While more than 1 billion people already call China home, economic boom and opportunity have lured many a post-grad away from the flailing U.S. economy. After a lengthy job search, Benjamin Haas (Weinberg ’09) gladly exchanged his declining dollars for a yuan paycheck.
An East Asian studies major at Northwestern, Haas decided he wanted to pursue journalism as a career halfway through his senior year. But the struggling U.S. job market didn’t make last fall an ideal time to land a desirable position. Haas saw an online posting for a position as English editor at Map Magazine, a bilingual publication in Nanjing. He quickly got an interview, landed the job and by mid-January, moved to China.
Medill senior Tom Nunlist will also make the move this summer to study Chinese on a Critical Language Scholarship, a program administered by the U.S. Department of State and hopes to secure a job as a journalist or as a foreign correspondent after his scholarship ends.
Besides ample job opportunities, living in the center of a growing world power makes the move an attractive option for students.
“Most everyone who is going to China knows it is an important place and rising place in the world,” Chinese history prof. Peter Carroll says.
From handmade knife-shaped noodles that cost less than $1 to 50-cent beer, the Chinese expat life is extremely affordable.
“I absolutely think it is a smart move,” Nunlist says. “Your dollar goes a lot farther there just because it is so cheap.”
Many foreigners call cities like Beijing and Nanjing home, with bars, clubs and cafes that cater to them. But despite their increased presence in the country, foreigners are still seen as a novelty.
“You go to a bar or a public place and people go out of their way to say hi to you,” says Nunlist, who studied abroad in Nanjing his junior year. “That makes it really easy to make friends.”
Though China’s Communist regime might seem like an obvious difference between life in the United States and China, Nunlist and Haas say the government is not a big influence in their lives.
“The government is not everywhere,” Haas says. “You don’t see it everywhere. It sucks that I can’t go on YouTube or Facebook without a proxy or VPN, but I don’t think it’s as bad as people think.”
Though Haas will be in Nanjing through January, he hopes to make the most of his time abroad and write about China for news outlets in the U.S.
“I love America very dearly,” Haas says. “I actually have a pocket-sized version of the Declaration of Independence right here in my hand. It’s very beautiful.”
