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Q: Pollution is driving me out of China
pollution is driving me crazy- I seriously just want to jump on a plane and fly away
9 years 13 weeks ago in Health & Safety - China
I know the feeling, I sometimes feel like I'm in a room full of smokers but can't leave the room to get some fresh air.
I'm planning to leave China this year, pollution is a big part of the decision but not the only reason.
I'm leaving very soon. Pollution is not the *only* reason, it's about quality of life and the price of it.
Before jumping in the plane, try to plan things a bit:
* Visa for your and your partner (if any), depending on where you go
* Job situation ? You might have a career and customers to manage. I don't the job situation where you want to go... Sometime, you need a job to get a visa, depending where you go.
* Training for you and/or your partner, to improve job prospects
Those things took me a year to sort out.
Good luck with your plan.
you are completely right - health is a major consideration in a country that believes an IV suck in your arm is the cure for the common cold.
royceH:
OMG....they are so stupid. And dishonest.
The health system is about as useful as the education system.
And how about those who know the health system is incompetent and crooked but front up to a hospital anyway.
Stupid is as stupid does.
laowaigentleman:
When I was in Hunan they put me on the IV. It was penicillin and some other antibiotic combination when all I had was a cold. Back home I wouldn't have even gone to the doctor. One of the teachers insisted. The headmaster was getting one too when I went in. It's a money spinning scam.
Which part of the country are you staying in? I'm in Hebei. It's as bad as it gets here. I will be here another year and then my girlfriend and I will leave.
I considered agreeing to move with her to Shenzhen for some time before going back home. Some parts of China are great, but they tend to pay considerably less money than the big cities.
Yunnan and Guangxi provinces are particularly beautiful places. Hunan is ok too. Anywhere north of there is just smog.
It isn't too bad where I live but there are still chimneys about the place.
And the poor people still burn coal in their little hovels.
I think the local government are bastards for not doing something about the poor people. My city was considered the wealthiest in China in 2012 so surely they could upgrade the lives of the poor.
We have a lovely canal running through the place and come spring there'll be a million flowers planted to give us something to look at.
It's ok out here, why don't you give it a try?
laowaigentleman:
Easy there. You mentioned it earlier. The story from 94 when the local officials behaved so nobly.
I hadn't heard anything about it also being a wealthy city. Some of your comments gave me the impression it was a complete backwater.
There was a story in the BBC this week about Chinese propaganda in Xinjiang. I'd send you the link, but the story's disappeared. It shows lots of images of the posters around the place.
royceH:
Geographically it is a backwater but the city itself is anything but. The local government are hell bent on making KM an international city and are sparing nothing in making it look like one. They are basically re-building the city on the south side of the canal. Innovative design too, it has to be said.
This place runs on the oil's back. Black gold...Texas tea.
Ilikedumplings:
"My city was considered the wealthiest in China in 2012"
That's because they don't spend money on the poor.. 
I,m also leaving China, one of the reasons is pollution but not the only one
I think we are all going to leave China at some point if the pollution issues continue to get worse. It is not like we have much of a choice in the matter.
I am leaving for back home in about three to five years but sooner suits me fine as well.
The ball is in China's court... do something about the horrible smog or risk destroying the country to a point where it can not be revitalized.
Not too bad here in Foshan, Hong Kong is actually worse. If I leave that won't be because of pollution but the locals, their obnoxious habits, dumb beliefs and rude behaviors. The pollution bothers me much less than people making racist comments about me thinking that I don't understand Mandarin, then switching to Cantonese when they realize that I do.
Pollution is one of the reasons I am planning my exit. It's part of a bigger picture where China is just not a healthy place to live. The environment is toxic, food is unsafe, people are vulgar and materialistic, the education system is worse than a minimum security prison in developed countries, and the healthcare system perfectly reflects the greed and ignorance of the society as a whole.
China is driving me out of China!
But yeah, pollution is one of the reasons.
The further west you go in China, the better. Of course, you need to live and work out of the big cities. For me, that is always preferred. But, the pollution is always present in China. Taking pictures while on holiday here is horrible. There is always that gray cloud in the pictures that dulls the colors of pictures.
Personally, I am a smoker of over 35 years. So, I could care less about the pollution here. But, for the younger generation who values a healthy lifestyle, I am all supportive of your decisions. I always wished my mother had kicked my ass until i quit smoking when I was a kid. But, thise were different times in a different social setting.
