I’ve made it to Shanghai. It feels like it has been forever since we first decided to take the opportunity to move here. That’s probably because we’ve crammed so much into the last few months. On the other hand the last few weeks have passed in a whirlwind. OK it probably isn’t the smartest idea to emigrate three days after returning from holiday…but we made it. It’s only been a couple of days but so far so good.
It’s a really impressive city – it’s a really vibrant and cosmopolitan place. I know many places are described as cosmopolitan but few really are. Shanghai definitely is. There’s a strong energy here. While Europe and the US are feeling a bit flat right now, China feels like it is going places – it really does feel like you can achieve anything. Assuming you can embrace the chaos of course because there’s a lot of that. I’m not sure how things are going to work out but I think it’ll be just fine. I’m feeling pretty positive.
I was here for the first time a couple of months ago to find somewhere to live. It struck me as a city of great contrasts. There’s the very rich and the very poor living just a few blocks from one another. It’s just as quick moving from very Chinese areas to those that are very European. The food has been spectacularly good, there’s every possible nationality to choose from and so far I haven’t had a bad meal.
Here’s the video I made when I first visited. I thought it might be interesting to see how my perceptions change over time.