[licence]

Hi,

I am a British moving out to Shenzhen, i will be working in a IT department. I have never been to China and have no idea what it is like to live in Shenzhen so if anyone could give me an idea it would be great.

Also i will be renting a flat for about HK$2,000 what kind of place would i get for this.

Any advice on Shenzhen would be greatful.


Thanks in advance

Licence

[KnowItAll]

First thing, if you want people to help you out, DO NOT post your message in 3 different ways on 4 different forums.

>> an idea it would be great

Where does one start? If you've never been to China or Hong Kong you're better of getting yourself a book.

The Lonely Planet Guide
The Lonely Planet Guide

is a good start to figuring out what China may hold for you.

About rentals, you may want to talk to your IT department or HR department they may be able to work something out for you. Afterall, they want you working .. and not out househunting.

[licence]

Thanks for the advice, i think that the HR deparment are getting me the flat.

I'll buy the book, but that doesn't always give you a great idea of a place (well thats what i found when i went to Peru) so if you have any first hand experience of Shenzhen then please let me know.

Thanks

[webdog]

Honestly I am doubtful if you would like to stay in Shenzhen as there are no established expat community there. If you have no choice, you might like to check out Shekou area. Some foreigners working for the oil company and the container terminal live in that area.

The following links might be of interests to you.

Brief orientation about Shekou:

http://www.crownrelo.com/Crown/SetTi...256D27004CEBBC

General information about Shenzhen:

http://www.inshenzhen.de/startfacts.htm

[KnowItAll]

Webdog,

Thanks for the links. Adding them to our directory.

[licence]

Hey those links are really good, thanks. If you have anything else like that i would really like to know about them.

Thanks again

[Liz]

I have just got back from Shenzhen. Shekou is about 45 mins from the city centre and is a small expat enclave, very nice little area, quite green and pretty with a church and open spaces with houses and some nice apartments. Accomodation there is around RMB 12-15k per month. Overpriced for what it is. You can get accomodation for 2000HK in the city but it will be small and not great.

Shenzhen the city is busy, densly populated. Main street has all the designer shops, Starbucks etc etc. Not much English spoken as far as I could tell and without a readily available support network that can be tapped into. Learn Mandarin, you will need it! If you have never been to China, Shenzhen can definitely be a shock. Bring all your reading material with you as although there are bookshops not much in English available.

Good luck.

[vbn]

Hi all

I've been living and working in Shenzhen since 1999, and if you are really paying $12k - 15k somebody is ripping you off big times, our you are rich and don't care.

Most flats with 150 m2 are going up to $10k, but that's something not everybody working in an IT department will just rent when arriving.

I've had small apartments for HK$ 2k too, you can get something in new buildings with a very small kitchen, a shower of course and two rooms (living + sleeping) for that price. Not that bad to start with.

If you are in an IT department the Internet will do the trick for your reading.

There are also quite a few people you can hang out with, try to take a look at http://www.szparty.com and also take a look at the True Color bar. I personally know a few IT people and graphic designers in Shenzhen...

[webdog]

Shenzhen people are mostly from other parts of china outside of Guangdong. In Shenzhen not many people speak Cantonese but you will certainly feel home speaking Mandarin.

[Jack]

License,

I came to Shenzhen in 1998 and I know what you are going through.. Frankly you cannot prepare too much before arriving nor should you. Be open to the various first impressions.

In an attempt to manage expectations, know this:

Shenzhen is nothing like Hong Kong
Entertainment-wise it caters mainly to people from Hong Kong
All (and I mean all) people in Shenzhen are 'expats', it is a young city, which is growing fast
It is a place for work, not necessarily for living (and thats why you come, to work that is)

That being said, there are some pretty cool places and you just need to know where they are. If I would you I would check out www.shenzhenparty.com who arranges all kind of social arrangements.

I will also be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Take care.