BW,
I love reading your thoughts and stories about China and specially about GZ.
Which part of GZ are you staying at to have flying coach roaches and multi colored water? Mind you, my experience in China and GZ is minuscule compared to yours as you've been living
There for a while now, but in my very short stay there, I didn't encounter any of the horror stories that keep up on being read about online.
I don't agree that only losers who couldn't make it in their home country are the only ones who come and live in China. Not that it is not true as there is a fair amount if those, but There is an ever growing number of smart and ambitious people, mostly young people, who are leaving the West in looking to capitalize on the endless opportunities present in China and starting a business there.
I guess the type of people you meet depends on the circles you gravitate around. In my very short time in GZ, I met guys who were doing and achieving very inspiring things in China. Building businesses in a variety of fields.
Just through Nick & Tim from the Elevator Life, I was introduced to their friends and network and these contained some of the smartest and most successful entrepreneurs I've met anywhere. From a former Nike Exec who started his own very successful shoe company, to big time local real estate developpers, to diplomats, to club owners, a major tea company owner, to big shot international law specialist, to a guy killing it exporting women accessories to his native country of Azerbaijan. Not to mention the obligatory models from Russia, Colombia, Japan, Mongolia, Colombia, Brasil and of course Chinese who were rotating around us all night in the VIP room of a brand new club.
My point is that who you meet depends largely on the people you frequent and the circles you are part of. As i told you when i was there, Get in touch with Tim & Nick, they are very friendly and cool, go have a drink with them and pick heir brains and go party with them. It will blow your mind. You will get exposed to a totally different universe than that of broke English teachers and other old sex pats "losers" and of flying cockroaches and multi colored water.
Regarding the usefulness of learning Chinese or not, if I were the Chinese government, I'd adopt a Putin like policy of making it a basic mandatory requirement to any foreigner who lives in China to learn the language. Vacationing is one thing but living, a totally different thing. Not only not making an effort not to learn the local lingo is a major form of disrespect to the host country, but it makes your life there tremendously harder. This is true anywhere but even more so in a country like China where the language barrier for non speakers is infinitely higher than elsewhere.
When I see immigrants here in Canada who have been living here for 10-20 years and they can hardly speak any English it pisses me off as these people are not respecting their host country. It's basic courtesy and decency to respect the host and their rules. When you go to someone's house, you behave properly and respect them. Same thing when moving to a new country. Heck, I'm an immigrant myself in Canada who since moving here, I've learned 2 languages: English and Québécois. LOL so all in all, anyone living in China and not learning or making an effort not to learn Chinese is making themselves a huge disservice by limiting and restricting their own experience and quality of their life there.
Yeah that pizza place is dope! Is it still open? I've rarely seen so much variety anywhere! Delicious pizza and very reasonably priced! We'd have to go back there when I return there in the fall man!
To the guy inquiriying about options in GZ, check my thread from my time there:
http://www.rooshvforum.network/thread-15175.html