Vincent Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Hello, I'm a new guy here from Shanghai China. I know nothing and no one here, so I really want to make some real friends here. I can speak English, Japanese, and of course Chinese. Don't hesitate to contact me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danax Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Hello, I'm a new guy here from Shanghai China. I know nothing and no one here, so I really want to make some real friends here.I can speak English, Japanese, and of course Chinese. Don't hesitate to contact me. Ni hao Vincent! I've never been to Shanghai and am curious about a few things; 1) What is the typical housing like? 2) Do you have "sprawl", in other words, is the city growing endlessly outwards, or is it mainly becoming denser within it's current boundaries. Or, perhaps the population and growth are both stable. 3) How is your public transit system? Is Shanghai a city where one can survive without walking? I'm guessing it is. 4) Are poverty and crime a problem? Do people fear to walk the streets at night? Welcome to HAIF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Posted October 6, 2006 Author Share Posted October 6, 2006 Hi danax, It seems you are very curious about a modern eastern city, and by the way, your questions are quite sharp. 1) Residents with average salary are not able to buy an apartment because the price is far beyond their income. They will rent an apartment, usually two bedrooms, one sittingroom, one kitchen and a restroom. This is the typical housing for a typical family of three people. ( I guess you know the one-child-policy of China). 2) People from all over the China come to Shanghai to seek an opportunity for their careers. Shanghai government has noticed the population density problem and set a very strict criteria for issueing a 'green card'. With more and more foreign investments, Shanghai evidently needs a huge number of persons with ability. So the conflict bewteen the population control and the labor requirement is still in existance. 3) The traffic situation is very bad in spite of the transit system is quite developped, especially in the rush hours. This is still mainly caused by the huge population. Yes, you can survive without walking while you will be complaining and suffering all the time. 4) Since we are talking about Shanghai, it is the most safe city in China. The city never sleeps. I can't say 100%, but you feel 98% safe living in the city. Did I answer you question ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sebastian De La Ghetto Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 My sister just got back from a year stint in China, and she spent half year in Shanghai. GREAT nightlife from what she describes. I'm going to try and visit next year. Welcome to Houston Vincent. Sadly, not as exciting here as it is in Shanghai, but its not so bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Posted October 6, 2006 Author Share Posted October 6, 2006 I assume nightlife in Asian country is more alternative than western country. Don't be mad if I'm wrong. Shanghai will not let you down. Give me a mail when you are ready for your visit. I should be there next year and probably give you a warm welcome, like a beer ... ... My mailbox: mutecash@hotmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ V Lawrence Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Hello, I'm a new guy here from Shanghai China. I know nothing and no one here, so I really want to make some real friends here.I can speak English, Japanese, and of course Chinese. Don't hesitate to contact me. Greetings, Vincent! I just returned to Houston a few months ago from Daegu, South Korea, where I lived for the past 4 years. Welcome to H-Town! Just curious, do U have any pictures of Shanghai's skyline? Beautiful stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Posted October 6, 2006 Author Share Posted October 6, 2006 Greetings, Vincent! I just returned to Houston a few months ago from Daegu, South Korea, where I lived for the past 4 years. Welcome to H-Town! Just curious, do U have any pictures of Shanghai's skyline? Beautiful stuff! Hi Lawrence, It's impressive that you lived in South Korea for 4 years. Is there any special reason, like girls or business? I have been Houston like only one month while homesick has already been arround me. http://www.tropicalisland.de/china_shanghai.html Hope the link helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danax Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Hi danax,It seems you are very curious about a modern eastern city, and by the way, your questions are quite sharp.Yes, I am very curious about Shanghai and China in general. I have a friend in Chengdu that lives in an apartment as you described.One of our big topics of discussion and disagreement here is whether zoning/central urban planning, which Houston doesn't have, is a good thing or a bad thing. So, we like to compare other cities with Houston. Do you know if Shanghai, with such a large population, has such planning or is it just a free-for-all like here? An example of zoning would be to have areas separated by land use, like commercial in one area, residential in an other etc.So, what do you think of Houston? Ugly? Not what you expected? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Posted October 7, 2006 Author Share Posted October 7, 2006 One of our big topics of discussion and disagreement here is whether zoning/central urban planning, which Houston doesn't have, is a good thing or a bad thing. So, we like to compare other cities with Houston. Do you know if Shanghai, with such a large population, has such planning or is it just a free-for-all like here? An example of zoning would be to have areas separated by land use, like commercial in one area, residential in an other etc.So, what do you think of Houston? Ugly? Not what you expected? Shanghai has almost be "zoned". From my perspective, it's a pretty good thing. We call that "size effect" or "scope effect", I'm not sure the translation is appropriate. Typically, the commercial zone must be developped to fit the business requirements the most, the residential zone must be constructed to fit the living comfort requirements the most. Whatever the type of the zone is, it is more exploitable with a specific purpose. People choose different zones for various purposes and benefit from the advantage of specialization. Regarding Houston, I'm not ready to comment. However, so far it is absolutely not an attactive city. Maybe it is still under construction, I mean Houston seems hasn't decided what it should be like in the future yet. Sorry~~~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ V Lawrence Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 Hi Lawrence,It's impressive that you lived in South Korea for 4 years. Is there any special reason, like girls or business? I have been Houston like only one month while homesick has already been arround me. http://www.tropicalisland.de/china_shanghai.html Hope the link helps. I first went there while in the Army (plus World Cup ) but spent an extra year there as a dj and english teacher. And yea, met my fiancee there, so my lady counts as a reason too, eh? I'm already homesick of Korea, though I'm from Houston. I plan on going back there at least twice a year starting next year (and might go back next month). I know exactly what that's like to go from a major city in Asia where everything's built up, to Houston where everything's built across. Places like downtown and Midtown are getting the urban-style architecture going, whereas my favorite upscale would be the Uptown/Galleria area. What areas of Houston have you been to so far? Every area here has a personality of it's own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Posted October 7, 2006 Author Share Posted October 7, 2006 I first went there while in the Army (plus World Cup ) but spent an extra year there as a dj and english teacher. And yea, met my fiancee there, so my lady counts as a reason too, eh? I'm already homesick of Korea, though I'm from Houston. I plan on going back there at least twice a year starting next year (and might go back next month). I know exactly what that's like to go from a major city in Asia where everything's built up, to Houston where everything's built across. Places like downtown and Midtown are getting the urban-style architecture going, whereas my favorite upscale would be the Uptown/Galleria area. What areas of Houston have you been to so far? Every area here has a personality of it's own. DJ, teacher and fiancee, wow~ I can understand why you want to go back to Korea so badly (I also like Korean girls a lot ...) So far I haven't been to too much areas of Houston mainly because I haven't got my driver license here yet and plus the public transportation system sucks. Since everybody owns a car the government won't spend too much time and money on bus and metro. As a matter of fact, I'm bar and pub addict. As a DJ, do you have any suggestion for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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