Welcome! Get yourself down to one of the Irish Pubs on either Beimen or Beichen. Do you play any sports?
Anyone correct me if I'm wrong, but room ~1000-1500, flat ~1500-2500 for anything near decent.
Anyone driving down to Xishuangbanna or anywhere else interesting during the week and perhaps have 2 seats free?
Heya, mate.
I'm sure if you do look through the forums, you will indeed find a lot of information. You will also find a lot of it to be dated, I reckon anything past eight months does indeed warrant a new thread on the same topic. You will also find the general level of positivity and community on these forums was historically higher. While I can't explain the notable loss of morale, I can assure you it's no reason to be dissuaded from your potential future journey.
While not the exhaustive resource here, I will attempt to reply some of your queries.
Yes, the state and private schools here are inexpensive.
Yes, you can probably find a dirt cheap place to stay. However, how many roommates do you want? How many modern conveniences are you willing to live without? I would consider rethinking your accommodation budget and think about how your comfortability will reflect on your general happiness and success in class. You could overcome this by maybe doubling your monthly cost here or looking further out from the centre. Which lends to my next response:
I cycle everywhere. If you want a shiny new bike, consider bringing a decent lock from your home country and leave your fear of traffic at the check-in counter. Cycling is an emotional rollercoaster. It is many days both the highlight and the lowlight of my day. I find it immensely freeing and pleasurable to knock about town on my push bike. I have also suffered several contests with ebikes, cars, and my own shit biking skills. Either way, it is an extremely efficient way to get about here.
I would recommend a taxi in from the airport for your first journey. You could try a shuttle or the 919 into town. They are ¥25 and ¥13 respectively. If a taxi demands more than ¥100, just walk away, they should chase you down and concede.
Banking, there are many ways about this depending on where you are from. I suggest speaking with your current bank about reciprocity in China. Unless you are coming here to dodge taxes? Haha
Kung fu and the other shite, can't really comment. Expat life in general is up to you. I have loved and hated this place, all the more confusing because the same matters fill both columns. You'll see! Regardless, no one is more responsible for one's own happiness than one's self. Worst comes to it, join the rugby team and stay fighting fit. I can only assume, judging by your apparent interest in kung fu, that you are a young, healthy lad. In which case, definitely join the Kunming Flying Tigers Rugby Football Club and you can join my growing harem of happy chaibachas. Haha, sorry, inside joke!
Hope that helps. Ask away if you need anything else. There are actually friendly, happy, helpful expats here. Good luck planning!
Shy.
Any thoughts on travel or accommodation this weekend? I would really like to catch the Sunday activities, but I do need to attend classes Friday and Monday. Is it feasible to make the journey affordably during a 72 hour window? Will I be able to find a place to stay just by showing up? Any thoughts or experiences welcome.
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