rogerluli Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 By the way, I'm not going to be in CHina more than a year tsap seui Hadn't seen that before Tsapper... I'll be stuck there for FIVE YEARS... and then we'll decide where to go... But in that 5 years we plan to travel extensively in China and asia... Tony you've been around here long enough to have seen the good, the bad and the ugly about China...I would just add one thing that I have learned from members here...If you are going to be involved in operating a business in China you are choosing the most difficult road possible... Best of luck... B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsap seui Posted July 15, 2009 Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Cuzin' rOggiE, instead of me hi-jackin' Tony's thread I'll give you the "current" scoop in the meetings and departures forum ( I forget it's real name but it's the "I love her...she done broked my heart forum"....the thread where my CHinese family and I are becoming a pack of heathens, IN HEAT I TELLS YA. Tony, you will be okay no matter where you live with your wife. tsap seui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZBILL Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 I have had this on my mind for quite awhile. I have day dreamed of moving to China for quite sometime. It is what the US was in 1900 opportunity wise. The tempest in a teapot my wife and I are experiencing now has increased my intrest more now of moving there. What are some things I should look for and as well as be prepared for if I did this new life changing event. 1. Buying a home in Nanning or renting one?2. Work Visa in China3. Have access and depositing money4. Language courses in Mandarin (my wife will help me with Nannanese yi di dian dian)5. Possible ownership of a business there.6. Plus to many more questions to mention. I wonder how the recipe will turn out with Lasagna and Hot Pot? 1. Renting, much less buying, a home isn't a problem as long as you have the $$. If you end up purchasing a home you'll have to put it in your wife's name since expats cannot legally purchase real estate until they have been in China at least one year on a work or study-related residence permit. 2. Work visas can be tricky. If you can get a company to hire you -- assuming they can hire expats -- then you should be able to get a work permit and work visa which will have to be periodically renewed -- generally every year. 3. Banking is no problem. 4. Easy. 5. Difficult. You will have to go through Chinese formalities and, in certain fields, be restricted or forced to have local investors. Even if you do establish a business, you may find that it doesn't qualify you for a work visa.Ok I live in China 1 year and buy a home there. What kind of problems could arise if we decide to sell it in 3-4 years and we move to say Behai for retirement home there? There are no restrictions on selling a property you own. You could even turn it into an income producing vehicle. Market conditions may differ between cities and, as well, even between districts within the same city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony_onrock Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 1. Buying home, easy. They did away with the work/living one year rule. I bought one in Shanghai in 2006 and one this year in Chengdu.2. Selling, no problem. The secondary market for residential is actually pretty active. It is much easier to sell than in the states. Only thing is that the taxes are pretty high. If you want it to be an income producing asset, forget it. In China the return is very low, 3% -4% in Shanghai, a bit higher in Beijing about 4%. But if you are looking for asset appreciation, it may be worth it. Nanning rental market is even worse for any sizable units, because people who rent are all young, freshly out of college kinds. My sis-in-law has one apartment in Nanning and I went there a couple of times to explore the market. I am planning on buying one apartment in Nanning soon if my in laws want to go back. The price is not inline with the income level in that city, so you may have to use your judgement on the long term appreciation potential. The good thing going for it is the government support for the city to be a hub for cooperation with south east asia. So far I dont see solid fundamentals in the local economy for sustained upward trend for the housing appreciation.3. Job, easy, if it is teaching English. You can get a visa. The pay is a bit lower than big cities as Beijing or Shanghai. Then the cost of living is much lower too. If no job, pay a fee and some one will be able to get you a visa.4. Running a business if not difficult either. You need to be in a permitting line or encouraged line of business. Need to know how to set it up, getting local government approvals etc. Now they welcome foreign investment. One suggestion, a good pizza store! I am going to start one if my in-laws go back there so that there is some one I can trust with the cash register (the key to any business in China).5. Beihai. It has a nice beach but I don't like the people there. Beihai has traditionally been a pretty volatile market in terms of real estate. Lots of distressed villas going for about 100k RMB in 2004 went up to over a million RMB in a relative short period of time. In the last cycle of 2003 it suffered quite a big drop, but last year some how the price did not drop much. Hard to predict the future there and I would not touch it for investment purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZBILL Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 1. Buying home, easy. They did away with the work/living one year rule. I bought one in Shanghai in 2006 and one this year in Chengdu.2. Selling, no problem. The secondary market for residential is actually pretty active. It is much easier to sell than in the states. Only thing is that the taxes are pretty high. If you want it to be an income producing asset, forget it. In China the return is very low, 3% -4% in Shanghai, a bit higher in Beijing about 4%. But if you are looking for asset appreciation, it may be worth it. Nanning rental market is even worse for any sizable units, because people who rent are all young, freshly out of college kinds. My sis-in-law has one apartment in Nanning and I went there a couple of times to explore the market. I am planning on buying one apartment in Nanning soon if my in laws want to go back. The price is not inline with the income level in that city, so you may have to use your judgement on the long term appreciation potential. The good thing going for it is the government support for the city to be a hub for cooperation with south east asia. So far I dont see solid fundamentals in the local economy for sustained upward trend for the housing appreciation.3. Job, easy, if it is teaching English. You can get a visa. The pay is a bit lower than big cities as Beijing or Shanghai. Then the cost of living is much lower too. If no job, pay a fee and some one will be able to get you a visa.4. Running a business if not difficult either. You need to be in a permitting line or encouraged line of business. Need to know how to set it up, getting local government approvals etc. Now they welcome foreign investment. One suggestion, a good pizza store! I am going to start one if my in-laws go back there so that there is some one I can trust with the cash register (the key to any business in China).5. Beihai. It has a nice beach but I don't like the people there. Beihai has traditionally been a pretty volatile market in terms of real estate. Lots of distressed villas going for about 100k RMB in 2004 went up to over a million RMB in a relative short period of time. In the last cycle of 2003 it suffered quite a big drop, but last year some how the price did not drop much. Hard to predict the future there and I would not touch it for investment purposes. 1. No, they did not. It seems you bought your property in Shanghai after the rule was issued. Not all cities have the capabilities to enforce the rule, but it does apply -- still -- nationwide. There have been instances of authorities finding out after the fact and the homeowner having serious issues. 3. Jobs teaching are easy to come buy. Work visas in those jobs are not. Probably over 75% of teaching jobs are not able to provide proper work visas. People do get caught working illegally and do get deported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ShaQuaNew Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 3. Jobs teaching are easy to come buy. Work visas in those jobs are not. Probably over 75% of teaching jobs are not able to provide proper work visas. People do get caught working illegally and do get deported. I've heard this too from quite a few English teachers. The best English teaching jobs require strong credentials, education, and a background in teaching to qualify for an official work visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerluli Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 I have had this on my mind for quite awhile. I have day dreamed of moving to China for quite sometime. It is what the US was in 1900 opportunity wise. The tempest in a teapot my wife and I are experiencing now has increased my intrest more now of moving there. What are some things I should look for and as well as be prepared for if I did this new life changing event. 1. Buying a home in Nanning or renting one?2. Work Visa in China3. Have access and depositing money4. Language courses in Mandarin (my wife will help me with Nannanese yi di dian dian)5. Possible ownership of a business there.6. Plus to many more questions to mention. I wonder how the recipe will turn out with Lasagna and Hot Pot? 1. Renting, much less buying, a home isn't a problem as long as you have the $$. If you end up purchasing a home you'll have to put it in your wife's name since expats cannot legally purchase real estate until they have been in China at least one year on a work or study-related residence permit. 2. Work visas can be tricky. If you can get a company to hire you -- assuming they can hire expats -- then you should be able to get a work permit and work visa which will have to be periodically renewed -- generally every year. 3. Banking is no problem. 4. Easy. 5. Difficult. You will have to go through Chinese formalities and, in certain fields, be restricted or forced to have local investors. Even if you do establish a business, you may find that it doesn't qualify you for a work visa.Ok I live in China 1 year and buy a home there. What kind of problems could arise if we decide to sell it in 3-4 years and we move to say Behai for retirement home there? There are no restrictions on selling a property you own. You could even turn it into an income producing vehicle. Market conditions may differ between cities and, as well, even between districts within the same city. Bill, we've been told that if you are selling within two years of the issue date of your house book you will pay a hefty tax on the capitol gains...sounded like about 25%... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZBILL Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 I have had this on my mind for quite awhile. I have day dreamed of moving to China for quite sometime. It is what the US was in 1900 opportunity wise. The tempest in a teapot my wife and I are experiencing now has increased my intrest more now of moving there. What are some things I should look for and as well as be prepared for if I did this new life changing event. 1. Buying a home in Nanning or renting one?2. Work Visa in China3. Have access and depositing money4. Language courses in Mandarin (my wife will help me with Nannanese yi di dian dian)5. Possible ownership of a business there.6. Plus to many more questions to mention. I wonder how the recipe will turn out with Lasagna and Hot Pot? 1. Renting, much less buying, a home isn't a problem as long as you have the $$. If you end up purchasing a home you'll have to put it in your wife's name since expats cannot legally purchase real estate until they have been in China at least one year on a work or study-related residence permit. 2. Work visas can be tricky. If you can get a company to hire you -- assuming they can hire expats -- then you should be able to get a work permit and work visa which will have to be periodically renewed -- generally every year. 3. Banking is no problem. 4. Easy. 5. Difficult. You will have to go through Chinese formalities and, in certain fields, be restricted or forced to have local investors. Even if you do establish a business, you may find that it doesn't qualify you for a work visa.Ok I live in China 1 year and buy a home there. What kind of problems could arise if we decide to sell it in 3-4 years and we move to say Behai for retirement home there? There are no restrictions on selling a property you own. You could even turn it into an income producing vehicle. Market conditions may differ between cities and, as well, even between districts within the same city. Bill, we've been told that if you are selling within two years of the issue date of your house book you will pay a hefty tax on the capitol gains...sounded like about 25%... Could be true. Although I am not 100% sure on this one, I have heard that there is a capital gains tax -- and 25% sounds about right -- if you have owned the house for under a certain period of time and / or it was not used as your exclusive place of residence and / or the house exceeds a certain size (have heard about 75 sq. meters). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZBILL Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 3. Jobs teaching are easy to come buy. Work visas in those jobs are not. Probably over 75% of teaching jobs are not able to provide proper work visas. People do get caught working illegally and do get deported. I've heard this too from quite a few English teachers. The best English teaching jobs require strong credentials ... ... or a working knowledge of Photoshop. You'd be surprised -- or maybe not! -- at how many expats I meet while out and about who ultimately tell me they are teachers and have used Photoshop to meet the degree requirements for work visas. Even with all the right qualifications, the vast majority of schools are simply not qualified / authorized to formally hire expats. And don't even get me started with all the Filipina housekeepers / English teachers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl.hops Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 For your work visa I would try and find a job with a foreign company unless you like teaching, you can find a Chinese one. I haven't deposited money into my American account since arriving but I've been able to manage it with its online services, so if you don't already do that its a good idea to set it up, its also a good idea to give power of attorney to anyone you trust back home just in case. After 8 months of study in and out of classes here in China I've come to the standpoint that studying Chinese language in class (for me) is useful if it consists of Chinese only, that is (no English used in classes) also, I think that a Chinese teacher or other non native English speaker trying to teach grammar through English is a big waste of time unless they are able to really answer your questions (most likely not unless you have a really stellar teacher). If all your looking to do is be able to get around, buy stuff, take care of the electric, gas and water bill then I wouldn't waste my time with classes. If you do want a class, find one that's taught only in Chinese. Lexical learning (learning high frequency phrases / sentences) like Chinese pod (and all the other pod-casts teaching Chinese) give very useful vocabulary for living in China, you can get these for free using i iTunes subscriptions (you don't need an iPod). Do some research for schools in your area that expats like to go to, this will save you some money and a head ache taking classes that are poorly taught and constructed. From what I've read and who I've talked to here, if you want to own part of a business its going to take around 100,000 usd (but less than a Chinese would pay because its "foreign invested" <---- that's you) to start it up and make it official. And I do believe that a Chinese needs to own more than half, but that shouldn't be a problem right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkfops Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Leftovers will be put on the table until they rot. A putrid kind of thing. Instead of enjoying something fresh, you will say this is no good.That will happen everyday. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ShaQuaNew Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 I have had this on my mind for quite awhile. I have day dreamed of moving to China for quite sometime. It is what the US was in 1900 opportunity wise. The tempest in a teapot my wife and I are experiencing now has increased my intrest more now of moving there. What are some things I should look for and as well as be prepared for if I did this new life changing event. First make sure that you have a stable and solid relationship that is able to endure huge challenges. You can rest assured that if you're not able to get along in the US, then it will be even more difficult for you in China. It's a huge move for anyone to move to another country. I'm quite convinced that it's more difficult for a Westerner to cope in China than it is for a Chinese person to cope in America. And that's just coping. Not living and thriving. No one should move to China, unless they are absolutely convinced in the core of their soul, that it's what they want to do, and that they emotionally, financially, and culturally ready to handle it without putting too much pressure on their partner to help them get along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony_onrock Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 It is not difficult to get a visa. Photoshop for college diploma is quite common. My son has only a high school diploma and he finally got a visa without my help. The pay is not bad either, 8000 RMB/Month for 20 hours of teaching a week. For people who were born in China, there is a special policy for granting a 5 year visa if you have a doctorate degree and 3 year visa for a masters, non-cumulative, though. There is no need to have a Chinese own 51% of a business. Not sure what the 100,000 rule is. I have set up a consulting company in Tianjin with only 50k RMB for our company. If there is a problem at the location where you are planning on doing business, set it up else where and set up a branch locally. This way the tax money goes to the local government and they won't give you a headache. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony_onrock Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 Correction: there are certain industries, called restricted category industries, all listed in the foreign investment catalog, that have different requirements. Some of them have restrictions on percentage of foreign ownership, such as insurance company, rare earth, etc. School and hospitals may have special rules also. Check it out on the MOFCOM website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tony n Terrific Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 Thank you Tony for all your input and information. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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