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Originally Posted by ashtonATL  Thats how I felt at one point, looked into teaching for panam there.. Then I did some digging for info from guys who've been there, and.....lets put it this way: you ain't in Kansas anymore... easy to be idealistic about living in such a place.. then when you get there the practical reality sets in...
Outside HongKong,Beijing- the pollution is so bad, that will develop a chronic cough after about six months, visibility so bad you cant fly vfr...ATC is run by the military, and from what I understand- the system is at best dysfunctional. The administrative staff at the panam academy in shenzing or sensung province or whatever it's called is mostly Chinees- and they are totally incompetent.....
make no mistake about it- you ARE living in a hard line communist country -they can take everything you have (and you) for no reason. It is a very closed society...(groups of people listining to music in a dinner hall for 2 hours is about as close to partying the chinees get lol... if you look hard you may even see a smile or two).. if you are outside HongKong, be prepared for a major culture shock... accommodation's we consider marginally middle income (running water, air conditioning, 24X7 ) would be considered 3 or 4 star there...
long story short, a gig like that is not going to be what your thinking 
the good news is, if your western and tall- your automaticly at the top of the social latter.. and you can live like a king on 5700 a month.... |
So youre saying you've never actually been there, right? So how do you know? I spent 7 months over there and yes the pollution is bad a lot of the times-don't go outside. Their ATC is a little lacking-they've no idea how GA works. The dispatchers-you answer an ad for a job and start doing it from day one without any training and see how you do.
As far as their clubs-I spent New Years Eve in Beijing with a group of friends from Europe. We ate at a Spanish restaurant run by Spaniards. The food was outstanding, so was the wine list. As was the humidor. Theres a whole section of the city dedicated to bars. There are clubs all over in every city. Some may not be up to your standards but I've danced with many lovely ladies drinking cheap Western liquor many many times. China is in the midst of a sexual revolution much as we had in the 60's-70's. Sure, you go out into the country side and things slide back a couple of decades. Much as in any country. I would like to have stayed but had better opportunities here in the States.
Theres a lot of guys over there that like to belly ache and moan because they think theyre God gift to aviation and they want things to run like they want them run. Well guess what, you're a guest in THEIR country. The Chinese people are a warm and friendly people and I enjoyed almost every day I spent their. Great memories.
To live in Beijing would be paradise. To say one could live like a king on 5700 a month is a gross understatement. A brand new VW (made in China) a huge flat, maids and all the ladies one could want...