Alive and kicking

[Voiceroveip]

Hi guys, remember me? Sorry I deserted the forum in 2010 and I will do it again since I think that once married it is better to stay away from anything close to dating, so please don't take it personally

We're now married 3 years, our daughter is 18 months old and being raised in Cantonese, English, French and German  The gene-pool mix seems to work wonders, she's hasn't been sick yet except for a flu in China, runs on Duracells and seems to be extremely bright and of course adorable. Everything is very well in our couple, we're still living in France, my business is doing well but I'm in the process of selling my things and the business to move to Guangzhou in the near future, many business ideas in my head and I'm tired of the French economy and the fiscal hell, not to mention the weather, we're almost in June and the heating is on.

My wife wants to move back to China too, but more to have her friends and family close-by .... and for food, this applies to me too My Chinese side of the family are really nice but I think that once we live close they will become quite intrusive ...  so I'll try to hide somewhere

If you don't remember, I did meet my wife on chnl after numerous mishaps with other ladies and scams from agencies, and even my wife confessed she never read or wrote an EMF lol. I sensed the (gangnam) translator style in the letters and requested direct QQ contact after 2 EMFs, which came after 2 weeks of no news on my part I think I totaled USD 3-400 on chnl fees over 8 months which is not so bad in the end, and I had a pile of credits left over which I tried to donate here but ended up sending them as blanks to an agency so they would get some revenue out of them, and I'm still friends with the translator who is now safe (married ).

My recommendation is remain careful; if it seems too good to be true it certainly is ... and if you can go to China and are not too shy, hell go instead of wasting time writing letters. I go to China regularly for business and I basically hide from temptation, there are so many opportunities it's unreal, and this even though my wife and I both got pregnant, my wife gave birth while I'm still waiting to deliver, so I'm not the sexiest man in town right now. Mingle, go to shops and restaurant, take the subway ... and even team up with another forum member, should be fun and even easier Meet an agency, marry the translator, or the owner ... Many Chinese single ladies are curious about laowai, this does not mean that they will marry you on the spot, they will be matter of fact and prefer to fall in love too, but this is the same through online dating. And always keep in mind  the recommendation at the start of this paragraph.

My wife rocks and we're both happy so this was the thing to do !

I'll be back in a few days, then I'll disappear again for a few years So cheers to y'all!

[daghoi]

Congrats with the baby, grat update.

I', married to, but I look here from time to time. It get longer between each visit. Guess I soon will stop to.


Good luck with the move to China.

[RobertBfrom aust]

All great news Frank , congrats on the baby , and enjoy your move to the Middle Kingdom , regards Sujuan and Robert .

[Arnold]

Hallo Frank, nice to hear from you again and glad all is well. Congrats on the baby daugther, guess that kept you busy as well. Has it been three years already? Well, I guess I'm having too much fun too.. it's been over five years for Qing and I. Have you been in contact with Sly or had the chance to meet him and his wife?
So, how about a few Photo's of the new family?

[Voiceroveip]

Time races along actually I haven't been in contact with anyone really since end 2010, I noticed that Ted's profile disappeared (ttwjr32). Any news?

[Willy The Londoner]

Ted is another story Voice!

His names does not get mentioned on here except in whispers.

But him and I speak regularly on Skype when we can match up China time with LA time.  He is doing well. 

Willy

[Pineau]

Ted disappeared not long after I arrived. I still don't know the whole story and nobody wants to fill in the blanks for me. So I guess if you are not part of the inner circle it will always be a mystery.

[Willy The Londoner]

Ted disappeared not long after I arrived. I still don't know the whole story and nobody wants to fill in the blanks for me. So I guess if you are not part of the inner circle it will always be a mystery.

No sure if I was ever in the inner circle. But was well involved with what went on BUT it is still a MYSTERY to me.

Willy

[brett]

Hi Voice,

I think I vaguely remember you, I went to China in the fall of 2009 and had the notorious Miss Woo encounter.

Anyway, much water has flowed under many bridges since then. But intriguingly I'm now back in China and living in Guangzhou. So give me a shout if you end up living here. I'm living in Baiyun, quite near to Jiangxia metro on Line 2.

My tip is to live close to but not too close to your relatives. So if they live in Shenzhen then live in Guangzhou! Actually the same applies whichever country you live in!!!!

I've dated two women whose moms live with them - that is the 2nd biggest turn off for me (after a woman working 60+ hours a week). Don't ever get into this situation unless you want full-time childcare.

The dating situation here is great. There must be some 50 million people living within an hour's train journey so there are endless women to date. On the downside finding The One is very hard work. But the nice thing is that if I date a girl and it all goes wrong, then the following week it's quite likely I'll find somebody else. Which is much better than the old thing of coming here for 2 weeks then going back to the UK and worrying for 6 months.

[Willy The Londoner]

But the nice thing is that if I date a girl and it all goes wrong, then the following week it's quite likely I'll find somebody else. Which is much better than the old thing of coming here for 2 weeks then going back to the UK and worrying for 6 months.

But worrying for 6 months is so much better than worrying for 9 months!!!!!

Willy

[Voiceroveip]

I'll have some relatives in GZ but not the closest ones which are in orther Guangdong cities, so I think I'll be ok ... + I can hide in my office since I will be starting a company in GZ. Renting offices is so cheap in GZ that I could have a "spare" with full living equipment

Brett the Ms. Woo thing certainly rings a bell Happy dating and don't catch anything You could aim at Changsha too, very prolific and quick to get to with the express train. I was really impressed moving around with those express trains in Guangdong, used them a couple of times to visit suppliers and they're clean, comfortable and fast, beats driving a car.

Willy thanks for the info on Ted, pass on my regards, I think I have his wife on QQ still if she didn't eject me

So Brett where do you recommend to get settled in GZ? I only know it from traveling a few days at a time, always stayed around Tian'he in hotels but that seems a little to banky/businessy vs residential, and I'll need a decent international school close by and preferably somewhere where the laowai community are centered. Coming from Europe, price is not that huge of an issue after I sell my house here, I do want an apartment though, tired of cutting the grass, life is too short and individual house prices are crazy in GZ anyway, + we want to be quite central Rooftop 50th floor 200sqm with view on Pearl river would be nice We'll start renting and once business is secure we'll probably buy, it will also give us a chance to experiment different areas as necessary. My family actually suggested buying a flat around the corner from them, but luckily they are a little off center so I had a good excuse

The only hold-up now is selling my house, the market is depressed in France, patience is key unfortunately.

[Willy The Londoner]

Willy thanks for the info on Ted, pass on my regards, I think I have his wife on QQ still if she didn't eject me

God Help you! 

I will ask Ted if he wants me to pass over his email address when we next chat.

Willy

[brett]

Hi Voice,

When I first came here I spent 3 weeks in a hotel - I bargained them down to 165RMB a night which wasn't bad.

If you're white and middle class then you'll find the other white middle class people live in Tianhe and Zhujiang. It's OK but the metro and buses are very crowded, especially if you gotta get anywhere in the morning!

The more creative types prefer Liwan - the old city centered around Ximenkou.

I think there are some foreigner settlements around Tonghe on Line 3, but I've found it quite poor and rough looking round there.

There's a massive gated apartment 3 bus stops away from me - 2/3 bedroom apartments there were 3000-4000RMB a month. A lot I looked at came with furniture and stuff.

Most property rentals are for 6 months, so I guess you can just find anything then take a look around for something more long term.

Be careful of buying here, this bubble's gonna pop sooner or later. And just bear in mind that paperwork for starting/running a company here is onerous to put it lightly. Not like the UK where I only have to file a couple of documents a year (at a cost of £15).

Yeah, I should probably take a trip to Changsha. Actually Shenzhen's been pretty good to me - China's smartest ladies live there but maybe they're just too smart for anybody. I just found it a bit soulless, whereas Guangzhou's quirks make it what it is.

[Voiceroveip]

Still alive, still kicking but unfortunately still in France .... Brett, a very late thanks for the info ...

We sold our house last year during the summer but the sale fell through after we had emptied everything out just days before signing, legal procedure, some compensation months later and now it's on the market again, which is even more depressed after the Paris and Nice attacks.

I'm happy to report a second daughter which was actually born in China, we had already rented a base there last summer and my wife preferred to deliver in China, although she did regret it later, especially the lack of peridural resulting from an understaffed anesthesist department in the hospital. We smuggled our Chinese daughter to France on a tourist visa, LOL !!! To crown it all, our newborn caught pneumonia at 3 months, I rished over and brought it back (the pneumonia) and even relapsed 5 months later although I'm fine now. Shitty 2015 for us to be honest.

Looking at statistics, we're pretty lucky considering that we had only met twice for less than 3 weeks before we got married, and we're still going strong after over 6 years and 2 little girls. I think the key was a reasonably good match and having adequate expectations of each other.

So a quick hello and goodbye until next time