Information on Living in Xian China

How are you doing today? I had the privilege of having a reader of this blog write me a few questions about moving/living in Xian, China and I felt that it would be good to post the questions and answers. I love to help, it’s one of the reasons I blog. So feel free to write me questions about China, Xian, Teaching English or anything you think I may be able to help you with. Here are the questions and answers;

I have an asthmatic 7 year old and was wondering if China would be a viable choice for us and particularly Xi'an?
Living in China you can definitely tell a difference in the air quality compared to living in America. I have American friends who have lived in China for 7 years and according to them the air quality in Xian has VASTLY improved over that time and I suspect it will continue to improve. Currently though, like I said, the air quality is not that great and is something to consider when moving here.

I suspect Xi'an would be a large industrial city, yes?
Xian is a large industrial city with around 8 million inhabitants and a lot of the commerce being manufacturing. (Side note: this isn’t the case with every Chinese city, for example, Shanghai is a large city, but its commerce isn’t in production and the air quality is better there, in my opinion)

I read your info regarding cost of living and am pleasantly surprised to learn that it appears much cheaper than Beijing.
That is true! One great thing about living in Xian is that it is incredibly cheap compared to other large Chinese cities. (You can read my previous article on cost of living in Xian by clicking here)

Also what does one do to get back and forth from the airport? Taxi? Is there reliable transportation like busses or subway?
There is a bus that goes from downtown Xian to the airport and is very convenient. There are also taxis that will take you anywhere in the city. (I should note that the airport is about 45 minutes to an hour outside of Xian). To get around town you have the option of taxis or busses and both are SUPER cheap and very reliable (granted you know where you’re going and how to properly pronounce its name). Xian is currently building a subway system and within the next couple years there will be at least one line open. They are also building a brand new massive airport.

What could one expect regarding international schools cost and quality wise? In Beijing they seemed to run about 20-25 thousand USD per year!
I don’t know much about the international schools. My children are both younger right now, but my wife and I are also probably going to go the route of homeschooling. This is in part to how expensive it can be to send your kids to the international schools. I want to say that it’s either $10,000 a semester or a year. Sorry, that isn’t very helpful. If I get more info I will post it.

Thanks Andy for your questions! And if anyone has more questions, please feel free to ask me, I love to help!

Enjoy this day,
Matt

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