@@guacre2675 No, not "but it could be" It IS better in Asia. Unless you live in an out of the way city like I do (Shangrao). But even then, I would rather go to the hospital in Shangrao than go to one in the US (for something minor). For something major, Shanghai is a 3 hour fast train ride away.
"Why do they have such hard beds?". Love it. Every time I visit my wife's family in Harbin, my back and shoulders always pay the price. Hard as a rock. Love the video, Winston. Amazing as always.
Hi. As an English expat who’s been here in China for over 12 years on a residency visa, there’s a BIG issue that I think your viewers need to be aware of. Let’s say a few years ago you managed to buy an apartment, and now like me as you approach retirement age and your told that your visa won’t be renewed, you can’t just sell your apartment and move Bach home (or anywhere else) because YOU CANT TAKE ANY MONEY OUT OF CHINA! So ANYTHING you have invested in, whether it’s property or a business, that money STAYS in China. Incidentally, I DIDN’T buy any property for this very reason. The MAXIMUM you can take out in cash at any one time is ¥20,000 ! BE WARNED
I am a fairly successful M.D. in the U.S., looking to early retire in Japan in my mid to late 30s. I heard that after you live in Japan for 5 years, your U.S. real estate is potentially taxable, or inherited, in Japan. Something of the sort. Can anyone comment on this? Similar in China? I want to settle somewhere where I can continue to hold my properties, collect my passive income, and not have to worry about any downsides of living in Japan or China as far as taxes or weird inheritance laws.
Life in Canada is not as convenient as China, there are not so many food, transportation is not so convenient, express and takeaway food are not as convenient as China, this is the feeling of many Chinese students!
My man, You probably wont read this since you get tons of messages, but I have been wanting to tell you for a long time that I enjoy just sipping a beer and watching your videos, its like listening to one of my friends tell me stories, I am a Mexican American English teacher Living in Russia and working for a very popular Chinese English School (I work online) and I came across one of your videos when I was searching for Chineses people behavior, ever since I got hooked and have been watching them daily, I give you a big thumbs up, I plan to come to China and visit some of my student t would be great to meet you in person, but until then STAY AWESOME!
I ran from russia to China to teach little chinese English language. They pay me 3000 yuans a week, I go to the restaurants with all the family (the owners of the school), they rented me a penthouse apartment for free.
Hey Winston! Your videos remind of that grade A student from high school who always had a well executed presentation and had credible sources but then went above and beyond and even found someone of higher expertise to speak on the subject. Amazing video as always. Maybe for the next one you can do retiring in Taiwan. I was reading online and it seems foreigners can get citizenship in Taiwan easier than in China. Seems like a good opportunity for someone who wants to live in a country where Mandarin is the dominant language
Love the balanced videos man. Keep it up. I know youll end up copping abuse regardless for covering the bad sides but it's important. You definitely have made me want to visit China when I wouldn't have considered it before. Also, big respect for collaborating with people who may have a more in depth view of a specific topic. It helps other channels and gives us new channels to enjoy! Cheers man.
America has a thousands of years of clean farmland with enough for everyone. China has an ever-increasingly polluted, very low amount of arable land. China's leadership is in panic mode right now too.
Mr. Niu Si That's just US propaganda. Beijing has less air pollution than Washington or Paris right now, and other cities will have low pollution by 2020. Beijing has clear blue skies these days.
Outstanding insights as always My conclusions: Not a good idea for historic reasons Lessons from the socially disastrous 1960 Cultural Revolution and 1950s Great Leap Forward Imagine being a foreign resident during these times and the non existence of rights and protection for foreigners Imagine the potentially dangerous anti-foreign sentiment that can be government sanctioned or by opportunistic fanatic Chinese nationalists It can happen again
Even when people can speak English, when I reply to them in my broken mandarin you see the relief washing across their faces. Their expression is like "thank god, this guy can speak some mandarin"!
I have retired in Australia and no way would i retire to China , i may visit China , been to Hong Kong twice , too much change for me as you and Gweilo 60 have shown me . You blokes must like it or you wouldn't put up with all the hassle :-)
For an Indian or a Chinese, being in Australia is like having won a multi-million $ lottery. They just love it. I do rememeber when Chatswood was dinky di Aussie. The best olympics ever ruined it for ever...
I've always found your videos to be very informative, and at the same time, hilarious! Whether its an evil uncle or a guy spitting, you always do a great job of video editing, stay awesome :D
I am a Chinese. When I saw the man spitting, I was also very angry. It was simply ruining my country. But when you ask him if he can speak English, he actually shakes his head and I'm relieved of his actions! In China, English is a second language. Since everyone was a child, they began to learn English. After the end of high school, simple English conversation can still be achieved. The proportion of Chinese young people with good quality is still relatively large, so you only meet a small number of people. I hope that foreign friends can forgive.
I love most of the young people I meet here. Young people in the major cities, especially, fill me with a lot of hope for Earth's future (China is the biggest % of Earth's human population after all). Especially the middle-class ones. The upper-class ones are often arrogant and hard to talk to BUT that's true in America and Europe too.
Be proud. Be yourself. We had huge hospices for dying tuberculosis victims a century ago. Ordinances against spitting on the street were imposed as a public health sanitation measure. That among other things reduced the scourge. So the grossness of it doesn't bother me, but the health danger does.
Thanks for sharing, Winston. The way you explain things is genuine and real, spoken in simple terms, and without all the big production edited nonsense. This is what attracts myself and the many other subscribers to wanting to come back and see more. Stay awesome! Cheers, from down here in Australia🇦🇺👍🙏🤝
Out of all the countries in the world there's so many better choices to retire. I went to Malaysia on vacation last year and that place was gorgeous, cheap, people speak English, it's in Asia, food was awesome. Basically Malaysia is the perfect place to retire in an Asian country that's totally not expensive like Korea or Japan and is an upgrade on Vietnam and Thailand.
@@MoejiiOsmanTV You should keep in mind that Malaysia has a sharia law that is discriminative against non-muslims, and that there's quite a lot of radical muslims in Malaysia right now.
@@MoejiiOsmanTV The darkside of saudi's sharia system is that they only practice it on the surface. Saudi arabians have an 'underground' life, which is surprisingly as hedonistic as, if not more so than the hedonistic lifestyle that is often portrayed upon some western people. I will still believe that just like other countries, there are both good and bad arabians. I'm just concerned about the deeply-rooted hypocrisy that is often showed by some arabians, especially those that are politically and financially powerful. As for malaysia, the sharia system there is not as worse as the one in saudi arabia. Most minorities living in malaysia are able to live their daily lives in peace. However, that doesn't necessarily justify the fact that discriminatory laws against minorities are considered legal in malaysia.
It looks like retiring is near to impossible because you won't be secure with a long term visa like Thailand if your 50 and your income is good say on a pension or social security as we Americans call it you can retire in that country.For china i wouldn't do it visit yes as a tourist but live and retire no way.
james little Winston is being extremely orientalist in his videos tho. There are european ethnic enclaves and even anglo saxon enclaves in bigger cities like Beijing and Shanghai where it's just mostly whites staying there.
It is for the engagement factor. - Marketing in needed for his income. (It would take me to long to explain it, but maybe Winston could. He has actually in one of his other videos where he tours a luggage company.)
I'm a younger guy who worked in an Asian government for 6.5 years after my tour with lenny kravitz, ending up in design. Now I work for a leading media brand in the States but I find your videos very awesome!!
diga Melo I’m not gonna waste my time talking this nonsense with you. If you don’t like his videos, don’t watch them. More importantly, your baby is crying. Go and feed her 👍
Glad your enjoying China, glad your video shows are educating people opening their eyes. At 71 years old i am not considering China although my wife and I have made numerous trips to China and all through Asia. I have enjoyed the last thirty years in Indonesia on the island of Bali. I also have been an explorer and adventurer, before Asia I explored Mexico and central america for twenty years, on the move after I graduated university, almost immediately. Life is what you make of it. TY, I enjoy your videos.
stay awesome Winston. I have been watching your video for about one year since I have the relationship with my Chinese girlfriend from Beijing where I met her from my postgraduate study in Australia.After I know your channel, I become to learn more about the circumstances over there. Although I am Chinese, but I am Chinese that not born on the mainland. you are awesome by telling a lot of truth about mainland China. I hope a lot of people watch this will be open-minded and be awesome as well! cheers
That is probably not what you think it is. In India it is common for 2 male friends to hold hands as they walk, and neither is gay. When viewing foreign cultures, it is important to not look at them through YOUR culture's looking glass.
Yes, Winston! I agree with +Mirko Cukich on this. We appreciate your efforts. Also, good to see you going back to your roots with the vlogs and expanding like you did on this one and acting as a guide for people who need to know more about practical issues. You are an unequaled resource for us.
I am from Scandinavia (Denmark) been the USA for ohhh damn been 20 years lol I guess it's a bit easier to be a Foreigner in the USA probably because I just blend in . My name is Ole not very American lol and I was told once to go back to Mexico sooo had to educate the guy the difference between Mexico and Denmark lol and also tell him I have no problems with Mexicans or any other people in the world for that matter .
Adam Tomodachi I am retired and loving it. I have no urge to live in a third world country where I can’t trust the food or drink the water. Add to the fact it’s a dictatorship that gives you zero rights, makes me wonder why any westerner would want to live there. My next door neighbors are Chinese who came here about 20 years ago and they go back often to see their families. When I asked them if they think of retiring in China he said “never”.
hei RickJason why you not come to china... china now is very different from 20 years ago, about zero right is the past, now china is a freedom-liberal-capitalism country, You can do anything without fear of being stopped by the authorities, but internet like a google and youtube is banned, because they have their own internet like weibo bilibili and baidu... and why china not geting outsider citizenship because china now have a lot own citizen
nope im indonesian citizen... but im already go to china 5 time, guangzhou shanghai beijing shujou and harbin... that awesome place, why you not visit china and see with your own eyes, not a western media says.. i hope it will open your mind about china
Kuro Kohi what are you saying?? Im indonesian citizen with sundanese race, why are you so mad to china... Let me tell you my story, im already go to south african, south african is a beautifull country with a nice view.. If im following my media, i will hate african too, because my media says the whole african is a bad country with kids labor, terrorism, gank, mafia, rape and starving... But all african is not like that, you must see with your own eyes and you will know that media has been brainwashing you...
I think it's because the line between ethnicity and nationality is very blurred to someone who spends their entire life in China, since to them there is no distinction between the two. That's why as you've mentioned, no matter how well you integrate yourself into the culture, people will simply view you as a foreigner simply because you are not ethnically Chinese. On the other hand, if you are ethnically Chinese no matter how many generations your family spends overseas you are still viewed as Chinese. I have encountered countless occasions when a tourist or new immigrants starts speaking Mandarin to some of my non Mandarin speaking friends without asking them if they actually know the language. Although we usually end up resolving the awkward situation because I do speak Mandarin fluently.
I was 49 when I moved to Beijing. I found and consulted with a half dozen Western expats who were 50+ before I went. They said exactly what Serp laid out in this video, word for word. Good job, spot on again my brother.
Noise, unstable residency, scams, shoddy build construction, traffic, air you need to cut with a knife and chew before you can breathe, questionable food safety. Aside from women I don't see why anyone would want to live there. Even then, Mr hand sounds pretty good. Adventure is fine for a few months but not for a life time and even then over time difference becomes normal.
Great channel man! You tube is great for gaining the worldly experience of others who produce content from many different countries. Retire there? Lmao Hell No!
I enjoy your videos and nuggets of wisdom that only a Westerner living abroad would understand and be able to share. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
Wherever we all are born, raised, and live for extended periods of time becomes a normal that only fresh new eyes from outside might have a different perspective about. And I wouldn't be singing the glories of freedoms in America so much. I have lived and visited places and experienced much more true freedom. Frankly, American with its history regarding the active suppression of freedoms of targeted peoples that seen forever in its wake is testament that we hardly should be standing on soap boxes espousing how gloriously free the country is. The USA Is frankly not the torchbearer in that area...its crazy to see that most of us actually believe it is. There has never been a time when we were not a sponsor of suppression and oppression both at home and abroad as a matter of government policy. I mean, tell me, what can I do in America that I can't do in Finland? Anguilla? Iceland? Slovenia? There is more control in this country than we care to admit.
@@nehcooahnait7827 Sorry but America has way more legal freedom than the Nordic countries. We pay far less taxes, have the right to own guns, and just in general are free to own almost anything and do anything for the most part. The only thing America needs to get more progressive on in terms of freedom is drugs. Although America is making progress towards even now making many drugs legal.
Hey Winston, I was wondering if you could do a video on the current situation in South Africa. There seems to be a general lack of regard and denial from the west of the absolute inhuman barbarity that takes place. Thanks!
The cutting in queues drove me absolutely nuts for the first several days. Then I relaxed. Then I realized, hey. I'm a lot bigger than the average Chinese person. So I can just walk forward. Or if somebody is crowding me from behind I have an interesting move. I stand on my toes for a few moments, lifting my heels off the floor. The guy behind me will actually put his toes under my heels. Then I lower down on his toes. Which produces a satisfying YELP! For buses, at least in Shenzhen, what you want is the maps program that comes with an iPad or iPhone. It will show you the buses, what bus to take, where to find the stop, what stop to get off, and even tell you the fare you should pay. Google maps won't work in China.
Can you speak English? I believe it’s “Do you want to speak English?”. Of course, you won’t ask that but it may be as we’ll be that, Japan is notoriously famous for not being able to speak English despite at least 6 years of instruction. Spousal visa better in Japan, between 1 and 3 years, you can be employed on it as compared to China’s spousal visa. Eventually, you can get Permanent Residency after 5 years or so, generally speaking. As well, Japan follows the rule of law and foreigners can own property outright, lock stock and barrel.
Hi Winston. Just discovered your channel and just can't get enough of your videos for some reason. They're all so fascinating and have given me a new understanding of mainland Chinese culture and why they act the way they do. Anyway, I hope you can get a chance to visit my country sometime (The Philippines). I think you and your wife will enjoy the beaches of Palawan. Actually when you mentioned putting down roots someday, if China doesn't work out, you'll certainly be welcomed over here. Although with the sudden influx of Chinese buying up property here, you'll probably feel like you never left. Keep 'em coming.
I've been there thrice and I don't think I can handle the heat. Jan and Feb okay, March - Dec is brutal. Anyone who says "you get used to it" isn't being quite honest.
yes your right the heat is a thing, but I have noticed since I started coming here in the 90's it not as bad as it was then... I always wear t-shirt and shorts.. go out in the mornings when it's not too hot..
Actually he has talked about HelloTalk before and recommended it for people who want to learn a Chinese language. That's where I first heard of it myself.
Winston, I love your videos because you are honest about China. I hope someday you will get out of the place, after all freedom and quality of life matter the most. Take care, we support you.
((If a woman is 50 and single chances are she is not looking for a husband...)) Interesting video, I guess people should look at the different options if they choose to retire: China but also Thailand, Filipinne, Malaysia...
Bravo Winston! - - I've watched your videos over the past several years, including ADVChina, but this video comprehensively summarized the fundamental issues for anyone considering long-term residence in China. While I've never lived in China, I have a college friend who has a nearly identical path, tenure and single/married experience as you. It is truly amazing learning from both of your perspectives. ... Stay Awesome!
Really good video. Really interesting. Best thing was you managed to give all this information with no gatekeeping. Not even a hint of "I can do it but you can't." If you must wear suits, the gray shirt is definitely better with your skin tone, white is too formal and makes you look a bit pasty. You looked and sounded very relaxed in this video. I'm not sure what it is, maybe you make videos when you are feeling bad sometimes, but your mood certainly seems to change and it's noticeable in the videos. Then again, because I watch videos randomly, they are obviously years apart sometimes. I hope that it is the case that the recent videos look more relaxed because you are at a happier part of your life right now.
One of my best friend married a well to do Chinese lady from Lijiang, Yunnan province and she comes from a very wealthy family.Her brother is a very prominent senator in the Party. My friend has no desire whatsoever to live in China and has been there over 11 times.
Hi Winston , I'm a fan of you from Indonesia. I really like your videos. Maybe later you could hire a person to shoot video as second camera. I really like to see you handle you camera or place your tripod or the way you walk and love to see more views of the city. Would be awesome and stay awesome :)
Idk don’t sell yourself short. Even though my Cantonese is better than my mandarin(I lived and worked in HK) I think you do a great job of making yourself understood. I have worked and lived overseas since I was 21 and speak six languages for the same reason as you - I hate to not understand those around me plus it was necessary for my jobs. Anyway great vid mate. Cheers
+Red Bandit How arrogant and foolish must you be to say you rest your case on the definition of the word "Heyday", so saying he was born after apartheid's popularity (one of the words in the definition you put forth) had waned is a signifier of what? You inferring racism / unearned privilege? Grow up child.
+Red Bandit Hey idiot it seems you have a problem with comprehension as well as facts. I did not say you mentioned the uploaders race I asked if you inferred he was racist or had unearned privilege. Your response shows you think he is guilty of that vaguest of all bullshit accusations, unearned privilege. However you don't show this do you? You say he benefited from apartheid, didn't earn his wealth and did not work to get to China. Want to back that up with facts? What maths do you refer to? NONE, your guesses and bigotry are not enough of an argument as far as any reasonable person is concerned? Again I say grow up, you identitarian wannabe Marxist child.
Looking at moving to China fairly soon. Danshui. My Dad lives there and I will be looking at eventually taking over his business. Love your videos, they provide a lot of good info. I have already visited China several times now and I do really like the place.
The lack of Medical service is the main reason you don't want to retire in China. Even you married a Chinese you can not get PR and health insurance. The best place for retirement is Taiwan, the health insurance system Even out perform US.
Winston youre definitly right about the divoced women thing. The difficulty of mariage not only exisits for themselves but also for their children. I was born in a midclass family in a 2nd tier city, I recently got married. My wife was from a one-parent family and this caused a huge fight between me and my parents. It is almost impossible to have a peace outcome when you enter such a situation. Unlike the hollywood movies where the female main actress are often raised up through a unhappy chiledhood by a divorced family, finally saved and loved by a great man, this can barely happen in China, unless the man was an orphan. Speaking about this, we are the second generation under "One-child Policy", grown up in 2000s, the social accpetance of early sex and even gay rights had reached a new height. We were allowed to have relationship with whomever, whatever we wanted, but when it comes to mariage, it is all different. Raised in a one-parent family is a very big disatvantage for both man and women, most of the families won't even allow their children to bring such a partner back home.
Its so baffling to me how family & culture can have such detrimental Influence over peoples love life & life in general. Im central European & can’t imagine how frustrating that must be. Admire your courage & wish y’all the best.
I'm with you Winston. When I first arrived in China in 2002 i asked the front desk at the hotel to write down how to say hello and thank you. They did in Chinese . I twent around with a stack of business cards in my pocket so I could get around in a taxi.
you can register your passport at the railways company, then it would also be possible to buy train tickets online, but get this done you’ll probably need a Chinese friend to help you do it. And then you still can’t use the ATM-like machines to get the real ticket at the station, you still need to stand in line for that.
Totally agree with everything you said. I'm from NZ, 68 WITH A 52 YR Old Chinese wife. I move back and forth between the 2 countries on my spouse visa,for the last 4 years. It does take some time to get your head around the culture difference, but I love it. Great video.
Interesting video. However, foreigners can easily get train tickets using a dedicated website. Ctrip is my favorite. Just book the ticket online then pick the ticket up at the train station. Setting up a basic bank account is also ridiculously easy. You simply require a Chinese sim card and a passport. Apart from these things which are comparitively easy, almost everything else tends to be hopelessly bureaucratic. To be fair about Chinese bureaucracy...I have always found it to be businesslike and efficient....But despite this it really is like an unmovable force of nature. I would only consider retiring there if I was fully culturally attenuated...And basically had enough money for tip top health insurance and a bolt hole outside China for in case you need to get out of Dodge in a hurry.
Yes, but it’s the same deal, picking it up from the train station means waiting in long queues, Chinese people can use those automatic vending machines with their is cards like I showed in the video
I found out, much to my surprise, that I could purchase a train ticket directly from an automatic vending machine in a Shenzhen high speed railway station using my foreign passport. Seems like this is a recent development. This was last November, travelling to Guangzhou, and I am almost certain that this is still a vary rare exception. I have not had a chance to investigate further. One thing for sure is that you are not going to be able to do this on a machine that does not have a passport reader (which AFAIK is almost all of them).
Yes, there have been times when I have almost missed the train because the queue for pick up took close to an hour (or I discovered that I was in the wrong queue and had to start again !). For this reason, I now always try to pick up the ticket for the next leg of my journey upon arrival at the train station of the current city. But it is still a lot more efficient and less stressful to pre-book on Ctrip and pick up at the train station.
I'm considering teaching in China, it's been on my mind for several years now and I think I'm finally at a point in my life where it makes sense. (mid twenties, money in the bank, no mortgage, no wife/kids... I do make a good living in Canada and would be taking a pay cut to teach English, but I'm ready for a change so I'm willing to do that... plus I would probably be able to get back to that income level through tutoring if I decide to stay in China for a while) Anyway in terms of retirement, if the goal was to live cheap in Asia with some nice weather I would imagine that a place like Thailand could be a better option.
You sound indifferent so I would do as much research and pre-plan saving as much as possible to buy you extra weeks while there, also keep in mind like other videos Snakeboy and Laoguy have explained when you come back home to Canada, virtually no one will care about your 5 years teaching english in China on a resume and you are setting yourself up for an absence of work once there unless you have a contact and job lined up ahead of time.
Oh and keep in mind at any point when talking to girls or in a relationship with one, picture the inside of them as a vicious snake-insect demon that secretly wants to fuck you up, but they can be amazing at the same time, just dont show them any weakness.
Hi Winston, after watching a ton of your vids on both channels, I finally decided to sub your channel. At first I was hesitant, because I couldn’t tell what your future plans were especially after watching your recent Chinese food vids from the USA with your partner, C-Milk. But when I saw this vid & realized that it’s brand new and uploaded today from Shenzhen, I went ahead and clicked the sub button without any hesitation. I must say, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying watching your vids, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I’m newly retired and do plan to retire in China. It’s a decision that I made a few years back already. I’ve visited China not less than 12 times since 2010, and each time, I stay between 5 and 6 weeks. Shenzhen is one of my favorite destinations, along with Changsha, Chengdu, Fuzhou and Xiamen. In fact, I was just there (in Shenzhen) last October. Moreover, I may come again this May/June. And I do intend to find one of those Chinese ladies, you described in this vid, to marry and settle with. If I do make it to Shenzhen on my next trip or another future trip, I would be happy to meet and treat you and your wife out to lunch or dinner. Anyway, I did mean to draw your attention to the fact that I can purchase train ticket online, using the app “China Train Booking”, which is very convenient. However, as you said, I do have to eventually stand in line at some train station to pick up my ticket. But usually, there’s a special line just for those online ticket purchasers. One more thing you probably haven’t discovered yet, is that now in all tier 1 cities, they have ticket dispensing machines for foreign online purchasers that using passports. These machines are equipped with passport scanners to match your passport name and number with the info you used to by the tickets on that app. So, next time you want to travel by the bullet train, you can try this method and surprise your wife. In fact, you can even purchase tickets for her also on that app, but you do need her ID card to pick up the ticket at the station. I love your work, so please keep on truckin’. I’d love to connect with you, so here’s my WeChat: foxxxy999.
Wow. From your picture, you look a bit young to be retiring ! I commented about this above (below ?) but, much to my surprise, last November I was able to purchase a ticket (not just print out an online ticket reservation) from a vending machine in Shenzhen that had a passport reader. I only discovered this because I was with a fellow foreign who knew it could be done.
+K Shred, I’ll take that as a complement, thank you very much. Honestly, that’s an old pic of mine, but I just updated now to a recent pic, but it will have to go through the YT filters before it appears. But even though, I do look a lot younger than my age. 😎 Believe it or not, the way I discovered the passport reader machines was because of a porter that I hired to take care of my heavy luggage. He asked for my passport and took me to the machine and got the ticket for me. Man, I tell you, those “official” porters (wearing uniforms) can be so helpful when you’re a foreigner traveling with a lot of heavy luggage.
Winston in America the amount of control you have (vis-a-vis muisance neighbors) is very limited in the USA. Even as a last resort, if you go to court, a ruling in your favor may turn out to be unenforceable, anyway.
Any single foreigner who wants to move to China and live there for a long time with a sensible future in mind has to raise money and invest elsewhere if they are seeking the expat route in life. It is wise for them to use China as a hub to build up capital and connections abroad. SE Asia is up and coming.
Well, once you are getting up to retirement age, environmental issues are perhaps less of a concern in terms of potential harmful effects on longevity.
Excellent dronage(tm) (aka: drone-footage) at the end - they have an icon of a baseball player on that athletic facility - how cool is that! Also, a lot of good stuff.
I have been living in Thailand for 7 years (which has many similarities of Chinese culture, which I have learned from Winston's videos) and I am looking forward to my retirement here, 14 years to go :)
This is a serious channel for serious people
This dude really looks like Russian mob.
i'm 71 with health issues thanks mate but living in China is best done on your channel
@Adolf Obama going to be living there part time at over 60. Exciting
Having said that I can say that health care is better AND cheaper in Asia.
@@elzoog Depends on the country & especially the city, but it could be
@@guacre2675 No, not "but it could be" It IS better in Asia. Unless you live in an out of the way city like I do (Shangrao). But even then, I would rather go to the hospital in Shangrao than go to one in the US (for something minor). For something major, Shanghai is a 3 hour fast train ride away.
@@elzoog Okay dude 🤷♂️
"Why do they have such hard beds?". Love it. Every time I visit my wife's family in Harbin, my back and shoulders always pay the price. Hard as a rock. Love the video, Winston. Amazing as always.
Hi. As an English expat who’s been here in China for over 12 years on a residency visa, there’s a BIG issue that I think your viewers need to be aware of.
Let’s say a few years ago you managed to buy an apartment, and now like me as you approach retirement age and your told that your visa won’t be renewed, you can’t just sell your apartment and move Bach home (or anywhere else) because YOU CANT TAKE ANY MONEY OUT OF CHINA!
So ANYTHING you have invested in, whether it’s property or a business, that money STAYS in China.
Incidentally, I DIDN’T buy any property for this very reason.
The MAXIMUM you can take out in cash at any one time is ¥20,000 !
BE WARNED
Yes, I’ve touched on this topic a few times, it’s pretty bad
Geoff P-D
There's ways.
I am a fairly successful M.D. in the U.S., looking to early retire in Japan in my mid to late 30s. I heard that after you live in Japan for 5 years, your U.S. real estate is potentially taxable, or inherited, in Japan. Something of the sort. Can anyone comment on this? Similar in China? I want to settle somewhere where I can continue to hold my properties, collect my passive income, and not have to worry about any downsides of living in Japan or China as far as taxes or weird inheritance laws.
Buy Bitcoin or other crypto.
go to Macau and launder it
Narration of video is so naturally fluid. Wow!
shot again and agian and agian and ....., and then cut and compose. I guess
I think it has a lot more to do with the fact he's shot thousands of videos, don't you?
It would be an exaggeration for THOUSAND, but I think doing it several times to make it more fluent is part of video bloggers' job.
The reality is that wealthy Chinese are retiring here in Canada. Better standard of life.
Ted Smart Canada is a better place comparing with US, when I traveled in Canada, I felt much safer. People are nice and friendly.
Life in Canada is not as convenient as China, there are not so many food, transportation is not so convenient, express and takeaway food are not as convenient as China, this is the feeling of many Chinese students!
My man, You probably wont read this since you get tons of messages, but I have been wanting to tell you for a long time that I enjoy just sipping a beer and watching your videos, its like listening to one of my friends tell me stories, I am a Mexican American English teacher Living in Russia and working for a very popular Chinese English School (I work online) and I came across one of your videos when I was searching for Chineses people behavior, ever since I got hooked and have been watching them daily, I give you a big thumbs up, I plan to come to China and visit some of my student t would be great to meet you in person, but until then STAY AWESOME!
Wow! you can consider adding Mundo as a middle name.
GET BACK TO WORK!!! My grass wont cut itself
I ran from russia to China to teach little chinese English language. They pay me 3000 yuans a week, I go to the restaurants with all the family (the owners of the school), they rented me a penthouse apartment for free.
No one can deny how well put together Winston's videos are. Extremely tasteful and always has direction. You're an inspiration. Thank you :)
Hey Winston! Your videos remind of that grade A student from high school who always had a well executed presentation and had credible sources but then went above and beyond and even found someone of higher expertise to speak on the subject. Amazing video as always. Maybe for the next one you can do retiring in Taiwan. I was reading online and it seems foreigners can get citizenship in Taiwan easier than in China. Seems like a good opportunity for someone who wants to live in a country where Mandarin is the dominant language
There are not as many job opportunities in Taiwan as in China, and the salary of foreigners in Taiwan is not as high as in China!
God bless them I couldn't live there.
Love the balanced videos man. Keep it up. I know youll end up copping abuse regardless for covering the bad sides but it's important. You definitely have made me want to visit China when I wouldn't have considered it before.
Also, big respect for collaborating with people who may have a more in depth view of a specific topic. It helps other channels and gives us new channels to enjoy! Cheers man.
Sounds liek a good place for an adventure for a few years but not a place to retire to. Too unstable.
Depends which country you're from. Moving from USA doesn't sound so bad these days. China's a step up.
Tony Perkins hell no it's not lol what type of drugs you taking?
P.s. I'm not even from the States
America has a thousands of years of clean farmland with enough for everyone. China has an ever-increasingly polluted, very low amount of arable land. China's leadership is in panic mode right now too.
Mr. Niu Si
That's just US propaganda. Beijing has less air pollution than Washington or Paris right now, and other cities will have low pollution by 2020.
Beijing has clear blue skies these days.
Outstanding insights as always
My conclusions:
Not a good idea for historic reasons
Lessons from the socially disastrous 1960 Cultural Revolution and 1950s Great Leap Forward
Imagine being a foreign resident during these times and the non existence of rights and protection for foreigners
Imagine the potentially dangerous anti-foreign sentiment that can be government sanctioned or by opportunistic fanatic Chinese nationalists
It can happen again
Even when people can speak English, when I reply to them in my broken mandarin you see the relief washing across their faces. Their expression is like "thank god, this guy can speak some mandarin"!
Winston, thanks for being so frank & honest in your videos...you're the best. I'll be there in Aug. take care...
I have retired in Australia and no way would i retire to China , i may visit China , been to Hong Kong twice , too much change for me as you and Gweilo 60 have shown me . You blokes must like it or you wouldn't put up with all the hassle :-)
The funny thing is Stephen Chinese people retire in Australia, live in a place like Chatswood in Sydney and feel as if they never left home.
For an Indian or a Chinese, being in Australia is like having won a multi-million $ lottery. They just love it. I do rememeber when Chatswood was dinky di Aussie. The best olympics ever ruined it for ever...
Why Hong kong when you could've went to Zhuhai
Living in China for my retirement is a No for met. Thanks for sharing, Winston. Stay Awesome, too!!
I've always found your videos to be very informative, and at the same time, hilarious! Whether its an evil uncle or a guy spitting, you always do a great job of video editing, stay awesome :D
Aah, the one thing I can always count on in a Serpentza video: a fascinating window into the rich hacking-lugey culture of mainland China.
I am a Chinese. When I saw the man spitting, I was also very angry. It was simply ruining my country. But when you ask him if he can speak English, he actually shakes his head and I'm relieved of his actions!
In China, English is a second language. Since everyone was a child, they began to learn English. After the end of high school, simple English conversation can still be achieved.
The proportion of Chinese young people with good quality is still relatively large, so you only meet a small number of people.
I hope that foreign friends can forgive.
I love most of the young people I meet here. Young people in the major cities, especially, fill me with a lot of hope for Earth's future (China is the biggest % of Earth's human population after all). Especially the middle-class ones. The upper-class ones are often arrogant and hard to talk to BUT that's true in America and Europe too.
Be proud. Be yourself. We had huge hospices for dying tuberculosis victims a century ago. Ordinances against spitting on the street were imposed as a public health sanitation measure. That among other things reduced the scourge. So the grossness of it doesn't bother me, but the health danger does.
I love China and Chinese. I hate Japanese
Bogus, only 1 in 100 people speak English in China, that's basically 10 million out of 1.3 billion people.
He also picked up a cigarette from the ground and smoked it before spitting.
Thanks for sharing, Winston. The way you explain things is genuine and real, spoken in simple terms, and without all the big production edited nonsense. This is what attracts myself and the many other subscribers to wanting to come back and see more. Stay awesome! Cheers, from down here in Australia🇦🇺👍🙏🤝
Notification squad, show your might !!!
Бауыржан Жалил Philly in the house.✌👍✌👍
Hurricane Jones philly philly! hell yeah!
Aspie stacker 😁😁😁
Philly: Come for the drugs.
Stay for the...drugs.
Just kidding. I love my hometown.
Thank you for making these videos, very interesting and informative. I love your straightforward style!
Thanks for the in-depth detail of living in China. And the HD video and format are improved substantially improved. Great Job Sepentza.
I had an adventure once. It was horrible.
Did you take an arrow to the knee?
Misadventure eh?
Some short while vacation is good but if you think of a long time settlement guess you need to first think whether it's good choice or not
David Veazey...Misadventure....you mean?
So basically don't retire in China
Out of all the countries in the world there's so many better choices to retire. I went to Malaysia on vacation last year and that place was gorgeous, cheap, people speak English, it's in Asia, food was awesome. Basically Malaysia is the perfect place to retire in an Asian country that's totally not expensive like Korea or Japan and is an upgrade on Vietnam and Thailand.
@@MoejiiOsmanTV You should keep in mind that Malaysia has a sharia law that is discriminative against non-muslims, and that there's quite a lot of radical muslims in Malaysia right now.
@@MoejiiOsmanTV The darkside of saudi's sharia system is that they only practice it on the surface. Saudi arabians have an 'underground' life, which is surprisingly as hedonistic as, if not more so than the hedonistic lifestyle that is often portrayed upon some western people. I will still believe that just like other countries, there are both good and bad arabians. I'm just concerned about the deeply-rooted hypocrisy that is often showed by some arabians, especially those that are politically and financially powerful. As for malaysia, the sharia system there is not as worse as the one in saudi arabia. Most minorities living in malaysia are able to live their daily lives in peace. However, that doesn't necessarily justify the fact that discriminatory laws against minorities are considered legal in malaysia.
I was in saudi and malaysia. Malaysia its great place, im very amaze in there
fireson23 me too
Great content as always winston 👍
As a 58-year-old-man this was an especially enlightening video among a plethora of fascinating entries you have produced over time.
I am so happy to see you are giving a reply to all your users
It takes guts to sit there and talk so fluently like that - great video.
It looks like retiring is near to impossible because you won't be secure with a long term visa like Thailand if your 50 and your income is good say on a pension or social security as we Americans call it you can retire in that country.For china i wouldn't do it visit yes as a tourist but live and retire no way.
james little
Winston is being extremely orientalist in his videos tho.
There are european ethnic enclaves and even anglo saxon enclaves in bigger cities like Beijing and Shanghai where it's just mostly whites staying there.
Very interesting video, Winston!!! Very good work!!!
Winston liking comments like a madman. XD
Hahaha yeah totally agree, lets see how hes keeping up with that in a year when he reaches 1million subs!!
It is for the engagement factor. - Marketing in needed for his income. (It would take me to long to explain it, but maybe Winston could. He has actually in one of his other videos where he tours a luggage company.)
I'm a younger guy who worked in an Asian government for 6.5 years after my tour with lenny kravitz, ending up in design. Now I work for a leading media brand in the States but I find your videos very awesome!!
Your camera compositions are fantastic!
Information is gold. Something to really take consideration. Thanks for your videos
I commented in first minute and saw Winston's honesty. Love it. It's tough being honest under China rules.
taipeitaiwan10 He is just doing his job haha
diga Melo it is. I’ve lived in China before, several times. His depiction of reality there is 100% spot-on
diga Melo I’m not gonna waste my time talking this nonsense with you. If you don’t like his videos, don’t watch them. More importantly, your baby is crying. Go and feed her 👍
WOW! I want to move to China even less now than before I watched your video! I do enjoy your content thought.... Thanks! =)
Glad your enjoying China, glad your video shows are educating people opening their eyes.
At 71 years old i am not considering China although my wife and I have made numerous trips to China and all through Asia.
I have enjoyed the last thirty years in Indonesia on the island of Bali.
I also have been an explorer and adventurer, before Asia I explored Mexico and central america for twenty years, on the move after I graduated university, almost immediately.
Life is what you make of it.
TY, I enjoy your videos.
stay awesome Winston. I have been watching your video for about one year since I have the relationship with my Chinese girlfriend from Beijing where I met her from my postgraduate study in Australia.After I know your channel, I become to learn more about the circumstances over there. Although I am Chinese, but I am Chinese that not born on the mainland. you are awesome by telling a lot of truth about mainland China. I hope a lot of people watch this will be open-minded and be awesome as well! cheers
The two guys behind you in the video are very "friendly" towards each other.....
one of them was touching the part between the other's thighs !!!
I noticed two of them were dressed alike.
That is probably not what you think it is. In India it is common for 2 male friends to hold hands as they walk, and neither is gay.
When viewing foreign cultures, it is important to not look at them through YOUR culture's looking glass.
They were cute.
@@ArmageddonIsHere What about the red shirt guy leaving his arm on the other guy shoulder then rub his arm then touch his thigh?
"the bad things, that's what I'm famous for"HAHAHA I like peace & quiet so will enjoy from TH-cam. :-)
Thank you for the reality check.
You are a serious new generation pioneer!!! Amazing videos with honest truth. Thank you.
Yes, Winston! I agree with +Mirko Cukich on this. We appreciate your efforts. Also, good to see you going back to your roots with the vlogs and expanding like you did on this one and acting as a guide for people who need to know more about practical issues. You are an unequaled resource for us.
I am from Scandinavia (Denmark) been the USA for ohhh damn been 20 years lol
I guess it's a bit easier to be a Foreigner in the USA probably because I just blend in .
My name is Ole not very American lol and I was told once to go back to Mexico sooo had to educate the guy the difference between Mexico and Denmark lol and also tell him I have no problems with Mexicans or any other people in the world for that matter .
Retire in a place outsiders can't get citizenship in 🤔🤔🤔
Adam Tomodachi I am retired and loving it. I have no urge to live in a third world country where I can’t trust the food or drink the water. Add to the fact it’s a dictatorship that gives you zero rights, makes me wonder why any westerner would want to live there. My next door neighbors are Chinese who came here about 20 years ago and they go back often to see their families. When I asked them if they think of retiring in China he said “never”.
hei RickJason why you not come to china... china now is very different from 20 years ago, about zero right is the past, now china is a freedom-liberal-capitalism country, You can do anything without fear of being stopped by the authorities, but internet like a google and youtube is banned, because they have their own internet like weibo bilibili and baidu... and why china not geting outsider citizenship because china now have a lot own citizen
nope im indonesian citizen... but im already go to china 5 time, guangzhou shanghai beijing shujou and harbin... that awesome place, why you not visit china and see with your own eyes, not a western media says.. i hope it will open your mind about china
Life is Strange , Kuro Kohi is making a point that he(she) doesn't like China, you cannot either.
Kuro Kohi what are you saying?? Im indonesian citizen with sundanese race, why are you so mad to china... Let me tell you my story, im already go to south african, south african is a beautifull country with a nice view.. If im following my media, i will hate african too, because my media says the whole african is a bad country with kids labor, terrorism, gank, mafia, rape and starving... But all african is not like that, you must see with your own eyes and you will know that media has been brainwashing you...
I think it's because the line between ethnicity and nationality is very blurred to someone who spends their entire life in China, since to them there is no distinction between the two. That's why as you've mentioned, no matter how well you integrate yourself into the culture, people will simply view you as a foreigner simply because you are not ethnically Chinese. On the other hand, if you are ethnically Chinese no matter how many generations your family spends overseas you are still viewed as Chinese. I have encountered countless occasions when a tourist or new immigrants starts speaking Mandarin to some of my non Mandarin speaking friends without asking them if they actually know the language. Although we usually end up resolving the awkward situation because I do speak Mandarin fluently.
I was 49 when I moved to Beijing. I found and consulted with a half dozen Western expats who were 50+ before I went. They said exactly what Serp laid out in this video, word for word. Good job, spot on again my brother.
I like the honest self-evaluation of your Chinese skills.
Noise, unstable residency, scams, shoddy build construction, traffic, air you need to cut with a knife and chew before you can breathe, questionable food safety. Aside from women I don't see why anyone would want to live there. Even then, Mr hand sounds pretty good. Adventure is fine for a few months but not for a life time and even then over time difference becomes normal.
Great channel man! You tube is great for gaining the worldly experience of others who produce content from many different countries.
Retire there? Lmao Hell No!
So.. You're telling me I can get a successful sugar-mama in China, because no Chinese man wants her?
LMAO at the guy on the right pretending quickly not to be paying attention 11:16
I enjoy your videos and nuggets of wisdom that only a Westerner living abroad would understand and be able to share. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
Thats why I love America. I love the chinese culture but I cant live under that kind of control.
Wherever we all are born, raised, and live for extended periods of time becomes a normal that only fresh new eyes from outside might have a different perspective about.
And I wouldn't be singing the glories of freedoms in America so much. I have lived and visited places and experienced much more true freedom. Frankly, American with its history regarding the active suppression of freedoms of targeted peoples that seen forever in its wake is testament that we hardly should be standing on soap boxes espousing how gloriously free the country is. The USA Is frankly not the torchbearer in that area...its crazy to see that most of us actually believe it is.
There has never been a time when we were not a sponsor of suppression and oppression both at home and abroad as a matter of government policy.
I mean, tell me, what can I do in America that I can't do in Finland? Anguilla? Iceland? Slovenia?
There is more control in this country than we care to admit.
more control in america
If you love Chinese cultures and prefer to live in a free society, you can try searching for retirement in Taiwan or Malaysia.
Wow America is probably not a good example... think about Nordic countries...
@@nehcooahnait7827 Sorry but America has way more legal freedom than the Nordic countries. We pay far less taxes, have the right to own guns, and just in general are free to own almost anything and do anything for the most part. The only thing America needs to get more progressive on in terms of freedom is drugs. Although America is making progress towards even now making many drugs legal.
All I hear in the background is spitting noises 😂
th-cam.com/video/rZ6Uy5paWdI/w-d-xo.htmlth-cam.com/video/rZ6Uy5paWdI/w-d-xo.html
Spitting is one thing, hocking is another thing that disgusts me to the core!
that guy spitting hahahahahaha
Nice sound effects 😆
Srbistanik 01 exactly
Gross!
fuck the spit guy!!
You want to fuck spit guy? Gross.
Back on form Winston, back on form. Nice to see the independent you once again, no woosywoodo family stuff and, and eating food. Great.
I been watching your stuff for some weeks now and omg has your views on 🇨🇳 changed in 4 years
Hey Winston, I was wondering if you could do a video on the current situation in South Africa. There seems to be a general lack of regard and denial from the west of the absolute inhuman barbarity that takes place. Thanks!
The cutting in queues drove me absolutely nuts for the first several days. Then I relaxed. Then I realized, hey. I'm a lot bigger than the average Chinese person. So I can just walk forward. Or if somebody is crowding me from behind I have an interesting move. I stand on my toes for a few moments, lifting my heels off the floor. The guy behind me will actually put his toes under my heels. Then I lower down on his toes. Which produces a satisfying YELP!
For buses, at least in Shenzhen, what you want is the maps program that comes with an iPad or iPhone. It will show you the buses, what bus to take, where to find the stop, what stop to get off, and even tell you the fare you should pay. Google maps won't work in China.
puppetsock Haha the same here in Macau. I had to learn to push when getting on buses here. But it helps that I'm over 6ft tall and broad lol.
Can you speak English? I believe it’s “Do you want to speak English?”. Of course, you won’t ask that but it may be as we’ll be that, Japan is notoriously famous for not being able to speak English despite at least 6 years of instruction.
Spousal visa better in Japan, between 1 and 3 years, you can be employed on it as compared to China’s spousal visa.
Eventually, you can get Permanent Residency after 5 years or so, generally speaking. As well, Japan follows the rule of law and foreigners can own property outright, lock stock and barrel.
That is way better
Yes, but every ojisan who speaks a little English will try to help you if you stand clueless on the street
Retiring abroad is a huge adjustment, try a six months -or longer- visit first :) Great video Winston!
New to this channel. Very interesting and excellent presentation. Thank you!
It's so funny you are always taking pictures of people of taking pictures
Winstonception
I really enjoy your videos. I knew nothing about China before this and what I did know was pretty negative. Now I don't think they're so bad.
China? Too much excitement for retirement. I went to Shanghai for a month and it’s overwhelming.
Hi Winston. Just discovered your channel and just can't get enough of your videos for some reason. They're all so fascinating and have given me a new understanding of mainland Chinese culture and why they act the way they do. Anyway, I hope you can get a chance to visit my country sometime (The Philippines). I think you and your wife will enjoy the beaches of Palawan. Actually when you mentioned putting down roots someday, if China doesn't work out, you'll certainly be welcomed over here. Although with the sudden influx of Chinese buying up property here, you'll probably feel like you never left. Keep 'em coming.
The footage of your wife at 14:00 is very cool!
I'm retired and living in The Philippines love it here most locals can speak and understand English.. food in pretty good as well and the Beer!!!
Dave Hooker. Are there food pollution issues there?
Food Pollution! well I don't buy food from the stalls along the roads... most restaurants have really great food and very safe to eat..
I've been there thrice and I don't think I can handle the heat. Jan and Feb okay, March - Dec is brutal. Anyone who says "you get used to it" isn't being quite honest.
May I ask where in the Philippines you are living?
yes your right the heat is a thing, but I have noticed since I started coming here in the 90's it not as bad as it was then... I always wear t-shirt and shorts.. go out in the mornings when it's not too hot..
"Of course, this is a SerpentZA video, so we have to talk about the bad things. That's what I'm famous for." lolol
hey Winston! I meet a lot of Chinese people from this shenzen based app called Hellotalk. I think it's a great subject for your upcoming video 😃
Actually he has talked about HelloTalk before and recommended it for people who want to learn a Chinese language. That's where I first heard of it myself.
Winston, I love your videos because you are honest about China. I hope someday you will get out of the place, after all freedom and quality of life matter the most. Take care, we support you.
I like the glass guy spitting behind you, it makes this video so much more vivid.
No Thanks - Good Luck living your dream in China.
((If a woman is 50 and single chances are she is not looking for a husband...))
Interesting video, I guess people should look at the different options if they choose to retire: China but also Thailand, Filipinne, Malaysia...
Bravo Winston! - - I've watched your videos over the past several years, including ADVChina, but this video comprehensively summarized the fundamental issues for anyone considering long-term residence in China. While I've never lived in China, I have a college friend who has a nearly identical path, tenure and single/married experience as you. It is truly amazing learning from both of your perspectives. ... Stay Awesome!
That’s great to hear
Really good video. Really interesting.
Best thing was you managed to give all this information with no gatekeeping. Not even a hint of "I can do it but you can't."
If you must wear suits, the gray shirt is definitely better with your skin tone, white is too formal and makes you look a bit pasty.
You looked and sounded very relaxed in this video. I'm not sure what it is, maybe you make videos when you are feeling bad sometimes, but your mood certainly seems to change and it's noticeable in the videos.
Then again, because I watch videos randomly, they are obviously years apart sometimes. I hope that it is the case that the recent videos look more relaxed because you are at a happier part of your life right now.
One of my best friend married a well to do Chinese lady from Lijiang, Yunnan province and she comes from a very wealthy family.Her brother is a very prominent senator in the Party. My friend has no desire whatsoever to live in China and has been there over 11 times.
Hi Winston , I'm a fan of you from Indonesia. I really like your videos. Maybe later you could hire a person to shoot video as second camera. I really like to see you handle you camera or place your tripod or the way you walk and love to see more views of the city. Would be awesome and stay awesome :)
Idk don’t sell yourself short. Even though my Cantonese is better than my mandarin(I lived and worked in HK) I think you do a great job of making yourself understood. I have worked and lived overseas since I was 21 and speak six languages for the same reason as you - I hate to not understand those around me plus it was necessary for my jobs. Anyway great vid mate. Cheers
Smile another good video Winston and thanks for the shout out.
Lol, how could I thrive under apartheid when it was already abolished when I grew up? I wasn't alive during the apartheid heydays you silly bellend
Red, you have no clue as to what has/is going on in S. Africa since the end of apartheid. Shut your ingnorant face.
Yeah, looking forward to releasing our video next
+Red Bandit
How arrogant and foolish must you be to say you rest your case on the definition of the word "Heyday", so saying he was born after apartheid's popularity (one of the words in the definition you put forth) had waned is a signifier of what? You inferring racism / unearned privilege? Grow up child.
+Red Bandit
Hey idiot it seems you have a problem with comprehension as well as facts. I did not say you mentioned the uploaders race I asked if you inferred he was racist or had unearned privilege. Your response shows you think he is guilty of that vaguest of all bullshit accusations, unearned privilege. However you don't show this do you? You say he benefited from apartheid, didn't earn his wealth and did not work to get to China. Want to back that up with facts? What maths do you refer to? NONE, your guesses and bigotry are not enough of an argument as far as any reasonable person is concerned? Again I say grow up, you identitarian wannabe Marxist child.
Looking at moving to China fairly soon. Danshui. My Dad lives there and I will be looking at eventually taking over his business. Love your videos, they provide a lot of good info. I have already visited China several times now and I do really like the place.
The lack of Medical service is the main reason you don't want to retire in China. Even you married a Chinese you can not get PR and health insurance. The best place for retirement is Taiwan, the health
insurance system Even out perform US.
Winston youre definitly right about the divoced women thing. The difficulty of mariage not only exisits for themselves but also for their children. I was born in a midclass family in a 2nd tier city, I recently got married. My wife was from a one-parent family and this caused a huge fight between me and my parents. It is almost impossible to have a peace outcome when you enter such a situation.
Unlike the hollywood movies where the female main actress are often raised up through a unhappy chiledhood by a divorced family, finally saved and loved by a great man, this can barely happen in China, unless the man was an orphan.
Speaking about this, we are the second generation under "One-child Policy", grown up in 2000s, the social accpetance of early sex and even gay rights had reached a new height. We were allowed to have relationship with whomever, whatever we wanted, but when it comes to mariage, it is all different. Raised in a one-parent family is a very big disatvantage for both man and women, most of the families won't even allow their children to bring such a partner back home.
Sometimes an emphasis on strong families can have consequences.
Its so baffling to me how family & culture can have such detrimental Influence over peoples love life & life in general. Im central European & can’t imagine how frustrating that must be. Admire your courage & wish y’all the best.
I wonder how the Chinese agent watching your videos feels about this.
Frustrated I’d imagine
nothing coz you wouldn't make any troubles
"that's not a joke, you can look it up, good times" Ho Winston ;)
I'm with you Winston. When I first arrived in China in 2002 i asked the front desk at the hotel to write down how to say hello and thank you. They did in Chinese . I twent around with a stack of business cards in my pocket so I could get around in a taxi.
you can register your passport at the railways company, then it would also be possible to buy train tickets online, but get this done you’ll probably need a Chinese friend to help you do it. And then you still can’t use the ATM-like machines to get the real ticket at the station, you still need to stand in line for that.
Double J good tip, thanks
Totally agree with everything you said. I'm from NZ, 68 WITH A 52 YR Old Chinese wife. I move back and forth between the 2 countries on my spouse visa,for the last 4 years. It does take some time to get your head around the culture difference, but I love it. Great video.
Interesting video. However, foreigners can easily get train tickets using a dedicated website. Ctrip is my favorite. Just book the ticket online then pick the ticket up at the train station. Setting up a basic bank account is also ridiculously easy. You simply require a Chinese sim card and a passport. Apart from these things which are comparitively easy, almost everything else tends to be hopelessly bureaucratic. To be fair about Chinese bureaucracy...I have always found it to be businesslike and efficient....But despite this it really is like an unmovable force of nature. I would only consider retiring there if I was fully culturally attenuated...And basically had enough money for tip top health insurance and a bolt hole outside China for in case you need to get out of Dodge in a hurry.
Yes, but it’s the same deal, picking it up from the train station means waiting in long queues, Chinese people can use those automatic vending machines with their is cards like I showed in the video
I found out, much to my surprise, that I could purchase a train ticket directly from an automatic vending machine in a Shenzhen high speed railway station using my foreign passport. Seems like this is a recent development. This was last November, travelling to Guangzhou, and I am almost certain that this is still a vary rare exception. I have not had a chance to investigate further. One thing for sure is that you are not going to be able to do this on a machine that does not have a passport reader (which AFAIK is almost all of them).
Yes, there have been times when I have almost missed the train because the queue for pick up took close to an hour (or I discovered that I was in the wrong queue and had to start again !). For this reason, I now always try to pick up the ticket for the next leg of my journey upon arrival at the train station of the current city. But it is still a lot more efficient and less stressful to pre-book on Ctrip and pick up at the train station.
I'm considering teaching in China, it's been on my mind for several years now and I think I'm finally at a point in my life where it makes sense.
(mid twenties, money in the bank, no mortgage, no wife/kids... I do make a good living in Canada and would be taking a pay cut to teach English, but I'm ready for a change so I'm willing to do that... plus I would probably be able to get back to that income level through tutoring if I decide to stay in China for a while)
Anyway in terms of retirement, if the goal was to live cheap in Asia with some nice weather I would imagine that a place like Thailand could be a better option.
You sound indifferent so I would do as much research and pre-plan saving as much as possible to buy you extra weeks while there, also keep in mind like other videos Snakeboy and Laoguy have explained when you come back home to Canada, virtually no one will care about your 5 years teaching english in China on a resume and you are setting yourself up for an absence of work once there unless you have a contact and job lined up ahead of time.
Oh and keep in mind at any point when talking to girls or in a relationship with one, picture the inside of them as a vicious snake-insect demon that secretly wants to fuck you up, but they can be amazing at the same time, just dont show them any weakness.
Great video, great information, true feelings.
Great video as always. I can relate to what you say so much. Thank you.
Hi Winston, after watching a ton of your vids on both channels, I finally decided to sub your channel. At first I was hesitant, because I couldn’t tell what your future plans were especially after watching your recent Chinese food vids from the USA with your partner, C-Milk. But when I saw this vid & realized that it’s brand new and uploaded today from Shenzhen, I went ahead and clicked the sub button without any hesitation. I must say, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying watching your vids, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I’m newly retired and do plan to retire in China. It’s a decision that I made a few years back already. I’ve visited China not less than 12 times since 2010, and each time, I stay between 5 and 6 weeks. Shenzhen is one of my favorite destinations, along with Changsha, Chengdu, Fuzhou and Xiamen. In fact, I was just there (in Shenzhen) last October. Moreover, I may come again this May/June. And I do intend to find one of those Chinese ladies, you described in this vid, to marry and settle with. If I do make it to Shenzhen on my next trip or another future trip, I would be happy to meet and treat you and your wife out to lunch or dinner.
Anyway, I did mean to draw your attention to the fact that I can purchase train ticket online, using the app “China Train Booking”, which is very convenient. However, as you said, I do have to eventually stand in line at some train station to pick up my ticket. But usually, there’s a special line just for those online ticket purchasers. One more thing you probably haven’t discovered yet, is that now in all tier 1 cities, they have ticket dispensing machines for foreign online purchasers that using passports. These machines are equipped with passport scanners to match your passport name and number with the info you used to by the tickets on that app. So, next time you want to travel by the bullet train, you can try this method and surprise your wife. In fact, you can even purchase tickets for her also on that app, but you do need her ID card to pick up the ticket at the station.
I love your work, so please keep on truckin’. I’d love to connect with you, so here’s my WeChat: foxxxy999.
Awesome mate, glad you enjoy the videos
Wow. From your picture, you look a bit young to be retiring !
I commented about this above (below ?) but, much to my surprise, last November I was able to purchase a ticket (not just print out an online ticket reservation) from a vending machine in Shenzhen that had a passport reader. I only discovered this because I was with a fellow foreign who knew it could be done.
+K Shred, I’ll take that as a complement, thank you very much. Honestly, that’s an old pic of mine, but I just updated now to a recent pic, but it will have to go through the YT filters before it appears. But even though, I do look a lot younger than my age. 😎 Believe it or not, the way I discovered the passport reader machines was because of a porter that I hired to take care of my heavy luggage. He asked for my passport and took me to the machine and got the ticket for me. Man, I tell you, those “official” porters (wearing uniforms) can be so helpful when you’re a foreigner traveling with a lot of heavy luggage.
Winston in America the amount of control you have (vis-a-vis muisance neighbors) is very limited in the USA. Even as a last resort, if you go to court, a ruling in your favor may turn out to be unenforceable, anyway.
Thank you for the advice on the China Train Booking app. Very helpfull :)
Any single foreigner who wants to move to China and live there for a long time with a sensible future in mind has to raise money and invest elsewhere if they are seeking the expat route in life. It is wise for them to use China as a hub to build up capital and connections abroad. SE Asia is up and coming.
Very informative video. Though I'm surprised you had no comments about pollution of the food, air, and water.
So was I
Shenzhen is pretty clean
According to C-Milk's video, the Shenzhen water contains toxic levels of pesticides...
Well, once you are getting up to retirement age, environmental issues are perhaps less of a concern in terms of potential harmful effects on longevity.
Excellent dronage(tm) (aka: drone-footage) at the end - they have an icon of a baseball player on that athletic facility - how cool is that! Also, a lot of good stuff.
Very interesting! Thx
I have been living in Thailand for 7 years (which has many similarities of Chinese culture, which I have learned from Winston's videos) and I am looking forward to my retirement here, 14 years to go :)
Cycle Green Thailand is better option
Not so sure, there is no democracy here too.
fake food and gutter and bad water i cant live in place like this its to scary knowing this can go on my plate
There are terrorist attacks in Thailand though. One bombing a couple yrs ago destroyed my favourite restaurant in Bangkok.