Meiji Huaren

It definitely helps to meet expats out there. Depending on where in China you will be, there may be an expat community. A large one is Shanghai Expat. I know how it feels to need to rely on your SO there but it's ok to be a little bit adventurous ... The locals won't expect you to speak Chinese. Meeting new people and making friends will make it much easier to live out there. Good luck! I wish I could do the same.

I agree, that's a good idea. I imagine that it hasn't been implemented due to profit loss. There's the cost of hiring the air marshal(s) and the opportunity cost of not selling the 1 or 2 tickets that could've been paid for by customers. It's a small price to pay for safety though. I also read an article in which a passenger passed his back pack through TSA screening without any problems. Then on the plane he realized his 4" folding knife was still in his bag. He remarked that more competent screeners were needed rather than more complex restrictions that didn't make sense.

Just downloaded it. Not a bad app. I also recommend the following free Chinese learning apps for the iPhone: http://appshopper.com/reference/dianhua-dictionary although this one requires you to be a member to use: http://appshopper.com/education/quick-review-chinesepodcom-2

We are finding that it's not easy for us to get a loan in China to buy an apartment since we are working in the US. The banks in China do not accept our US documents showing proof of income and employment. Have any of you living and working in the US been able to successfully get a loan from a Chinese bank to buy property?

I used to read that website "ChinaSmack" but stopped due to most of the ignorant comments and China bashing, etc.

englishpod.com Youtube even has some English lesson videos Or use itunes to listen to English podcast lessons

Careful with the water filters installed under the sink. We just got one installed and found out that for every cup of water poured through the filter, about 5 times as much water is wasted. A tube where the excess filtered water runs through is supposed to be drilled into the pipe to be disposed of. Instead of doing that we let it run in a bucket and found that it wastes a lot of water. This was especially unnecessary in CA's Bay Area, where tap water is clean and drinkable. You can't really tell the difference between tap water here and bottled spring water.

Wow, these all sound like good options, especially the one from "Free Planet." If you are one of those who need your conversations logged, Google Voice offers this service (as well as recording voice conversations). I believe the rate is 2 cents/min to China.

I also don't like the fact that AT&T or most US carriers force you to have a 2 year contract with them. The monthly bill for the iPhone is high, but I'm not sure which carrier has a cheap data plan. On the other hand some people say it is still cheaper to buy an iPhone in the US than an iPhone without a contract abroad. You can buy an iPhone 3G, pay 1 month of service, cancel the contract with a termination fee ($175) and it will still be cheaper than buying the un-subsidized (by AT&T) phone. Then unlock this with software (which I have already done - and it works!)

Wow, I really thought it was an iPhone at first. It's a pretty good deal at around $150 USD and I like the fact that it's dual sim. If I saw these I'd probably consider buying one as well. I'm interested to know how the hack turns out.

Definitely XP! There's a reason why Microsoft is scrapping Vista. I never liked it in the first place. It was nothing innovative since XP. just more fancy grahpics, gimmicks and a memory hog. There's so many compatibility issues. XP will give you a much smoother experience.

Great! thanks for the useful info. You're right about BrightRoam being expensive. It looked really convenient until I saw the rates. I will definitely bookmark the last website and consider this as an option. 5 RMB sounds unrealistically cheap. I just used some software to unlock my phone yesterday and look forward to using it China.

In China it's fairly simple to purchase a pre-paid sim chip at the local store put it in your cell phone and then you have instant mobile service without a contract. But do any of you know if you can purchase a pre-paid sim chip that also has data service so that I can check my emails and check the internet? I'm doubtful if this is available. If not, is it possible to buy just a 1 or 2 month data service from China Mobile or other carrier?

We will be going to China in a couple of weeks and my passport will expire in less than 6 months. I am going to use the same tourist visa to China that I used last year (which will expire in April). We plan to stay for about a couple months and leave before my visa expires. Does anyone know off the top of your head if I can enter China and return to the US with my passport close to expiring? I also hope travelling close to the visa expiration date won't be a problem. I took a look at a passport website but there was just too much jumbled information and I thought I'd better turn here for real-life experience and advice. Thanks!

I agree that there will be discrimination (everywhere), but I've also seen cases that a company will not hire someone if he/she is over-qualified for the position. Sometimes that is the case as well. When my wife arrived she went through all of the processes of adapting, getting her driver's license, etc. Her first job was at a small company owned by a Chinese lady from Taiwan. They treated all of the employees really bad regardless of what ethnicity they were. Now she works at an American company who treat her well (except for her NY co-workers who seem to be rude to the whole SF staff). Overall she enjoys her previous job in China much better, something which depends on the boss and corporate structure.