Guangzhou - Post Report Question and Answers
Knowing what you know now, would you still move to this city?
Oh yes. This is a wonderful place to live. China is difficult for other reasons, but it's a wonderful and nice place to live. - Apr 2023
Yes. - Aug 2021
For China, Guangzhou has the best climate, and is great fir getting to Macau and Hong Kong. - May 2019
Some days I think yes, some days I think no. I think southern China has more welcoming and relaxed people than other parts of China, and the food and travel is excellent. But I still don't always feel welcome here and health care has been an issue. - Nov 2018
Sure, we've enjoyed it. The community is really good for first/second tour officers because there are tons of people and someone always has something going on. - Nov 2015
Probably. Guangzhou wasn't an easy tour, both because of the workload and the local culture, but I learned a lot about myself there and made some really great friends. Learning Mandarin has been extremely helpful, and like it or hate it, China is a fascinating place that's changing extremely rapidly. For the differential you get, the Guangzhou lifestyle is pretty great, and if you can do visa work there, you can do it pretty much anywhere. I think in a lot of ways, it set me up for success in my following tours and while I wouldn't call myself a "China hand," I have a lot of fond memories of the place and the people. - Aug 2014
Yep. - May 2013
Absolutely not. The air pollution is way too bad to ever want to come back. - Apr 2013
In a heartbeat. I fear leaving this post because everything is so nice and the people rock! - Jan 2013
Nope. I would rather do an AIP tour then come back here. At least those places admit they have problems and move in some fashion to address them. - Oct 2011
Would prefer to be in Hong Kong or Shanghai, but it's much better than some of the other options I had. Professionally it's been great, the work is great, it's just not a super nice city and non-working spouses may prefer to live somewhere else. - May 2011
No. Guangzhou is comfortable, the housing is amazing, the people are nice, the food is good... but honestly, there is just nothing to do. The city has no scenic spots, the time change has been a challenge, and the difficulty in purchasing certain items are the big drawbacks. If you are looking for anything specific or unusual -- and you are not a native Cantonese or Mandarin-speaker -- good luck. Even if you excel at Mandarin, you will have difficulty communicating and understanding what is said to you. The pollution is very bad, the weather is very hot and very humid from May to October. People who work here leave Guangzhou a lot: Thailand, Hong Kong, and Vietnam are some favorite destinations. This is a hard-to-fill post for a reason. Don't be fooled by its "developed" facade. - Jul 2009
Yes, it's a good spot to spend a couple of years and a remarkably easy city to live in, but I don't plan on coming back any time soon. - Jan 2009
