（外文﹕http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-advantages-to-living-in-China-
compared-to-living-in-the-US）
Q:What are some advantages toliving in China compared to living in the US
?
相比美国﹐在中国生活有哪些好处﹖
Lauren Windle 赞（1100+）
1.Your salary. I get paid pretty much equalto what I would in the USA ($40
-45k) as a history teacher at a local school,which includes a stipend for
housing and round-trip flight home every year…but my salary goes further
here.
At home, I could hardly afford an apartment (I’m from New Jersey) because
I hadstudent loans, car payments, car insurance, rent, utilities, etc.
Here, rent is paid. Utilities are cheap ($100 max for heat in the winter;
$10water bill; $30 unlimited internet). I have no car, no car insurance.
I can gettaxis (starting at $3) or hire a car (starting at $5) or take the
metro (lessthan $1) everywhere. I can eat very well with a variety of foods
, go getmassages & spa treatments ($30 for 90min at my fave place, but you
can goto cheaper places), and travel cheaply. All while still having enough
to sendhome to pay for student loans…
1.薪水。我在当地一所学校当历史老师﹐我的薪水和我在美国差不多（40-45K美刀）
﹐其中包括住房和每年往返机票等补贴…但钱在这里更经用。
在美国﹐我连公寓几乎都住不起（我来自新泽西州）﹐因为我有助学贷款﹐汽车贷款
﹐汽车保险﹐房租﹐水电等。
在这里﹐我只要付租金。水电费很便宜（冬天暖气最多100刀﹐水费10刀﹐30刀可不
限流量上网）。我没有车﹐所以也就没有汽车保险。但我可以打的（起步价为3刀）
﹐或租一辆车（起价5刀） ﹐或乘坐地铁（不到1刀）去任何地方。我可以享受各种
美食﹐去按摩或做SPA（我最喜欢的地方90分钟/30刀﹐也有更便宜的地方）旅行也很
便宜。所以我仍还有足够的钱还助学贷款…
2. The food. I left Shanghaifor a year for another job and that is what I
missed most. All the regionalcuisines (Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Dongbei,
Taiwanese, Xinjiang, Tibetan) aredelicious and fantastic. I can also get
a wide range of international cuisineswithin 5km of my apartment (Thai, Vietnamese
, Vegan, Organic,Japanese, French, Italian, Mediterranean, Spanish, Mexican
, Turkish, Moroccan,Indian, Malaysian, Singaporean, etc. etc.) and, for the
most part, arereasonably priced. Shanghai is more expensive than Beijing
and people herealways complain about inflation, especially with cost of
food. However, witheverything else being relatively cheap, I don’t mind
spending $15-30 on aWestern restaurant brunch which includes a bloody Maryor
two… (not the four star crazy buffets… they are $80-100)
2.美食。当我因另一份工作离开上海一年时﹐这是我最怀念的。所有的地方菜系（湖
南﹐四川﹐云南﹐东北﹐台湾﹐xj﹐XZ）都无比好吃。在我住的公寓5公里范围内就
可以吃到各国美食（泰国﹐越南﹐素食﹐有机﹐日本﹐法国﹐意大利﹐地中海﹐西班
牙﹐墨西哥﹐土耳其﹐摩洛哥﹐印度﹐马来西亚﹐新加坡﹐等等﹐等等）﹐并在大多
数情况下﹐价格公道。上海物价比北京更贵﹐这里的人也总是抱怨通货膨胀﹐尤其是
在吃的上花费。然而﹐其他一切是相对便宜﹐我并不介意花15到30刀在一间西餐厅享
受一个早午餐﹐来上一两杯鸡尾酒…（当然不是那些疯狂的四星级酒店自助餐……那
得 80到100刀 ）
3.Convenience. You don’t have time to clean your house or do your laundry
? Hirean ayi (maid/nanny) … Mine costs about $6/hr … You don’t want to
go to yourfavorite restaurant for dinner because the pollution is bad? Don
’t worry, youcan have it delivered. There are many restaurant delivery services
where youcan order online and someone goes to get your order from the restaurant
andbrings it to you… You don’t want to go to theforeign supermarket? You
can orderonline and have it delivered. You don’t want to go to the store
to buy bottledwater? You can have it delivered. You don’t want to spend
$100s on a new suit?Bring a picture to the fabric market and they’ll make
it for $10s. You want todo a juice cleanse? You can buyone and have it delivered
to you every day. You can get a lot of things donefor you if you know how
… And the list keeps growing!
3.便利。你没有时间打扫房间或洗衣服﹖可以请阿姨（保姆） …只需花费 6刀每小
时……你不想去你喜欢的餐厅吃饭﹐因为外面污染很重﹖别担心﹐你可以叫外卖。许
多餐厅提供外卖服务﹐你可以在网上下单﹐就有人会送到你手上…你不想去超市﹖你
也可以在网上订购然后快递。你不想去商店买矿泉水﹖你也可以叫快递。你不想花上
100多刀买一套新衣服﹖可以把衣服图片拿到面料市场﹐只需要10几刀他们就能帮你
做好同样的衣服。你想要做喝果汁减肥﹖你可以订购然后每天都会送上门。只要你知
道方式﹐很多事情都可以搞定……这个名单可以无限增加﹗
4. Travel. You can travelcheaply in the entire region. You can also splurge
on ahotel because the cost of wherever you’re going is going to be nominal
.I treated my mom to a private villa in Thailand for Christmas. I stayed
at theSofitel in Hanoi for my birthday. I am a ardentbudget backpacker at
heart and have been travelling & living in hostels for8 years, but living
in China has given me the opportunity to see many differentcultures around
East and Southeast Asia and stay within my budget. Only in thelast year
have I started splurging a bit, and while I don’t do it all the time,it’
s nice to know that I can…
Now, I know friends at bigger international schools with bigger salaries
thatlive in bubbles on the outskirts of town and spend myentire monthly salary
on apartments or going out to eat… My boyfriend livesin such a bubble with
a driver and he eats at the top tier restaurants all thetime… I like being
in the middle of it all… I would probably be consideredrich by most Chinese
, but middle-upper class by most expats here in Shanghai…I can`t enjoy top
tier luxuries all the time, but I can afford way more that Iever could in
the USA at my age (I’m 29)
4.旅行。你可以相当经济的在当地旅行。你也可以奢侈一把住在酒店﹐因为无论去哪
酒店都不算贵。我曾请我妈妈在泰国一个私人别墅度圣诞假期﹐我也曾住在河内索菲
特酒店庆祝自己生日。我内心其实是一个非常节俭背包客﹐过去八年我一直在旅程中
或旅馆里。但在中国生活给了我机会有足够的预算去体验东亚和东南亚不同的文化。
直到去年我开始偶尔挥霍一下﹐我不经常这么做﹐但是知道自己有能力奢侈一把还是
还蛮爽的。我知道我的朋友们有更高的薪水呆在更大的国际学校里﹐住在市郊的奢华
公寓里﹐花上相当于我一整个月的工资用在公寓或外出就餐上…我男朋友和他的司机
住在这样的奢华公寓里﹐他经常去那些顶级餐厅…当然我也乐在其中…对于大部分中
国人来说我属于有钱人﹐对于大部分上海的外籍人士我属于中间阶层…我享受不起无
穷的奢华﹐但像我这年纪（29岁）远比我在美国能享受到的更多。
5. Culture/Language.Living in the middle of Shanghai means that I interact
with the local cultureevery day. I’ve learned to read and speak enough
Mandarin to haggle in markets,order in restaurants, talk to taxi drivers,
have conversations about where I’mfrom and what I do, navigate around the
city, etc. It can be very frustratingsometimes, and I know if you are in
your expat bubble, you don’t even have to speakany Mandarin at all, but
I like what I’ve experienced. I speak Mandarin everyday and as a history
teacher, I find living and experiencing the changes inChina to be fascinating
. You can see the impact the past has had on the currentgovernment and how
the economic changes are paving the way for a new China toemerge… it’s
great to be here and experience all of the energy…
5.语言和文化。住在上海意味着我与当地文化每天亲密接触。我学会的普通话已经足
够应付在市场里讨价还价、餐厅里点菜以及和的士司机闲聊。聊一些关于我来自哪里
、我做些什么等。尽管有时聊天会令人很沮丧﹐我也知道如果只生活在老外的圈子里
﹐你可以根本不会讲中文﹐但是我喜欢我的体验。作为历史老师我每天都说普通话﹐
我觉得生活在中国和体验中国的变化让人陶醉。你可以看到历史对当前政府的影响﹐
你也可以看到经济的变化是如何为新中国舖平了道路…我很有幸正在这里体验著所有
的活力…
评论翻译
Al Nelson 赞（201）
1. Theenergy around Shenzhen is amazing. It feels like a heyday. Things are
in fluxin a generally good way. It feels like the US in the 50〃 and 60′
s. You canmake it if you really try. It is a little unstable, but so are
fighter planes.
2. Shopping. OMG, this is where they make the stuff, so you can buy almostanything
at a good price. Bring an empty suitcase. They go big here – wholemalls
filled with nothing but electronics or tea or whatever.
3. RMB spends almost like dollars. My US salary plus per diemmade me affluent
. I had a great suite, a waiting car, ate at the best places;it was a treat
.
4. We all have a bit of China in us, but you might not realize it until you
seeit with your own eyes. Stands of bamboo. Impossible upright hills of
red soil, Lushgreen growth and shining cities. Cobbles and statues older
thanhistory.
5. Freedom. This might surprise some, but China feels more free than the
US onmost days. Sure they tap your communications even more, but meanwhile
, thereare a thousand fewer petty rules. You want to buy a $70 pack of premiumcigarettes
, go ahead. You want to buy meds from a pharmacy without aprescription, ok
. You need to cut a deal with vendors or shippers;knock yourself out. A cocktail
at 4:30 am, fine. As long as youdon’t knock the government or make a public
ass of yourself, almost anything ispossible
1. 遍布深圳的活力是惊人的。感觉这就是一个盛世。一切都在快速变化﹐通常是朝
好的方向。感觉像是美国五六十年代﹐只要你勇于尝试你就可能获得成功。
2. 购物。我天﹗这里是世界工厂﹐所以你能以合理的价格几乎可以买到任何东西。
快带一个大的空箱子来这里──所有的商场里都充满了电子产品、茶叶等一切东西。
3. RMB花起来几乎等同美刀。美国的薪水待遇让我这里变身土豪。我有超赞的套房和
随时待命的司机﹐吃也是在最好的地方﹐这简直是一种享受。4. 我们身上都有一点
中国的情节﹐但你也许还没有意识到这一点﹐直到你身临其境。挺拔的竹子。红色土
壤、陡峭的山丘。郁郁葱葱植被和闪闪发光的城市。还有历经沧桑的鹅卵石小路和无
数的雕像。
5. 自由。这可能会令一些人吃惊﹐但大多时候中国比美国更自由。当然他们监听通
讯或许更严重﹐但同时也没有那些成千上万的清规戒律。你想买70刀一包的高级香烟
﹐没人管。没有处方你想从药店买药﹐没问题 。你想跟商贩或货主达成一笔交易﹐
随便你。你想在在凌晨4:30喝上一杯鸡尾酒 ﹐没问题。只要你不去招惹政府或公众
﹐几乎任何事情都是可以的。
Zachary Shepard 赞（115）
I walk down the street, crowds pressing in on me from all sides. As I stroll
along, my ears pick up a hacking-coughing noise, and I turn just in time
to see a little old lady spit into the street. I smile, and turn my head
back just in time to avoid tripping over a four year old boy peeing on the
sidewalk. Turning the corner, I pass a crowd of elderly men practicing Tai
Chi in the park and another gathering of significantly younger waiters participating
in morning exercises in front of a restaurant. After running across the
street in the midst of a cacophony of car horns, I finally step into a tiny
, hole-in-the-wall restaurant and order a steaming bowl of noodles for a
dollar. As I slurp my way to the bottom of the bowl armed with chopsticks
and a spoon, I converse with my local Chinese tutor about her daughter’
s schooling and the academic pressure on both student and parent. This is
just a typical hour of my life in China.At the age of seven, my parents
made the decision to move overseas to the city of Kunming, China. Eleven
years later, I look back at these years as the best part of my life. Granted
, I have a different perspective from current expats in China, as my years
there occurred as a child/teenager rather than adult. Nevertheless, I can
share about the amazing aspects of China from a younger perspective.
我走上大街﹐立即感觉人群从四面八方涌来。我慢步走着﹐耳边传来一阵咳嗽声音﹐
我扭过头去﹐刚好看到一个小老太一口浓痰吐在地上。我笑了笑﹐把头回过来恰巧避
免碰倒一个在街边拉尿的四岁小孩。我转过街角﹐公园里有一群老大爷正在练太极﹐
另一群年轻服务员正在一餐馆前做晨操。穿过一条充满刺耳汽车喇叭声的马路﹐我终
于迈进了墙上满是洞的小餐馆﹐花了一美刀要了一碗热气腾腾的面条﹐我一边用筷子
和勺子啧啧有声地把面条吃了个碗底朝天﹐一边跟我的中文老师谈论有关他女儿教育
和学业给学生和家长带来的压力问题。这是我在中国生活典型的一个小时。
在我七岁的时候﹐我父母决定从海外搬到中国的昆明生活。11年后﹐当我回头看这些
年历程﹐我觉得这是我生命中最精彩的篇章。毫无疑问﹐我与现在生活在中国的外籍
人士有不同的视角﹐因为我在中国生活是青少年时期﹐而不是成年后。尽管如此﹐我
可以和你分享从一个青少年视角看中国生活让人惊叹的一面。
First, the food. “Chinese” dishes in the US such as Egg Foo Young and Chow
Mein may have a place in the world, but that place is not as authentic Chinese
food. Real Chinese food is beyond description. Just imagine a hot bowl of
fried wheat noodles, complete with tomatoes, beef, a variety of cabbage
vegetables, and wonderful spices. Then imagine getting a large bowl of said
noodles for about a $1.50. You just can’t beat real Chinese food.Second
, convenience. Living in a city of seven million, one would imagine that
getting to the places you needed to go would present quite a challenge in
daily life. Rather, Kunming (and many other Chinese cities) has a wonderful
, intricate bus system that can take you just about anywhere for about thirty
cents. If you prefer a slightly more active transportation system, biking
in the middle of a Chinese city is absolutely wonderful. Granted, traffic
rules here are more like guidelines, so you bike at your own risk. That
being said, there are few feelings better than racing through crowded city
roads at top speed dodging cars, bikes, and old ladies crossing the street
. Shopping wise, with the activity or bargaining, one can purchase necessary
clothes, food, and appliances for significantly cheap prices, helping you
live comfortably on potentially smaller pay that you would receive in the
States.Third, opportunity. In China, opportunities to participate in incredible
activities open up much easier than they do in the US. For instance, my
father worked here at an international clinic. Through his work he met a
Canadian plastic surgeon who was performing restorative surgeries on Chinese
burn victims and then helping run a rehab center for said patients. After
a few conversations with the Canadian doctor, I was able to create an entire
research project based on decreasing pain in the patients during rehab procedures
. Where else could you set up such a project with such ease?
首先﹐美食。在美国常见的芙蓉蛋、炒面等“中国菜”在世界上也许有一席之地﹐但
这并不是正宗的中国菜。真正的中国菜无法用言语来形容。想象一下﹐一碗热气腾腾
的炒面条﹐配上西红柿、牛肉、各式蔬菜和绝妙调料。你再想象一下﹐这样的一碗面
只要1.5刀。你就知道真正的中国菜是无敌于天下的。
第二﹐便利。生活在700万人口的大城市﹐你也许会觉得日常生活中去你想去的地方
是一个极大的挑战。出人意料的是﹐昆明和很多其他中国城市都有一个神奇和复杂的
公交系统﹐你只需花30美分就能搭乘去城市的任何角落。如果你喜欢更积极的出行方
式﹐在中国城市骑车绝对精彩。当然﹐在中国交通规则只是一个摆设﹐因此骑车有风
险﹐上路需谨慎。话虽如此﹐当你快速穿行充满急驶急停的汽车、自行车及无数横穿
马路老太太的拥挤城市道路时﹐没有什么比这种感觉更爽的了。购物方面﹐如果你会
砍价﹐你可以明显的低价买到生活必须的衣服、食品和电器等﹐这样虽然你薪水拿的
比美国低﹐但是生活还是很滋润的。
第三﹐机会。在中国参加各种活动的机会比美国容易多了。比如﹐我父亲在这里的国
际诊所工作﹐通过工作认识了一位正在为一位中国的烧伤患者做恢复性手续加拿大的
整形医生﹐他需要帮忙建立一个恢复中心。在和这位加拿大医生交谈几句后﹐我父亲
就得以创建一个基于在康复过程中患者减轻疼痛研究项目。哪还有什么地方容易得到
这样创建项目的机会呢﹖
Finally, and most ironically, freedom. One would think that when living in
the States, the land of liberty, one would have more individual freedom.
Ironically, when living as an expat in China, your individual life becomes
so much more open than it could be in the US. To clarify, let me give an
example. When living here, if my family wanted food, we had two easy and
cheap options. We could head to a near by noodle shop and spend eight dollars
feeding six people, or we could walk to the nearby market and buy the necessary
ingredients to whip up a delicious homemade meal. This freedom of lifestyle
is not always seen in the States, where price dictates much of life. In
the US, living on little pay can trap one’s choices to fewer food and lifestyle
options. In China, a small salary doesn’t possess nearly the same effect
as it does in America, for in Chinese cities everything always seems to
be nearby and cheap. An expat living here is rarely trapped in an unwanted
lifestyle, but rather always has the freedom to choose how to live.Some
people reading this may think that I have skipped over important aspects
of China such as culture, language, people, etc. However, after taking a
trip to Beijing or Kunming, you will see that, in all reality, the aspects
mentioned above consistently have great impact on life in this country,
making living in China more advantageous to living in the US in multiple
ways.
最后﹐也是最讽刺的是﹐自由。也许有人会认为生活美国──这个自由之邦﹐人们将
有更多的个人自由。讽刺的是﹐作为生活在中国的外籍人士﹐你的个人生活比在美国
更开放。为了澄清﹐我举个例子。生活在这里﹐如果我们一家想要吃饭﹐我们有两个
既容易又实惠的选择。我们可以到附近的面馆花上8刀﹐就可以喂饱六个人。或者我
们可以步行到附近的市场购买一些食材﹐自己做顿美味的家常饭。这种自由的生活方
式在美国并不常见﹐因为那里物价决定了你的生活（选择）。在美国﹐低薪水会减少
你的食物和生活方式选择。在中国﹐低薪水不会像在美国一样举步维艰﹐因为在中国
城市的一切东西都好像都在附近也很便宜。外籍人士住在这里很少会过著不想要的生
活方式﹐而是始终自由地选择如何生活。
有些人读到这可能会认为我忽略了中国的重要方面﹐如文化﹐语言﹐人物﹐等等。然
而﹐到了北京或昆明后﹐你会发现事实上我所提及的各方面对生活持续产生重大影响
﹐使生活在中国很多方面比美国更有优势。
Joanie Wang 赞（36）
Instead of repeating some of the things others have said, I’ll add something
that I really didn’t notice until I came back to the US.
Freedom is an amazing luxury in China. Not related to Facebook or internet
or the government, but you, as an individual, have the freedom to do almost
anything you want to do. The idea of total freedom when living abroad is
different from the freedom you get once you move out of your parents’ house
. You have the freedom to reinvent yourself, to hang out with a ton of people
at the hottest party or to sit on the couch on a Friday night with a cup
of tea without feeling bad that you’re not partying it up like everyone
else. When I lived abroad on my own, it was me and my coworkers. Sure, I
made friends with other expats and locals alike, but I didn’t feel obligated
to hang out with so-and-so, and I could choose exactly what I wanted to
do, every day with no strings attached and with no worries about how that
would affect my friendships with said so-and-so. I was lucky that the place
I worked at was filled with people who had similar interests and hobbies
, and I could choose to go on a hike with them, or not.
More China-specific, as a (foreign) expat, I’ve seen so many people find
and create opportunities for themselves that they never would have had if
they were back in the States. A friend of mine who decided not to go to
college went from playing drums as a hobby to pitching CCTV a show about
music and different drumming techniques from China’s variety of ethnic cultures
. Even as an Asian American, I was able to work as a writer and editor for
some local magazines, and was given a ton of responsibilities I never would
have had as an intern at a magazine in the US.Freedom also means being able
to wander the streets as a female without having to worry about crime –
China is one of the safest places I’ve ever been, and I’ve never felt
I was in danger while there.
我不会重复楼上已经说过的事﹐我会添加一些直到我回到美国才意识到的事情。
在中国自由是一种不可思议的享受。无关非死不可或互联网或政府﹐但是你﹐作为一
个个体的你﹐几乎可以自由地做你想做的任何事情。在国外生活的自由与当你从父母
那里搬出住时的那种自由不同。你有重塑自我的自由﹐在周五晚上﹐你可以与一群人
去人气最旺的酒吧high﹐你也可以呆在家里坐在沙发上品茶﹐无需因为没有和其他人
出去狂欢而感觉不好。当我住在国外时﹐这里只有我自己和同事。当然﹐我也和其他
外国人及当地人交朋友﹐但我没有义务和某某某一起出去玩﹐我可以选择我想做的事
﹐每天都无拘无束﹐也不用担心因此影响某某某的友谊。我很幸运﹐我工作的地方有
很多共同兴趣和爱好的人﹐我有自由选择是否跟他们出去远足。
更中国──准确的说﹐作为外国人﹐我见过很多人为他们自己发现或创造了无数的机
会﹐如果他们回到美国则是不可能的。我有一个爱好打鼓的朋友放弃上大学﹐而去参
加CCTV的一个关于中国的多种民族的音乐和不同的打鼓技巧节目。即使作为一个亚裔
美国人﹐我能一些当地杂志任作者和编辑工作﹐并给予我很多的职责﹐这些是我在美
国杂志社当实习生永远不会有的。
自由也意味著作为一个女性能够漫步在街头而不必担心犯罪──中国是我去过的最安
全的地方之一﹐我在那里从来没有觉得自己陷入险境。
Steven Grimm 赞（47）The Chinese food is much tastier and far more diverse
. Any major Chinese city will have ample restaurants serving regional dishes
from all over the country that you have to go out of your way to find in
the USA if you can find them at all. Plus of course each area will have
its own local specialties and a lot of street food few restaurants in the
States bother to put on a menu. And none of it toned down to suit an American
palate.
(If this sounds like a joke answer, it isn’t. Food is one of the main things
I look forward to when I go to China, even with the well-publicized and
legitimate concerns about food safety there.)
中国菜更好吃和更为多样化。在中国任何大城市都能品尝到全国各地菜系﹐在美国跑
断腿都难。另外﹐中国每个地区都会有很多本地的特色菜和街头小吃﹐这些几乎不会
出现美国餐馆的菜单上。它们也不会被改良淡化﹐来迎合美国的口味。
（如果这听起来像一个搞笑的答案﹐但实际上不是。美食是我去中国时最期待的事情
﹐即使这里食品安全存在的广泛关注。 ）
（译者﹕irlu）
（来源﹕http://www.ltaaa.com/wtfy/15166.html）
（外文﹕http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-advantages-to-living-in-China-
compared-to-living-in-the-US）