Jump to content

bla

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    60

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by bla

  2. Mother's day

    in Chinese Language Forum

    Posted · Edited by bla (see edit history)

    Don't use Flowers.com. They did not deliver my order one year and I never recouped my money.

     

    I always call the nearest local florist to my mother's home and order direct from them.

    Thank you so much for that! I really appreciated it! The thing is I don't have any chinese bank card. Do you know any local florist who accepts visa or master card?

    I thought they all, did these days. That's how I order.

     

    Wait a minute, what's Chinese bank card got to do with it?

    what i meant was many of the stores don't accept foreign cards. sorry, forget to mention that i am trying to buy flowers and ship it to somewhere in china.

  3. Mother's day

    in Chinese Language Forum

    Posted

    Don't use Flowers.com. They did not deliver my order one year and I never recouped my money.

     

    I always call the nearest local florist to my mother's home and order direct from them.

    Thank you so much for that! I really appreciated it! The thing is I don't have any chinese bank card. Do you know any local florist who accepts visa or master card?

  5. I-751 question

    in AOS & Immigration Challenges

    Posted

    I ordered past 2 years IRS return Transcripts, and attached that. I had IRS fax them to me so the FAX cover letter from IRS added a bit of class. Note simple transcripts are free.

     

    But, yes they just want to see a joint tax return, so a photo copy of 1040 page 1 and 2 should do.

    Thanks, dnoblett. That really helps.

  7. U.S. or China

    in Expats

    Posted

    Here are the pros and cons to living in China, as I see it. I hope others will contribute their thoughts.

     

    Pros

     

    1.) China is lively in a way that America has not been for many decades. You can actually walk down a Chinese street and see -- gasp -- people.

     

    2.) Cost of living can be quite low compared to the United States. Especially good if you have a steady source of income from the U.S., such as a pension or Social Security.

     

    3.) Jobs are readily available for Americans, if you are interested in teaching English.

     

    4.) Your spouse will be in her/his home environment and you can enjoy the benefits of the close family ties that Chinese people tend to have. (Especially useful if you happen to have a young child.)

     

    5.) Can be an appealing place for someone who enjoys the international life, learning new languages, being noticed for being different.

     

    Cons

     

    1.) Cost of living is not so low if you plan to buy a home.

     

    2.) With the "liveliness" of China comes a loss of the private, "live and let live" type of life you can expect in the west. Everyone is into everyone else's business. And life is a complicated, sometimes tiresome web of who's looking down on whom, who has more money than whom, who's gaining face, who's losing face, who has "guanxi," who's high-class and who's low-class.

     

    3.) Friendship is also a bit different. Hanging out with buddies on equal terms is less common. Friends need to be useful, and if someone befriends you, you can bet they are looking for ways in which you can be useful. If they find that you aren't, you may find that they stop coming around.

     

    4.) Teaching English does not pay all that well. It is possible to make a decent income, but you may need to work hard building up a base of private students or get an additional degree in order to qualify for the top-flight jobs.

     

    5.) Health care is an issue. Better have some cash savings just in case. Don't count on any hospital saying, "Let's save this guy's life first, we'll sort out payment issues later!" You may be able to buy insurance on the private market, but in an emergency, it may not do you much good.

     

    6.) No one is going to set up a 401k for you in China, let alone give you matching funds, so you have to be very mindful of saving for your own retirement.

     

    7.) By the way, while in China, you are most likely not paying into U.S. Social Security. Years you don't pay in bring down your overall average earnings, thus lowering your eventual check. (You can, however, pay in from China if you work for an American company or are self-employed.)

     

    8.) China still does not "welcome" foreign spouses from a visa perspective. You cannot expect any permanency unless you get one of the relatively rare "green cards." Otherwise, you are on a year-to-year basis, always with the possibility that you will be kicked out of the country due to policy changes or whatever other reason. You will also never be eligible for any of China's social welfare programs, such as pensions. Not that China is rich in social welfare, but just sayin'.

     

    9.) You will never, ever fit into Chinese society. It doesn't matter how long you stay, how well you speak Chinese, how successful you become. You will always be an outsider and be thought of as kind of cartoonish. Your opinions and ways of doing things will never be considered up to par, since they aren't Chinese.

    (Think about how this contrasts with the United States, where foreigners can stay permanently, get the same jobs as Americans, enjoy the same rights, get the same benefits at work and from the government.)

     

    10.) China's pollution may be harmful to your health, as may be the traffic.

     

    It depends where you want to live. In big cities like Beijing, Shanghai are just as expensive as in the U.S, maybe even more expensive.

     

    You won't get as much respect as before since China is getting more international.

  12. back to china in janurary 2010

    in Communications, Planes, Shipping & Money

    Posted

    I think you mean Asiana Airlines?

     

    I just got back from 2 weeks in China flying with Asiana, and I would recommend them pretty highly.

     

    The flight was pretty comfortable, the food was one of the best i've had, and i've taken literally every airline that goes to china. I recommend their steak, it was actually good! and the korean noodle was good too. Everyone gets their personal tv screen, with TONS of movie/music options, they got all the newest movies that hasn't even come out on dvd yet. All the announcements gets broadcast in Korean first and then in sometimes broken english, I've listened to way too much Korean over this long flight.

     

    I flew from JFK to Seoul Icheon airport, landed something like 4am local time with the connecting flight to Shanghai at 9:30am, thats a 5 and half hr layover. Icheon is pretty big airport with lots of shops, but unfortunately they didn't open till 7am, so i slept for a while on their big comfy chairs then browsed some shops and ate some food. All the shops took US Dollars which is nice since I don't have any Korean currency.

    Wow, sounds like it is a great airline and you have had a really good trip too! Thank you for all the information very much. By the way, do I need to pick up my luggage when i get there?

  17. About name change

    in AOS & Immigration Challenges

    Posted

    What name is on the green card? The 'passport name' or your new name?

    She told me that USCIS didn't update my profile in the system. By the way, if i want to go back to China would it be easier if I go to the consulate and get a sticker or something like that to indicate I have a new name.

     

    Your green card name should be there by now. If not, make an InfoPass appointment to gt it straightened out. Yes, you can get a passport supplement to show the new name.

    Can you tell me what i should do to get a passport supplement? Thanks a lot.

  21. About name change

    in AOS & Immigration Challenges

    Posted

    Is anyone here whose wife had her name changed after marriage? I had my my changed and I wanted to get my SSN statue changed which means I wanted the "not authorized to work with DHS" disappear from my SSC after I had received my GC. So I went to the local social security office they told me they can not give me a replacement card because my name in the USCIS system is still the name that appears on my passport which is my maiden name. Anyone has any idea or been through the same situation?

  22. tax question!

    in AOS & Immigration Challenges

    Posted

    Thanks sooooo much for all you guys! I actually called IRS yesterday after I post this and the service was amazing. My English level is limited especially when it comes with tax stuff through the phone. She was so patient and tried to explain to me every single question which I had trouble to understand. After I explained my situation to her she told me only Form 1040EZ and Form 1096 will be needed since we want file jointly and we have other income resources. Thanks again guys.

  23. tax question!

    in AOS & Immigration Challenges

    Posted · Edited by bla (see edit history)

    Hi, everyone

     

    First of all, since my husband is so busy with his work so I am just searching around about tax filling and post this here myself, hope you guys can understand and ignore my poor English.

     

    Here is my situation: I entered the U.S in Feb of 08 and was not an legal permanent residence until Jan 09. I did not make any money[what about the interest I made through our joint bank account] until now but my husband and I are think of filing tax jointly[what about the interest I made through our joint bank account]. But we, especially me have no clue what I should do and what forms will be involved. So hope I will get some help through candleforlove since there are so many intelligent people. Many thanks in advance!

  24. Tax Return and filing a joint return

    in AOS & Immigration Challenges

    Posted

    Hi, everyone

     

    First of all, since my husband is so busy with his work so I am just searching around about tax filling and post this here myself, hope you guys can understand and ignore my poor English.

     

    Here is my situation: I entered the U.S in Feb of 08 and was not an legal permanent residence until Jan 09. I did not work until now but my husband and I are think of filing tax jointly. But we, especially me have no clue what I should do and what forms will be involved. So hope I will get some help through candleforlove since there are so many intelligent people. Many thanks in advance!

×
×
  • Create New...