Hello:

I am strongly thinking about moving to Kunming. I am 27 years old and am from Canada. I want to live in a city that is easy to get around and has lots of options to have fun.

I have lots of questions from how easy is it to get a motorcycle to how good are the gyms to how easy is it to get western style food.

If someone would be so kind to add me to qq and chat with me I would be so thankful.

1502540020 is my qq.

Thanks so much :))

Darren

Hi Darren,
search the forums on here for answers to most of the above questions. Most of the questions you might have would have been answered a hundred times on here! I don't use QQ so can't add you.

Briefly:
buying a motorcycle isn't too difficult but riding it legally is and depends on things like your visa status. Riding it in the city itself is almost impossible unless it's registered, old, under 50cc, you have a lot of guanxi or all of the above. As a foreigner you may be able to get away with it, especially if it's a scooter. Of course, that's a risk and is your decision alone.

Western food is everywhere. You can find most things but it can become expensive and the quality might not be what you expect.

It's quite easy to get around, especially if you speak some Chinese. It can take some getting used to though. For example, there is no reliable way to call and book a taxi. Bus route signs are only in Chinese (no pinyin).

The options for 'having fun' are limited if you mean night life.

No idea about the gyms but check the forums (I know there's info about them on there).

Hope that helps.

Search on here. The subject has been discussed a lot recently.

If by fun you mean active social life and getting laid, Shanghai, and Shenzhen are much better for this.

Thanks for your tips.

It seems that Kunming is only better weather wise.
I live in Wuhan now and the weather is unbearable.

What a shame you cannot ride a bike safely in Kunming, I was open thre would be some nice roads outside the city.

Also if is there a SUBWAY SANDWICH restaurant?

Thanks a lot,

Darren

I have not seen a Subway yet (there may be one), but there are a number of westerners here who bake and run cafes. Sandwiches can still be a bit 'hit 'n miss'.

Now is not a good time to come to Kunming. The road are being torn up and repaved and re torn. The main streets are a nightmare. The subway still needs 1 to 4 years to be completed. The air is fill of dust from construction.

I concur, KMG is a bit of a mess at the moment, and will be for several years. The rate of development and speed of construction here is much slower than in places like Shanghai.
In Shanghai, for example, the gov is much more commercially aware. They know the costs of congestion on business, and are willing to do something about it. The true cost of congestion on KMG economy probably runs into several million USD/day.

@Darren, the weather is much better in Kunming than Wuhan. Never as cold and not even close to as hot and humid as Wuhan gets in summer. Much more sunny during most of year and for most part air quality is only occasionally as bad as Wuhan's good days. English speaking people are easily found in Kunming unlike Wuhan. Several good western food options and i am not including Mcdonalds or KFC. I think Kunming is much easier to get around than Wuhan, but it was 2 years ago that i lived in Wuhan.

Hello Darren,
I'm French and i'm going to study and live in Kunming at the end of august. I'm looking for a collocation, are you maybe interested ?
Just add me on facebook if you want to talk about it at this adress : s.hamoumraoui@gmail.com

Hope to hear about you soon.

@ Sossow

Do you mean a room/flat mate rather than a collocation?