Forums > Living in Kunming > Single Mom in Kunming @vegananne
First - sympathies on your new single-mom status. That sucks - regardless of single mom or single dad. It's possible - but you need to calculate your budget before coming.
Um...apologies to all - this actually turned into a long rambling post...but...no downvote button...gyahahahaha...
SALARIES
You can use google translate (it works in china also) to look at chinese job sites such as Zhaopin.com to understand ESL salaries in west china (yunnan, Sichuan, etc) and maybe even Ayi salaries. You can also negotiate those repeat trip benefits - just take the money instead - save it up...if you're not particularly tight with your family.
NANNIES AKA AYI's
You can usually get a "live-in" nanny starting at ¥2k-3k per month however just like anywhere else - you'll be churning nannies as you attempt to find someone responsible, compassionate, patient, and most importantly, not abusive. You'll need to establish unspoken criteria for observing your nannies/housekeepers/cooks and be quick, efficient, and totally ruthless when you churn. Basically bringing the new Ayi home and telling the now fired Ayi to return to the agency to seek her next assignment. Ayi's have a probationary period - so if you don't churn them before the probation expires - you have to pay the termination salary - usually 1-2 weeks - but the agency can give you the current laws.
More expensive doesn't necessarily equate to higher quality.
I HIGHLY recommend you equip your nanny with a stroller and bag of baby supplies (assuming this is a baby) and keep your baby close to you - in public. That makes it more difficult for nannies to abuse your child - not impossible - just more difficult.
Word of mouth works better than agencies who hurl bodies at you while jacking up the rates to "foreigner" levels (usually around 3x local rates if they think they can get away with it). Agencies are supposed to screen and train their nannies - but ... buyer beware.
Live-in's are fed and will consume things like toilet paper, soap etc - so beware of the rapid consumption of these day-to-day items.
Nannies/housekeepers also can be assigned grocery buying - this is a major source of embezzlement - taking say ¥100 to buy ¥5-10 of decrepit groceries and pocketing the change.
Ayi's or nannies/housekeepers/cooks (multi-role) tend to work 6 days a week with at least 1 day off plus national holidays, sick leave, health insurance (absolutely NOT expensive here). Best to use an agency to understand current labor rules and laws.
As you will absolutely be churning Ayi's unless you're lucky (and if you were lucky, you wouldn't be a single mom), best to use an agency - regretfully - I only know of one agency and can maybe introduce but NOT vouch for them - they don't speak English so that sucks if you can't speak chinese.
There are occasionally advertisers on this site who offer compensated concierge-like services - from driving to translation - so that will help you transition - at a cost.
TRAVELLING WITH A MINOR
Also - if you're a US citizen - you'll need the father's permission to leave the country and basically travel ANYWHERE unless you have a court order (which you'll need translated) giving you full custody.
ANY time you fly in China with your child - and especially internationally - you'll need to present this notarized and translated letter, so please consider this.
To get a work visa here - you'll need a small mountain of documents that need to be authenticated in your home country (to include criminal background check) - which then need to be counter-authenticated by the local chinese consulate or embassy in your home country - so take care of those things before you leave.
Your baby's birth certificate and your legal evidence of sole custodian for your baby will also need to be authenticated by your government, then counter-authenticated by your local chinese consulate or embassy.
Finally - you should seriously consider your local support group (aka "friends"). Teaching can consumer a lot of your time, then there's baby time, self time, etc - so please consider the potential for mental and social isolation issues.
Buddhist and other religious and philosophical groups can be helpful.
As you are multi-lingual - some multinationals may be interested in you depending on your business skills.
You'll need to learn to shop online and find baby stores that deliver (most deliver for a nominal fee - especially when buying formula and diapers in bulk).
I used Ayi's for several years across china. Most were nightmares, especially in Kunming. Sichuan Ayi's tend to be the best - but there's always exceptions to the rule.
Provincial audit reveals enormous government waste in Yunnan
发布者In some cases, government officials and departments get government funds as grants, loans, copay/cost share agreements, then either can't or won't spend the funds - so they try to "sit on them" until they utilize them favorably. We can't actually judge them to be wrong, lazy, or irresponsible - as we don't really understand why they couldn't spend the funds.
Regardless - discovering funds that were allocated and then perhaps "moved around" to make it look as though they're being utilized but are in reality merely funding "other" things - is an illegal and fraudulent practice in other developed that may not currently be illegal in China.
Baidu CEO's comments ignite internet privacy discussion in China
发布者The Chinese internet may have lit up - but the fact still remains - what he said is probably true - otherwise we'd have seen a mass exodus from WeChat, Alipay, and Baidu.
As for the government ranking systems - it's a social engineering experiment designed to test cultural and behavioral engineering on a grand scale. Don't like it - go offline and off-grid and start prepping a la US preppers (prepare - preparing for the breakdown and implosion of government and society - bunkers, arms, supplies, self sufficient compounds etc.
Bureaucratic declaration limits Yunnan countryside fun
发布者This regulation, as stated here, is for government officials and employees of state owned enterprises only. It has no bearing on normal people. While I'm personally ambivalent about the rules - it is definitely the government's continuing attempt to quell rampant, pervasive, and apparently generational corruption. That's a tough rodent or cockroach to control.
In most developed nations - they continuously make laws, mostly for people who don't obey laws, flagrantly circumvent laws, or even use laws for legalized corruption - this law however seems to have teeth - as flagrantly displaying wealth is a discipline violation. Un-flagrantly displaying wealth and influence is a separate matter.
For example - in the above case - the limit was allegedly 200 people - so the solution is simply to have 10 separate banquets - to host your village of 2,000 people. Other alternatives - sponsor large legally recognized celebrations (such as water splashing or fire festivals) and have your public banquet under those kinds of blanket covers.
For every law - there are always infinitely many ways to circumvent or abuse laws - been that way for aeons.
So support the government's attempts at anti-corruption or support corrupt government officials and corrupt employees of state owned enterprises. I detest corruption - so I favor the former, hope it works, but suspect it will merely drive the corruption underground and only capture the truly stupid.
Curating modern Kunming, an interview with Jeff Crosby
发布者Do/would Chinese hospitals increasingly appreciate and place "art"?
Getting Away: Solo in Siem Reap
发布者Wonderful review for the budget minded - minus the eternal bus ride portion of the odyssey. Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing.