Nov

Expat Daily: Expat Arrivals, Entrepreneur China

admin Americans overseas, Expat Career, Expat community, Newcomers, expat entrepreneur, life abroad 2009-11-19

Expat newcomers often leave China early

“Almost half of new expatriates leave China early because they have difficulty adjusting to the lifestyle, a consultancy firm said.

China Transition Institute (CTI) president David Israel-Rosen said most foreigners are unprepared for what life will be like when they arrive in China. “It is moving from the West to the East,” he said. “It is not like moving from Chicago to Denver.”

“If you look at the literature, between 30 percent and 50 percent of expats go home early. The failure rates are astonishing.”

Alan Kahn, vice president of marketing and communications for United Family Healthcare, said identity loss and depression are more widespread than many people realize.

“These are very real issues and they do have a significant impact,” Kahn said. “It is very hard to ever fit in fully and that can cause lots of serious problems,” he said.”

The Six Entrepreneurs You Meet in China

“Forget those perceptions that the Chinese rip off good ideas. Their startups are as scrappy and risk-taking as those in Silicon Valley
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part Valley Girl series on entrepreneurs in China. The first three of six types of businessmen are featured below.

Before my first trip to China earlier this year, a well-known Silicon Valley venture capitalist told me I should go to Japan or Singapore instead. “Chinese people aren’t entrepreneurial,” he said. “They don’t create things. They’re just good at ripping them off.”

I won’t embarrass him by using his name here, but I’m glad I didn’t take his advice. I’ve spent five weeks on two trips to China this year, meeting with entrepreneurs in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. These startup founders are as scrappy and willing to take risks as their peers anywhere, at times even surpassing the people who flocked to Silicon Valley in the late 1990s.”

Read more from Sarah Lacy on Business Week