Hello all
I am an expat american currently living in Japan. I became interested in Kunming due what appears to be fantastic weather. The weather here on the Pacific coast of Japan is both hot and humid and in many ways reminds me of NYC in August. Since we have a few successful businesses here I have endured the heat but the older I get the more I long for a comfortable place to escape the heat and start a new challenge.

I was wondering/hoping I could get some feedback on the weather "there". How is the humidity ?

I have a bunch of other questions but I thought I would start off my first post with a simple question

thanks in advance for constructive posting on this thread

The following is my personal experience & opinion:

As a fellow New Yorker, I think NYC weather in August is more tolerable than say Hong Kong, Shanghai or any where in southern China. I've lived in HK for an extended period and found the weather only tolerable about 3 months (winter) out of the year. In short, the weather in Kunming is simply ideal.

I've been visiting Kunming monthly since December of 2009 and finally relocated here from HK in August 2010. So, I've lived through the 4 seasons in Kunming 1.5+ times. Relative humidity can be as low as 20%, and in general, about 30 to 50%, but you'll hardly notice it. I am a hay fever & eczema sufferer with intense symptoms in NYC. These conditions have not once affected me in Kunming.

My first winter (2009-2010) here was the driest season (no rainfall) in recent Kunming history but the temperatures were, as I recall, in the 40sF to 60sF range. Temperatures can be in the 70sF with the sun in your face but in the 40sF at night. The past winter (2010-2011), I was told by natives, was the coldest winter in the past 15 years. Temperatures were in the 30F to 50sF range during daylight hours. At night it was very cold because there is no central heating in Kunming. It'd prudent to consider owning an electric heater of some sort for the winter months. It even snowed a few times but the ground was too warm for the snow to stick. May & June are supposedly the hottest months of the year, so I've told and it seems to be the case so far. Temperatures vary from the low 70sF to the high 80sF usually with comfortable low humidity. While outdoor temperatures may feel hot due to the intense sun rays because Kunming, like Denver Colorado, is about a mile above sea level. But once indoor (at home) the temperature falls about 10 degrees F so air-conditioning is never needed. A fan is all that may be needed for the summer months.

If you should relocate to Kunming, I strongly suggest that you find an apartment with a southern or south-western exposure. This orientation in the northern hemisphere will allow the sun to warm your apartment during the day on winter months due to the lower sun angle and then slowly release the heat (stored in the typical concrete and masonry residential construction employed in Kunming and China) at night when the temperature drops. In summer months, due to the earth's rotational change to a higher angle, sunlight will hardly pierce into the apartment to contribute any unwanted BTU. This exposure, vs. east or north, also provides the apartment with the most hours of bright daylight throughout the year.

Since you are American & have lived in Japan for awhile, some starter non- climate related details for your consideration before making the big move are (not in any order of importance):

1. Language (Best if you can speak some Mandarin Chinese)
2. Food (Kunming food is usually oily, salty, and spicy hot)
3. Western grocery availability (Limited choices & quality)
4. Healthcare considerations (Below par with western standards)
5. Cultural differences/practices (i.e., personal & public hygiene)
6. Work / Visa considerations & potential difficulties

wow thanks for all that.

The more I read about Kunming I am reminded of Northern New Mexico.

My wife and I will probably visit Yun Nan sometime soon to see if its worth serious consideration.

Language barrier is well known to me and Mandarin lessons would be first on my list of tasks to begin.

Food isn't all that surprising. Japanese food is often oily and salty so we often cook at home ourselves. With the nuclear issues here many of the domestic sourced food isn't as safe as one would believe. So buying whole foods at the market sounds like a dream come true.

here in my town we have a few imported food shops but the prices are outrageous, the quality often less than hoped for as well. I didn't move to Asia to eat American but I very much appreciate the sentiment of this comment. To give you an idea, a 500g bag of imported Italian penne is about 3 dollars. I went native years ago other than the pasta that is :)

Healthcare is a serious issue. I might actually consider ordering my meds from Canada or venturing to Bangkok to pick them up. A major downside to what appears to be an otherwise very nice quality of life.

Culture.. ya. Got that. I just talked with my wife who is japanese and she said as long as she can take a bath at home everynight and that her toilet at home is clean she is good to go. What a trooper ! :)

Visa, yes an issue for sure. I have not even begun to consider this issue yet. Here in Japan I have a permanent visa which wasn't cheap but is really handy.

thanks again so much for responding.

Although Kunming has many benefits including weather, since you are not here yet I recommend you take a look at north Thailand as well. Thailand has a better visa scheme (if you have enough money to meet their criteria) for private business people and as you have mentioned yourself better healthcare.

Yes thank you very much for the suggestion. I have been to Changmai and have a friend who lives there now so I am aware of the option.

I am researching changmai in a different way

thank you so much for responding or as the japanese say

onegaishimasu

Howdy - - I am an American with a Chinese/American wife (she lived in US more than 30 years!)

We have been in Kunming for 3 years and really like it. We are retired so "work" is not an issue.

We live in the "up-scale" community of Bei Chen (in north Kunming). The new subway (to be completed next year) has a major stop just 4-minute walk fm our door. There are more than 200 "eating places" within walking distance of our home - - all the way fm hole-in-the-wall noodle shops to white tablecloth dining in private dining rooms - - plus McDonalds., KFC, Pizza Hut - - and some western-style eateries (for when the desire strikes) Wal-Mart Super Store is a 15-minute walk. Fresh produce daily just 9 minutes away.

We like it.

Main reason we settled here is weather. We own property in Shanghai - - but really prefer to live in Kunming.

Any specific questions - - will try to answer.

Cheers - - JJ

@donpaulo,

Imported food prices in Kunming seem even more outrageous than where you are. Perhaps I am still too new to Kunming and have yet to find the right place(s) to shop. The high prices of western groceries in Hong Kong & Kunming have forced me to take note of how "inexpensive" food (groceries) costs in NYC!

Last year, I was shocked to see a pound of US porterhouse steak in the display refrigerator at the upscale supermarket at the Financial Center in HK priced at US$65/#. That's what a 3-course a la carte dinner costs, at one of dozens of authentic steakhouses, in NYC! The steaks I've purchased in Kunming have been very disappointing. So, I pig out big time each time I am back in NYC.

In Kunming, the 500g (1.1#) bag of imported Italian penne that cost a mere US$3.00 in Japan will likely cost US$5.00 (and likely never be discounted) vs. US$.99 for a 1# bag in NYC when on sale. A jar of 13-oz (380ml) imported pasta sauce will set you back US$8.25! A litter of imported "no frills" brand UHT skimmed milk is a whopping US$1.85! Salmon fish fillet (have yet to see salmon steaks in Kunming) is US$34.50/Kg or about US$15.50/#, while the same costs less than US$6.00/# in NYC. "On sale" in NYC generally means weekly at a different brand name supermarket. That's the reason I always load up to the checked luggage limit with groceries unavailable locally when I come back from my trips to NYC.

However, there seems to be some imported unfamiliar brand bargains such as olive oil, which can cost as low as US$7.75/liter and canned chunk light tuna fish at US$1.85/6.5-oz can (yet to find solid white tuna in Kunming), but still much more expensive than in NYC where a gallon of name brand imported olive oil is often on sale for about US$15.00 and name brand chunk light tuna fish for US$.99/can. That's just about half the cost of the unfamiliar brands in Kunming.

As a consolation, I constantly remind myself the rent I am able to save each month will more than pay for the expensive western groceries in Kunming and the airfare for my semi-annual trips back to NYC (I pay RMB2,150/month, or US$335.00, for a new 850 sq. ft., 2 BR apartment in Kunming vs. an equivalent that will likely cost US$3,000 or more in New York City).

Are you sure you're an American?

Dan,

I believe your question is not directed towards me because my posting sequence might have beat you to it by a mere fraction of a millisecond. But I cannot help but wonder if you are Donald Trump in disguise as Danmairen. If so, and if the Republican Party is delusional sufficiently to nominate you as the Party's candidate in 2012, you'll definitely NOT get my vote comes Election Day, November 12, 2012!

Hey there Don... I am an American and I've lived in Kunming, off and on, for the past six years and love it here. But I feel I should alert you to a problem you, and especially your wonderful wife, will confront if you move to Kunming. This is the prejudice most Chinese have toward the Japanese. I love Japan and the Japanese. I have lived in Koyoto, and my two sons were taught gymnastics seven days a week by a fantastic friend of mine, Mitsuo Mori, for years. One of my sons became the youngest gymnast to ever get on the U.S. Junior Olympic team. Living in Los Angeles, and teaching at UCLA, I always had many Japanese friends. So I was shocked when I first came to China. I lived in Yuxi then, and I saw graphic videos of the Japanese killing Chinese in Shanghai during the second world war being shown, all day long, on the bus. Amazing!

Japan is one of China's top trading partners yet the indoctrination is still going on. The government here, adds exorbitant taxes on to the prices of Japanese products imported into China. I just checked the price of a Sony laptop, and the best price I could get using my Chinese tech friend's inside connections, is double what it would cost, right now in L.A., retail.

I have never been able to open the minds of my Chinese friends, and even my Chinese wife, on this subject. There were Japanese living in and developing Shanghai for a hundred years before all those horrors arose when their property was confiscated by the Chinese and the Japanese retaliated.

So my advice, I'm sorry to say, is forget China. There are lots of other wonderful places out there to consider... Belize and Malta come quickly to my mind.