China Forum

socrates17
Joined 2004
Posts: 2

19 years ago

Moving to Qingdao

19 years ago

Hopefully this will be read by a Western expat in the beautiful city of Qingdao who can steer us in the right direction(s).

My wife and I will be representing a US company with no local office in China, initially for a period of 4 months with an extention of 2 months and then year by year indefinitely. We are to look for new suppliers and improved communication with existing suppliers. We will clearly be enhancing and bringing new business to the area. It is necessary that we be located in Qingdao, although I will be flying all over China after about a month. My wife is a Korean citizen with permanent US residency and we have both been to Qingdao and liked it a lot.

Visa issues are pretty well resolved so our needs are mostly logistical and any help would be really appreciated.

Initially we will be at the Shangri La, but would really like to find appropriate rentals. (This is why I mention the 4/2/12/12/12... month schedule because it may affect the kinds of rentals we could get.)

Is there a Western or expat area within or near the city? We are very multicultural and ask only because if there is one, then locations there are more likely to have the types of amenities we are looking for. Otherwise, our neighbors are irrelevant. Safety, however, is not irrelevant and advice about that would be greatly appreciated.

We would like a Western-style bathroom and a kitchen (nothing fancy) but a full size refridgerator. Of course we will need a TV and DVD player but can buy/rent some of these things (including the fridge) if necessary. I'm sure getting multi-region and PAL/NTSC equipment will be easier in China than it was for me in the US. Broad-band cable access would be a requirement. Although not a requirement, we are curious about the availability of salellite and/or cable TV. Obviously, some idea of the costs of TVs and DVD players would help. Can they be rented? (Again, remember the 4/2/12 pattern.) Is it possible to get a clothes washer/dryer set? Given the climate, A/C is not important but since I have been known to be cold in HK in July we will probably need a space heater.

Upon our first arrival I am sure we can arrange to be met by the Shangri-La. Beyond that we need to decide if we should hire a driver (and would appreciate appropriate costs) or if I should do the driving. My wife does not like that idea since I drive like I am living in Qingdao even here in New Jersey and she thinks I will enjoy it entirely too much. She drives but is not sufficiently agressive to deal with Qingdao. (Having learned in NYC, I may be TOO aggressive.)

There is some sense of urgency to this as I would ideally like to be in-flight within three weeks.

Please let me know if there are any Qingdao-based expat internet groups where I could also post this.

Also, please don't feel the need to wade through the mess above point by point. One answer or lead on any one point above would really be a great help.

Thanks in advance

Soc.

William Russell

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