1. My neighborhood and neighbors: Yes, we live in a gated, guarded community about 30-45 minutes outside the city. Yes, it looks like a fake Mediterranean villa community and caters to expats. But man, it is great for us. It is like Mayberry here and the kids run around from house to house with gangs of kids. They bike everywhere. We can hang out by the pool on gorgeous days. I've met so many fabulous women who help me find things, take my kids when necessary, invite us to parties or just to have coffee. It is such a friendly community and I almost immediately felt welcome and accepted. My neighbors aren't only chummy, they also have a great sense of humor. This yields events like the "Shunyi Downs" tuk tuk races....
2. Safety: This is probably the safest place we will ever live. We have guards in our neighborhood who keep a close eye on everything, but China is a safe place even without the guards. There are really no guns anywhere here. Violent crime is quite rare and very, very rarely is it directed against expats. I love being able to bike around almost anywhere without fear. I love that my kids can run around in our compound freely. I found the notion of guards pretty daunting at first, but soon found that they are an extremely friendly, kind bunch of gentleman who don't hesitate to pick up and comfort kids who have fallen from their bikes.
3. Bikes: Due to its completely flat terrain, Beijing is perfectly suited for biking. Before moving here, I hadn't been on a bike for at least 25 years. My kids, in fact, could not ride a bike. There weren't many locations in Dallas suitable for biking IMO and transporting the bikes was a pain. Yes, many people did bike in Oak Cliff, but it terrified me. No way did I want my kids riding there. Cars just aren't used to looking for pedestrians or bikers in Dallas. Here, it is plenty dangerous, but cars are accustomed to watching for bikers. And most streets have dedicated bike lanes that you can use to get around. Our compound also has speed bumps everywhere, which helps make it safer for the kids to ride around. I'm getting braver and more accustomed to zipping around exploring the area. It is really fun to be on bicycles and I always look forward to the opportunity to go for a ride. Violet has caught bike fever and wants to ride her bike constantly. Oh, and if you do lose a bike chain or puncture your tire, there is a guy down the street who will fix it for about a dollar.
4. My ayi: I, who never even had a cleaning service in the states, have a part-time ayi here who works 3 days a week. She cleans the house and does our laundry. She can also sew things that need repair and will go to the market if I need her to. She can talk to the repairmen who wander in and out of the house and the bottled water guys who seem to bring whichever quantity of water they feel like bringing - not what I ordered. She can also watch kids and get Violet off the bus if necessary. In other words, she keeps things running and makes life here much easier and more pleasant than it would be without her. Beijing is insanely dusty and things tend to deteriorate quickly without regular mopping and scrubbing.
5. The city itself: Yes, despite the grime and pollution, Beijing is an amazing place to live. There is always something going on in this city. You can climb the Great Wall, visit tons of ancient palaces and temples, eat some pretty amazing food and view some gorgeous vistas. In our 4 months here, we haven't even touched the surface of all there is to see and do here. Just hanging out at the local parks for the day yields lots of opportunity to see folks practicing tai chi, singing or playing drums, flying kites, etc. etc. The culture isn't always pretty (hello spitting and squatty potties), but it is always fascinating and completely unlike anything we experienced in the past.
6. Food availability: You can get pretty much any type of food that you want in this city. We have gazillions of restaurants serving Italian, Korean, Middle Eastern, burgers, BBQ, Tex-Mex, Spanish, etc. etc. Any fast food chain imaginable is represented here, including KFC, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, Mrs. Fields, Domino's, Subway, McDonalds (everywhere). There is even a restaurant that copies Chipotle's offerings. The grocery store on our compound and just outside of it stocks all types of Western foodstuffs, from Chips Ahoy to Peach Tea Snapple (yay for me)! I did do some minor hoarding of Trader Joe's stock before arriving and I'm glad to have that stash in my storage area, but those are just "nice to haves". We've got all of the necessities right here.
7. The schools: My kids are lucky to attend a truly top-notch school here. They have tons of opportunities for exploration and growth. Alex just went on a school trip to Pingyao and Ethan will go to Shanghai with the school next year. It offers a full roster of after school activities, including gymnastics, karate, jewelry-making, cooking and Quidditch. Their teachers truly care about each of them and seem to understand their personalities and their own individual strengths and weaknesses. The school really helped us with our mid-year move and did a great job of helping my children adjust.
8. Child-centered culture: One side effect of the one-child policy here is that children can absolutely do no wrong. They love them and dote on them constantly. Although this type of spoiling isn't necessarily healthy, it does make for a nifty environment for my children. Most restaurants have some type of children's play area with toys and books and sometimes even a TV or video games. Brunches at the big hotels have staff in these areas who provide kids with entertainment and their own kid-friendly buffet spread. This means that you can chat with friends and enjoy champagne and music while the kids hang in their own area. Win, win!
9. Transportation: It is taking an insanely long time for my car to arrive. We haven't seen our trusty van since we shipped it out in late January. BUT, if you have to be without transport for such a long time, this isn't a terrible place to do it. The city has a super-cheap, efficient (albeit insanely crowded) subway system. You can also do a lot of walking, biking and tuk-tuking...I totally think we need tuk-tuks back home. Pretty brilliant concept and so great for grocery runs or trips to the school. Oh, and everything here can be delivered for free. All the restaurants have take-out menus and the grocery store will bring your stuff right to your door.
10. Cheap perks: Some things here are quite expensive (hello $8 boxes of cereal), but other things are amazingly cheap. You can have 8 x 10 or slightly bigger items framed here for about $10, that price includes the frame, glass and labor. Tailoring is also very inexpensive so it is affordable to have suits or dresses custom-made. You can have furniture custom-made as well or buy locally made pieces. Original -- and often stunning -- artwork is also widely available and well-priced.
