5 Bad Habits to Avoid Picking Up as an Expat in China

5 Bad Habits to Avoid Picking Up as an Expat in China
Feb 06, 2020 By Cian Dineen , eChinacities.com

It is worryingly easy to develop bad habits when living as an expat in China. At the same time, it’s very difficult to recognize the bad habits you’ve already acquired. Whether you’re new to China or a veteran expat, watch out for the following bad habits and don’t let them get their claws in.

expat in China
Photo by Bruno Kelzer

1. Relying on locals to speak Chinese for you

When you first arrive in China, the language can be completely overwhelming. Nothing makes sense and it feels like the more you learn, the more difficult it is to understand. But wherever you live as an expat in China, you’ll need some level of Mandarin to be able to function in your daily life, whether you have serious matters to deal with, like getting your visa renewed or negotiating with your landlord, or more more trivial things, such as calling a cab, ordering lunch, or buying items online.

In those early days in China, it’s completely understandable that you might ask a local friend or colleague to help you out. At some point, we’ve all asked for someone to speak to our driver to give directions, to help quickly translate some message, or communicate with a seller on Taobao.

The problem arises when, instead of starting to learn the language for yourself or at least arming yourself with translation tools, you become more and more dependent on your Chinese friends for help. Your whole life begins to revolve around people helping you; every time you need to speak to your landlord, every time you want to buy something online, every time you order lunch into the office.

It’s okay to ask for help, but don’t become dependent on others. If you’re currently in this sticky trap, try to wean yourself off gradually. Look at one aspect of your life where you are reliant on others and work on your Chinese in this area. You probably can’t change everything at once, but you’ll be amazed how much you can achieve if you take it one step at a time and try to tackle things yourself.

2. Complaining about life in China

Many expats in China experience quite a culture shock on arrival. There’s no denying it. We often see things we don’t agree with, whether it’s as simple as the way people drive, queue up, or even talk on the phone, to more serious differences like how people treat animals or react when they see accidents or crime. The question here isn’t whether what foreigners complain about is right or wrong. It’s about complaining about it at all.

There are few things more annoying than listening to a washed up expat sat in the pub complaining for the millionth time about how nobody knows how to drive in China or how old Chinese folk always cut the queue. We’ve heard it all many times before, we’ve probably experienced it all many times too, but complaining about it won’t make any difference. All it does is fill your day with negativity and bring those around you down.

So if you find yourself in this spiral where you’re constantly complaining about China, seriously ask yourself what good it’s doing for you. Whenever you find yourself about to complain about something, ask what you’ll achieve by saying this and if the people around you really want to hear it.

It’s not about if you’re right or wrong in what you say. It’s about deciding if you want that kind of negativity in your life.

3. Eating out all the time

It’s very easy to eat out or order in all the time in China. Far too easy, in fact. For one, the local food is amazing, there are more and more international cuisines opening up all the time, and the various apps make delivery dangerously convenient and affordable.

Furthermore, many expats in China live pretty fast-paced and socially-active lives and it’s just so much easier to eat out. By the time we finish work in the evening, we don’t necessarily have the time or energy to cook. And on the weekends, there’s always some event or someone’s birthday.

Even if you’re not out doing something, staying in and cooking for yourself is just no fun. What all this adds up to is a lot of money being spent when you go out and a lot of plastic being wasted when you order in. Not to mention that you really have no idea what’s going into your body.

It’s not easy, but try to schedule in cooking one or two meals a week at home. To help motivate yourself, plan to cook something that you don’t normally get to eat, such as a favorite recipe from your childhood. If you need further motivation, invite a few friends round to join you. That way it’s much harder for you to bail out of cooking at the last moment. Once you get the cooking bug, you’ll be surprised how much you start to eat at home, and also how much money you can potentially save.

4. Letting you health slide

It’s not always easy for expats to keep in shape in China. The local food, while delicious, can be very oily, and there tends to be lots of socializing, and, as a result, drinking. Working hours are long, leaving little time or motivation for exercise at the end of the day. It’s not really surprising then that a lot of expats gain a noticeable amount of weight in their first year in China. The hard truth is that it takes more effort and commitment to keep fit here.

One way to combat this is to sign up to a gym and go before work in the morning. While it will be hard getting up earlier at the start, you’ll soon get into the rhythm and find yourself feeling energized for the entire day after your workout. If you’re not a gym bunny, you might at first struggle to find sports teams (unless you like basketball or badminton). But if you look hard enough, there’s sure to be a sports group that interests you in every major Chinese city. Check around on Facebook, ask in WeChat groups, or simply talk to people. Eventually, you’ll find what you’re looking for.

You might also assume that because we live in such giant concrete jungles there’s nowhere to run or swim. But do a little research on local parks or swimming centers, as local governments have been putting more and more funding into these areas in recent years. If you can find a park you enjoy jogging in or get into the habit of swimming once or twice a week, it’ll make a world of difference to your health and general wellbeing.

5. Being addicted to Taobao

The last bad habit is perhaps the most straightforward, but also maybe the hardest to kick. Taobao: we all love it, we might as well admit it. It’s so wrapped up in our lives that no matter what question someone asks in China, the answer will somehow be “Taobao.”

While there is admittedly an unparalleled selection and fantastic value to be had, Taobao can be a slippery slope. Not only does it deplete your finances without you even realizing what you’re spending, but when you buy things online that you can easily source from neighborhood shops, you’re also effectively taking money out of the pockets of the community.

You need to start worrying when you find yourself randomly searching the app or picking up a small tower of packages every day from the delivery box outside your building. Reducing your dependency on Taobao can be hard, but try setting yourself limits and being strict about enforcing them. Before making any purchase, ask yourself if you really need it and, if so, if you can’t find it locally. Set a monthly budget for how much you can spend on the app. Taobao dependency is a hard one to kick, but you’ll thank yourself when you return home and can no longer rely on it for everything.

What other bad habits have you picked up in China? Tell us about them in the comments section below.

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Keywords: expat in China

10 Comments

All comments are subject to moderation by eChinacities.com staff. Because we wish to encourage healthy and productive dialogue we ask that all comments remain polite, free of profanity or name calling, and relevant to the original post and subsequent discussion. Comments will not be deleted because of the viewpoints they express, only if the mode of expression itself is inappropriate.

Fatai2356

Eating out all the time in not Good

Apr 10, 2020 01:09 Report Abuse

JAFFERY

shit ......

Mar 23, 2020 15:29 Report Abuse

Guest15381482

I disagree with this article and the advice it gives people - newby or not. First of all Chinese language is of the top three hardest to learn. Rather than it being a bad habit asking someone to find out something for you, actually most people would rather not. On th issue of the guy sat in a pub complaining. Perhaps the question should be asked, why are things in China deliberately different to anywhere else? On the issue of Taobao - it is a site full of shoddy goods and fake goods. Anyone who uses it as an addict as the article puts it, has serious problems imo.This relates to my last comment because if things were not done deliberately different, ebay would be available in China, the website Baopals would not even be imagined and the people who run Taobao would at least offer a page in English. Last thought is not related to the article but at least now the word expat is used instead of foreigners. It only took about 12 years.

Feb 18, 2020 19:24 Report Abuse

adb2014

6) Constantly slamming this site and its rubbish articles - yet coming back regularly to read and comment on every article.

Feb 11, 2020 23:05 Report Abuse

sorrel

thanks for agreeing that these articles are rubbish. I have found helpful and politely worded suggestions on how to improve this site have fallen on deaf ears. Regurgitated articles that are inaccurate and/are patronsising present an unbalaced view of the realities of life in China, which has many positive AND negative aspects for first time visitors. When people visit my home country we are happy to highlight both the positive and negative aspects of living and working here. There is nothing more dishonest, or likely to encourage a negative reaction, than pretending that there are no scams targeting foreigners in China, that working is China is all roses, that all foreigners are 'bad laowei' if they complain about poor treatment. living and working in China has so many positives, but these articles are laughably propagandistic and unrealistic.

Feb 12, 2020 18:31 Report Abuse

sorrel

2) I would like ECC to 'be an adult' and be realistic and honest. But it is obvious by the proliferation of spammers, that they don't give a sh**. When a friend went to China on a 6 month contract i advised him how to recognise the potential shallowness of local colleagues. as a result, he was able to dodge the worst excesses of being screw** over by his team. And believe me they tried to take advantage of his good nature from the time he arrived. It makes me sad that honesty and trust is recevied with such duplicity disguised as 'culture'

Feb 12, 2020 18:36 Report Abuse

xeniadmy

I would add keep moving in a search for a better place all the time, mentally unable to settle down

Feb 08, 2020 17:20 Report Abuse

RaymondTgore

Good article....true too

Feb 07, 2020 04:39 Report Abuse

sorrel

6) writing bad articles/blogs for expat web-sites full of inaccurate and patronising rubbish about China and life in China.

Feb 06, 2020 13:06 Report Abuse

orientexpressguy

An interesting article. Some good points. As a long term expatriate with a Chinese wife I have had many experiences, mostly good ones.

Feb 06, 2020 11:57 Report Abuse