4 ms·

Based on your name, I assume that you are not ethnically Asian. Do you find racism / xenophobia to be a significant issue for you in either Shenzhen or Taiwan?

Based on your name, I assume that you are not ethnically Asian. Do you find racism / xenophobia to be a significant issue for you in either Shenzhen or Taiwan? As a very white Canadian, if I wanted to explore, work and travel for years on end, and was willing to live at the same financial level as the locals, would that be offensive to them?

mc32 9y ago
TW are pretty easy going. Take a short 4mo course (up to you to take more) of mandarin so you can go out and about without a translator. You will not likely face any racism at all, unless you go into strange places. But you won't get it from everyday people. If anything they'll more than likely assume you're educated and have good manners. They pretty much give you the benefit of the doubt. Knowing (even basic) mandarin goes a long way.
davidzweig 9y ago
China seemed to me like a pretty down-to-earth place, people are pragmatic and generally accepting of foreigners. There are many different ethnic groups. If you stick around a while and work on your Mandarin, I think you can find your place quite ok. Kunming is a nice city, and the surrounding area is very pretty. Some photos from a trip here: https://goo.gl/photos/FawpURbZweNNQt288 https://goo.gl/photos/FawpURbZweNNQt288 I am working on some electronics and will be back in Shenzhen sometime this year, although I'm not sure if I will stay on much longer afterwards, I don't know if it's that much fun to live there.
- Zaheer 9y ago
  Awesome shots!
- archagon 9y ago
  OMG, those mountains! If I lived there, I would wake up every day in awe.
woutr_be 9y ago
As someone who lived in Shenzhen for a bit I can kinda give you my opinions. You'll always feel like an outsider, but people are extremely friendly towards you. If you make the effort to learn some Mandarin, people will greatly appreciate that. For me, as an introvert, I felt quite uncomfortable sometimes, people will randomly walk up to you and start a conversation, or they'll try to sneak a picture of you. And then you have the usual people who just stare you down. But I assume that's more because they don't see many Western faces. (Although Shenzhen has quite a large expat population) But I never had anyone being racist to me.
peterburkimsher 9y ago
woutr_be and mc32 described it well. You will feel like an outsider, but people are not hostile towards white Westerners. It's very difficult to ever feel truly local though. My personal experience is that Kaohsiung has more social life than Shenzhen, which is partly government policy (no Facebook in China, segregated churches for foreigners, difficult to get English-teaching visas so fewer foreigners around). Learning Mandarin is super hard. I'm introverted and can't just pick it up through language exchange like the English teachers seem to do. I spend my days in front of a computer screen, not talking to people. I wrote https://pingtype.github.io https://pingtype.github.io to help with my studies. If you have feedback about that program, please tell me! Also check the blog on there to read more about the ways I've tried and failed to learn. Living at the same financial level is difficult in Taiwan. The government requires skilled foreigners (tech workers) to be paid 2x the minimum wage. English teachers get paid even more, with fewer hours. There are some digital nomads who work over the internet, but they come illegally on tourist visas (that's common, and the government doesn't really care in Taiwan). My lifestyle is comparable to local people, though. The extra savings goes towards 1 or 2 intercontinental trips per year when I can visit family. I'm neither rich nor poor - I get paid double what local people do, but half the salary expected by NZ immigration for me to be considered "skilled". (I really hope they will adjust for purchasing power parity). My personal expenses are mostly food, rent, and electronics, and all of those are very cheap here (but delicious). In short, if you're interested, come to visit! You won't regret it. Or if you're in Canada, I'm going to Vancouver from the 26th August - 2nd September and I can introduce you to some international groups there (CouchSurfing, First Baptist Internationals) where you can make some Taiwanese friends.
odiroot 9y ago
Don't quote on that cause it's only one anecdote but from what my Chinese friends told me you'd be probably treated better than locals treat each other (strangers). Especially if you stay in Tier 1 cities. Just remember people would be really curious about you all the time, especially if you're tall (by East-Asian standards).
rangibaby 9y ago
Your biggest frustration in East Asia will be getting to a level in the local language that is high enough that people will open up their "real life" to you.

mc32 9y ago

TW are pretty easy going. Take a short 4mo course (up to you to take more) of mandarin so you can go out and about without a translator. You will not likely face any racism at all, unless you go into strange places. But you won't get it from everyday people. If anything they'll more than likely assume you're educated and have good manners. They pretty much give you the benefit of the doubt. Knowing (even basic) mandarin goes a long way.

davidzweig 9y ago

China seemed to me like a pretty down-to-earth place, people are pragmatic and generally accepting of foreigners. There are many different ethnic groups. If you stick around a while and work on your Mandarin, I think you can find your place quite ok. Kunming is a nice city, and the surrounding area is very pretty. Some photos from a trip here: https://goo.gl/photos/FawpURbZweNNQt288 https://goo.gl/photos/FawpURbZweNNQt288 I am working on some electronics and will be back in Shenzhen sometime this year, although I'm not sure if I will stay on much longer afterwards, I don't know if it's that much fun to live there.

Zaheer 9y ago
Awesome shots!
archagon 9y ago
OMG, those mountains! If I lived there, I would wake up every day in awe.

woutr_be 9y ago

As someone who lived in Shenzhen for a bit I can kinda give you my opinions. You'll always feel like an outsider, but people are extremely friendly towards you. If you make the effort to learn some Mandarin, people will greatly appreciate that. For me, as an introvert, I felt quite uncomfortable sometimes, people will randomly walk up to you and start a conversation, or they'll try to sneak a picture of you. And then you have the usual people who just stare you down. But I assume that's more because they don't see many Western faces. (Although Shenzhen has quite a large expat population) But I never had anyone being racist to me.

peterburkimsher 9y ago

woutr_be and mc32 described it well. You will feel like an outsider, but people are not hostile towards white Westerners. It's very difficult to ever feel truly local though. My personal experience is that Kaohsiung has more social life than Shenzhen, which is partly government policy (no Facebook in China, segregated churches for foreigners, difficult to get English-teaching visas so fewer foreigners around). Learning Mandarin is super hard. I'm introverted and can't just pick it up through language exchange like the English teachers seem to do. I spend my days in front of a computer screen, not talking to people. I wrote https://pingtype.github.io https://pingtype.github.io to help with my studies. If you have feedback about that program, please tell me! Also check the blog on there to read more about the ways I've tried and failed to learn. Living at the same financial level is difficult in Taiwan. The government requires skilled foreigners (tech workers) to be paid 2x the minimum wage. English teachers get paid even more, with fewer hours. There are some digital nomads who work over the internet, but they come illegally on tourist visas (that's common, and the government doesn't really care in Taiwan). My lifestyle is comparable to local people, though. The extra savings goes towards 1 or 2 intercontinental trips per year when I can visit family. I'm neither rich nor poor - I get paid double what local people do, but half the salary expected by NZ immigration for me to be considered "skilled". (I really hope they will adjust for purchasing power parity). My personal expenses are mostly food, rent, and electronics, and all of those are very cheap here (but delicious). In short, if you're interested, come to visit! You won't regret it. Or if you're in Canada, I'm going to Vancouver from the 26th August - 2nd September and I can introduce you to some international groups there (CouchSurfing, First Baptist Internationals) where you can make some Taiwanese friends.

odiroot 9y ago

Don't quote on that cause it's only one anecdote but from what my Chinese friends told me you'd be probably treated better than locals treat each other (strangers). Especially if you stay in Tier 1 cities. Just remember people would be really curious about you all the time, especially if you're tall (by East-Asian standards).

rangibaby 9y ago

Your biggest frustration in East Asia will be getting to a level in the local language that is high enough that people will open up their "real life" to you.