while, but it's not your only choice. Fruit and veg are generally very cheap compared with other Chinese cities. The drivers are incompetent and lazy, hopefully that will improve over time. The most common weather is sunshine. Winter is very short - only 2-3 months, and even in winter it can reach high teens. It's a spring city - but a British spring - meaning you can get pretty much any kind of weather! Agree to an extent with Zhudan that many of the foreigners here are a bit weird and think that they are so cool for living in KM. Some of them appear (ironically, given China is a biggest government of all) to be in China to escape the horrors of 'big government'.

@Liumingke1234 correct. it is not cheap at all here. Might as well be in Shanghai or Beijing for eating out or entertainment. yes, places there may be a little more, mind you just a little more, but ultimately you will get a decent meal. The foreign food places like Paul's are ridiculous. I have some understanding of high taxes on imports and middle men getting the products from Shanghai to here, but whose fault is that? I went to some Walmart and the foreign food section consisted of a narrow shelf about a foot wide with some Korean Noodles and KimChe. And those noodles were expensive. And while prices shoot up quality of service and products continues to deteriorate or stay low.

I agree too, leather pants on the right body is not a problem, but i am seeing more and more death metal grannies here and it is disturbing :( Old ladies of 60 or more years should not be wearing leather mini-skirts with a t-shirt that says Lucifer over a pentagram on it, while gnawing on a greasy chicken leg.

And the weather of course has never been totally springtime and the locals take that tourism slogan literally. As if there is never one cold or hot day. But I could not bear with the heart and cold in Beijing. Wow.

I sound jaded and I am I guess. I have been here for almost ten years. I am happy to stay inside and cook for myself or eat at a few regular places. I made some good friends over the years but of course for people here doing the long haul friends tend to be a year or two deals at the most. But for the most part I hate the cold shoulder you get from so called fellow "ex-pats", whatever the hell that is. I used to say hello or hi with a friendly nod only to be utterly snubbed. I no longer say hi and feel I have become one of those rude type, but if another laowai says hi to me or asks for help I will respond in a friendly way. I just do not initiate hellos because I get my delicate feelings hurt. And what is up with white women. You say hi and they begin to quiver and cringe as if you're going to rape them right on the sidewalk. "he wants my hot American body!!!" Absurd. I like when you see a foreign women waking your way and she starts looking at the clouds or the blank wall of a building to avoid eye contact. Good lord.

And the local people and their blind love of KM and its ultimate achievement, a bowl of noodles, is dumbfounding. I recently talked to a Chinese person who had worked in Thailand for 6 months. How was it? I asked. Okay, but the food was terrible. Couldn't wait to get back here and have some yummy rice noodles. Rice noodles. Rice noodles. Rice noodles. I hate them.

And hospitals are nothing but quackery and the bureaucratic element is horrible. I go all the way back to Shanghai to do my marriage visa. The office people here are so rude and inefficient. seem irritated you are making them do their jobs.

In the end being a bit of nihilist helps here. I enjoy the city because i set my standards low and while I sound cantankerous here in actual life I am flexible and easygoing and just vent steam here. Like Alien said too, not a super big deal if you are foreigner here. Bigger deal than in SH of course, but when I traveled through QingHai I was just too nervous from the stares and gawking. If you are person who has endured tough times in life it is good place. I am married and just take it easy. I manage, but if one is seeking some excitement or expects to find the "real China" here move on.

I have long wondered what "the real China" might be - it's a pretty big place, and changing much faster than many. The orientalist attitude is a bit out of date.

@zhudan
Right on point. This Sunday will be my 10th anniversary in Kunming. I too feel the same way about life in Kunming. Kunmingers act if rice noodles are so delicious! Gimme a break!When it comes to foreigners I do the same as you do. Been ignored too many times when I try to be friendly or neighborly. I'm pretty easy-going and laid back. If it wasn't for my Chinese wife I would have moved on to another country like Thailand, Japan or even Vietnam. I'm here 10 years and still feel like a stranger. Welcome to Kunming mothersuckers!

Note that the food situation is not by any means limited to rice noodles, which strike me as merely okay - rice noodle soup (fuh) in Viet Nam or Laos is better.
Lots of hotpot here, which I'm only into once in awhile when with a group of Chinese friends. But also plenty of restaurants of various kinds. But no, it's not the cuisine capital of China, and I don't think anybody thinks of it that way.

@Alien, on the contrary, I definitely think Yunnan is the cuisine capital of China. Better ingredients, not expensive, cuisine from the rest of China is easy to find. International, well ... no. But Chinese stuff, yep. Definitely.

@Zhudan "Old ladies of 60 or more years should not be wearing leather mini-skirts with a t-shirt that says Lucifer over a pentagram on it, while gnawing on a greasy chicken leg." Why not? Go granny! One of the refreshing things about Yunnan is the lack of Western-style social judgement around clothing, which I put down to the minority heritage. It's possibly changing a bit now, as you don't see people wearing that stuff so much anymore, but it's definitely still there and I think it's awesome!

I'm with Voltaire on this one. I love living here for the obvious reasons (generally great weather, access to a ridiculous array of travel options), but I also enjoy Yunnan for the lack of pretentiousness in both the local and foreign communities.

The local food here is better and more varied than anywhere else (you just have to look).

Yes the traffic is often enraging and Kunming needs to work on preserving what is left of its air quality, but in general, for those choosing to live in a major city in China, this place beats the rest on character and charm alone. For me at least.