About Me (of course)
Boat Ride -Suzhou Fall 2011
So what is this all about and who am I? I'm just your mostly typical American from the USA. I was raised in several places, and have lived the longest in Utah where I recently moved in the fall of 2011 from Syracuse UT to Suzhou China. What's that? Who would do such a thing? I would apparently.
I have a wife and 3 kids (ages 13, 10 and 9) and have lived all over the USA and even in Brazil for 3 years off and on. I love adventure and visiting other countries. In early 2011 I visited China for the first time and really enjoyed it. My daughter Abby visited with me for 3 weeks and agreed it was a fun place to visit. I run a small manufacturing company and decided we could do what I'm doing from just about anywhere, even China. So much like the Beverley Hill Billies we packed up our things and moved to ... Suzhou... China that is. Why? That's a tough question. Partly for the adventure, partly because we could, heck partly for the life-style and challenge of it. Partly for work, partly for the family in general, partly for our beliefs. There are a lot of parts, but the whole looks to be greater than its parts.
So enough about a random 39 year-old CPA from Utah, what is this all about? Well before I came to China I read about it and Suzhou and Expat life extensively. Most of it was on the internet. I found it quite lacking in helpful/interesting information. It is impossible to condense things like how to survive on a shoe-string budget into an interesting, five paragraph expository essay, but I didn't see anyone else even trying. I've looked all over and found most of the "reviews" to be pretentious or at least severely biased toward how to survive in the most "American" fashion. I didn't move to China to shield myself from China or tuck myself away behind a wall of economic prosperity. I came here to see the sights, hear the people, learn the language and help it influence my kids. If I wanted to hang out with Americans I would have stayed in America. I'm here to immerse myself in China, not dip my toe in the shallow end.
But I do wish I'd had some helpful advice along the way, I'm figuring it out the ol' fashioned way and want to help others who may be interested in doing the same. Sure this isn't necessarily the best way to do it, or the only way by any means. But it IS my way and I want to share it with you. So if you're inclined to keep up on this, I'm inclined to write it up!
I should mention that I did live here for 11 weeks earlier and have been here about 2 weeks upon starting this blog. I anticipate being here 3 years so this is really a work in progress. I hope this proves useful for someone, I know I will reflect back on this work and be surprised by it for some reason or another.
Have a comment or want to get in touch with me? Email me at [email protected] and we can talk!
I have a wife and 3 kids (ages 13, 10 and 9) and have lived all over the USA and even in Brazil for 3 years off and on. I love adventure and visiting other countries. In early 2011 I visited China for the first time and really enjoyed it. My daughter Abby visited with me for 3 weeks and agreed it was a fun place to visit. I run a small manufacturing company and decided we could do what I'm doing from just about anywhere, even China. So much like the Beverley Hill Billies we packed up our things and moved to ... Suzhou... China that is. Why? That's a tough question. Partly for the adventure, partly because we could, heck partly for the life-style and challenge of it. Partly for work, partly for the family in general, partly for our beliefs. There are a lot of parts, but the whole looks to be greater than its parts.
So enough about a random 39 year-old CPA from Utah, what is this all about? Well before I came to China I read about it and Suzhou and Expat life extensively. Most of it was on the internet. I found it quite lacking in helpful/interesting information. It is impossible to condense things like how to survive on a shoe-string budget into an interesting, five paragraph expository essay, but I didn't see anyone else even trying. I've looked all over and found most of the "reviews" to be pretentious or at least severely biased toward how to survive in the most "American" fashion. I didn't move to China to shield myself from China or tuck myself away behind a wall of economic prosperity. I came here to see the sights, hear the people, learn the language and help it influence my kids. If I wanted to hang out with Americans I would have stayed in America. I'm here to immerse myself in China, not dip my toe in the shallow end.
But I do wish I'd had some helpful advice along the way, I'm figuring it out the ol' fashioned way and want to help others who may be interested in doing the same. Sure this isn't necessarily the best way to do it, or the only way by any means. But it IS my way and I want to share it with you. So if you're inclined to keep up on this, I'm inclined to write it up!
I should mention that I did live here for 11 weeks earlier and have been here about 2 weeks upon starting this blog. I anticipate being here 3 years so this is really a work in progress. I hope this proves useful for someone, I know I will reflect back on this work and be surprised by it for some reason or another.
Have a comment or want to get in touch with me? Email me at [email protected] and we can talk!