Observations on City Life in China versus America

I'm almost a lifelong ex-pat. That means I've been a foreigner living in other peoples countries ever since I graduated from college. So, I think I can offer some interesting observations about life in America and China. From a foreigners point of view obviously. I spent many years in the USA, mostly in Los Angeles. I spent about 2 months in China, mostly Hong Kong and Beijing with some other Chinese east coast cities for short stays.

Crime: crime seems to be almost non-existent in China in any part of the city. I felt very safe there. Walking the streets at night, leaving the apartment door unlocked etc. I understand the punishments are very severe and this may be a huge deterrent.

In the USA, crime can be either almost non-existent in the rich suburbs or extremely bad in the ghettos. It depends on the neighbourhood. Sometimes, when I felt like testing my bravery, I would go to one of the worst areas to see if I can handle it. It usually didn't seem as bad as people said, but the statistics suggest otherwise. Fortunately, people usually kill people they know, so as a stranger the odds are with me.

Traffic: crime might not kill you in China but traffic can be murder, especially in Beijing. Shanghai was more disciplined and Hong Kong was the most safe and disciplined by comparison. You don't look left and right when you cross a road in Beijing. You look front/back, left/right, above/below. Traffic of many kinds can and will come at your from every direction. It seemed like cars and buses would play a game of chicken with pedestrians to see who would lose their nerve, give up and yield. I kind of enjoyed this and made it into a bit of a sport.

Yes, I like a bit of danger. I ride a motorcycle in LA. This is about the most dangerous thing you can do on the LA roads. Cars will hit you because they just didn't see you whilst talking on their phone and drinking their Starbucks latte. Unlike Beijing, pedestrians get the right of way in LA by law and in actuality too. Cars have to stop. Most do, but they drive much faster in LA so it's still important to be cautious. If a car cannot stop in time, who is going to lose? Bicycles are almost non-existent on LA streets. The speed of traffic usually makes it too dangerous for them and they are supposed to share the road. Not such a good idea. The ones you do see often ride on the sidewalks, which is illegal but better safe than dead.

Employment: In China, it seemed like there was always way too many people doing a job than was necessary. At a restaurant I was often greeted by 2 or 3 girls at the door. I often had 3 or 4 waiters/waitresses. Often, there was 5 or 6 cooks standing around the kitchen with nothing to do. At an upscale "foot massage" business my female friend and I must have seen about 200 people working there or learning the business in a huge building. We were personally attended by about 8 people, greeting us, showing us the room, bringing tea, massaging us, showing us the bathrooms, taking our money. I only saw about 3 other customers in the entire business. I can't imagine how anybody makes any money in these businesses. Unless the people work for free and the rent is low. Maybe that's the trick.

Another interesting thing in China was it seems to be OK to go to sleep at work. Perhaps, this is just OK and accepted, perhaps it's the very long hours which makes it necessary to have a nap. But even in international hotels I would sometimes return to my room and want to talk to the reception. I thought nobody was there, but when I looked over the counter there was several people fast asleep, somewhat uncomfortably perched on chairs. They didn't seem to mind being woken up but I felt bad about it.

OK, in the States it's the opposite. You can go to a large retail store or cafe and find that only one person actually works there. Covering everything. So you may have to wait a long time to get served, but people seem patient enough. This seems necessary to allow businesses to be profitable because wages are relatively high in LA. However, it's become a big joke even in the media where you go to a massive store and can never find help or the way out, even. Especially mega home improvement stores. Also, I think taking a nap at work is considered a firing offence in any job I have ever heard of. Even if you work long hours. If you need to sleep, go home or drink a lot of coffee. Fall asleep on the job and your out, dude!!

The Police: in China the police I saw seemed quite polite and didn't seem to throw their authority around too much. I really didn't have much dealings with them. I just saw them on the street dealing with traffic accidents mainly. Or trying to enforce traffic rules. They didn't look very intimidating either.

In the USA the police, in my experience, are rude, macho and arrogant. Many of them look like body builders and try to intimidate everyone they come into contact with. You do not want to get on the wrong side of them. This is not a sport I would want to play. They have guns and they love to use them at the earliest opportunity. Even in a rich neighborhood where I used to live, they shot hundreds of times at a man who had a gun. It may have been justified but the force was excessive. It's quite common.

The Military: I saw quite a lot of police or army guarding things in Beijing. Mainly embassies, I think. The soldiers on guard seemed like the skinniest most underfed people I had ever seen. They looked like starvation victims. I don't know what kind of rations they get to live off, but I wish they would give them some more protein. Part of being a guard is looking intimidating, I suppose. There is nothing much intimidating about an unarmed, walking skeleton.

Well, we've all seen what the US military is like. I don't know if I can bring anything new to that subject. But compared to what I saw in China they US military is excessively funded and excessively aggressive. Itching for a fight whenever, wherever. They will use overwhelming firepower to crush any resistance but they utterly fail the part about winning hearts and minds.

Dating: I have had quite a lot of experience dating in the USA and a little bit in China. I think I can make some comparisons in this area. First of all, it is a very different situation. Many Chinese girls consider themselves traditional, even in the big cities. The ones from the rural areas who moved to big cities often maintain most of their traditions. There seems like a big rush for Chinese girls to find a marriage partner by age 25. Love doesn't seem important, it's more important that he will bring financial security and treat her well. Meaning he spends a lot of money on her and doesn't sleep around. So I found the subject of marriage came up too quickly, before the "love" thing, and this will scare most western guys off very quickly. Chinese girls seem to be very naive, inexperienced and have little knowledge of romance, love, and sex. Especially western style, where sexual competence is judged in comparison to the massive amounts of porno watched here. These things are highly valued in both the USA and my home, England. Chinese girls wear quite conservative clothing, boring underwear and very little makeup. Fortunately for them, they have good genes on their side and many of them look absolutely stunning to me without any need for any extras. Generally very thin, they are naturally elegant and feminine for many years. Generally they seem quiet, demure and chaste. At least superficially.

In the west, especially places like Hollywood where I live, being ridiculously good looking and physically toned is an obsession. Every day I see impossibly good looking people. They come here daily from all over the world for the entertainment industry. Trying to get a job as an actor but usually working in Starbucks. I am also obsessed with fitness but so are my parents so I brought that with me from England and my family. Westerners are all searching for our soul mate, the love of our life, the stunningly beautiful yet challenging person who helps us grow as a person and fulfills our every sexual fantasy. It's a tough act. That's why people rarely get married or get married several times. Nobody can measure up to our requirements and needs. Many women don't think about getting married or just think about having kids (marriage optional) until their late 30's or early 40's. Careers come first and having a family last or never. Single girls in LA exercise all the time, wear lots of makeup, provactive clothing and exciting underwear. They are outspoken and brazen, especially about sexual matters. But sometimes the rich food and the Starbucks Venti Frappucinos are too much and they gain weight at an increasing pace. Well, that's what cosmetic surgeons are for, right? You can always get a nip and a tuck and charge it on your credit card.

I see good and bad points with both cultures. I want to experience them all. My hope is to move to Asia -- I don't know exactly where and when -- but, just like in America, I will accept the parts of the culture I like and be outspoken about the parts I don't. Comments are welcome.