Balancing economic benefits against cultural difficulties, many expats in China are stuck in the middle, staying in a country where they never feel they truly belong. Photo: IC

Among all the countries where Maverick Marquis has lived so far, China is the one he enjoyed the least. "I do not feel comfortable and do not want to adjust," he tells Metropolitan. "Coming to China was an unfortunate necessity."
Marquis, 32, felt he had to look for an alternative way of life a decade ago when the economic crisis in the United States had worn out his electronics shop and his savings. 
Starting out as an English teacher in South Korea, he now works as a writer in the private sector in Beijing, a job that fits his educational background, allowing him to live comfortably. 
He initially planned to stay for two years, but it has been over four already: years that he said he would probably think back on and ask himself if he might not have been happier elsewhere. But it's not the pursuit of happiness that keeps him in China. 
"Money makes me stay," he says. He is able to save a good amount of his salary because it is quite easy to live cheaply in China.
China's international workforce has been climbing since reform and opening-up began 40 years ago. In 2013, 848,500 foreign nationals resided in China, according to the Annual Report on Chinese International Migration (2015) issued by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG). 
The CCG report also revealed that expats in China make excellent salaries, 23 percent earning over $300,000 a year. At the same time, the demand for foreign workers has changed. "China is going through a structural change in its job market," Song Quancheng, director of the Institute of Migration Studies at Shandong University, said in a previous Global Times report. Labor costs have increased, creating demand for labor at the lower end.
In 2014, a relocation firm found twice as many expats leaving the country as arriving, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. One reason for the shift could have been that the Chinese economy had slowed down and that the perceived quality of life had decreased for immigrants. However, expats in China seem to be overwhelmingly satisfied with their careers, but less so with their quality of life, a 2017 poll by the expat network InterNations showed. Over 69 percent were happy in their job and their economic circumstances, while less than half felt at home in Chinese culture. Only 5 percent of respondents planned on staying  "forever."
Money or happiness?
"My plan right now is to apply for New Zealand citizenship and if I get that, then I will move there. If not then I will stay in my job and put a little bit more money away before going back to America," Marquis says. 
While he enjoys his job, he takes issue with "the way people treat each other" in China. 
"It appears to me a more selfish culture where nobody cares about anybody else," he explains. 
He believes that his quality of life will improve in lots of ways once he leaves China, because there is more to life than career, money and the amount of free time.
"Everything is a little bit easier: using the Internet, going to the store, medical services, driving," he says. "My quality of life is about how happy I am."
Customer service agent Carol Leung says that many of her friends back in her hometown Hong Kong envy her move to the Chinese mainland 18 months ago.
"Hong Kong has many societal problems, among which the very high cost of renting an apartment is the most difficult," Leung, 30, explains. 
While her salary as a clerk did not allow her to move out of the cramped family apartment back in Hong Kong, she now enjoys a beautiful view from her own room in Shanghai with a kitchen and bathroom to herself, she says. 
To be able to afford this lifestyle, she works during Spring Festival holidays and has taken on a side job as a Cantonese teacher, which she enjoys. But the comfort comes with a hefty price tag of social isolation.
"It is hard to make true friends here because many people judge you based on your background," Leung says.
Entrepreneur Kevin Richardson has no time to worry about cultural difficulties because he is too busy with his international trading company. For the South-African, China is a land of potential and opportunity with easy access to services and the international market.
"I have always been fairly ambitious," Richardson, 32, says, adding that he wants to settle in China with his girlfriend. He wishes he had started learning Chinese a lot earlier to be better equipped for the business he is starting.
"Probably in the next month we will be roasting our own brand of specialty coffee beans," he says.
Leung is less enthusiastic about her future. Criticized by her boss and colleagues for making mistakes and failing in tasks she is unable to complete, she is now waiting to be dismissed by the company, to receive a pay-off and take a break.
"Although my job situation is not so good, at least I can rent a decent room and I save a fair amount of money," she says, adding that she dreams of some day moving to Europe.
Stuck in the middle
Many immigrants to China live in a constant limbo: Shall I stay here or move somewhere else? But the longer they stay in China, the more difficult it gets to leave. Before the question of relocation, expats need a residence permit in their new country, a job, accommodation and a new social circle. 
At the same time, returning home can be seen as a personal failure when they do not have much financial resources or accomplishments to show for their efforts, while friends and relatives back home have been promoted, got married and taken out mortgages. 
Those working for Chinese companies and paid a local salary might suddenly see their savings dwindle when transferring them to the currency of their home country. 
Also, as many expats have started or developed their career in China, their skill set may not be entirely transferable. Not all industries and companies overseas recognize work experience in China. Going home may mean a job at a lower rank and perhaps a cut in pay.
Marquis is concerned whether he will find a job that pays him what he feels he deserves. 
"I imagine my next job will be either at the same level or higher. I am not really looking to take a step back in my career right now," he says. 
Fairly satisfied with his career development in China, he says that he will probably regret having spent so much time here. 
"I have wasted a little bit of my time. I could have done something more towards the career that I would have preferred in film, or working in an environment that was a bit healthier." 

While a majority of expats are satisfied with their careers in China, a poll showed less than half of them feel at home with Chinese culture. Photo: IC

Making it happen
The employment situation in some Western countries has become highly competitive with falling wages and rising unemployment. Many expats ask themselves if they would have landed a comparable job in their home countries. China has becomes a place where they can have the career they feel they deserve. 
Emma Piper (pseudonym) came from Britain to China to work as a newspaper editor after graduation. In the UK, unemployment is rising at the fastest pace for five years, with people below the age of 24 having the most difficulties finding a job, the Guardian recently reported.
"The British job market doesn't value education as much as China does. When I came to China, I felt like I could really market my talent and make a big difference. I felt more valued in that regard than in the UK," Piper, 25, says. 
Richardson only arrived in China a year ago and does not see himself leaving any time soon. His earning potential is much greater in China than in South Africa.
"If I had to go back it would be very difficult for me to find a job with the political situation in South Africa right now," he explains.
"Everything is just so much nicer here than in my own country," he says. "Now it is just about biting the bullet and working really hard to achieve the success I would like to."