To be honest, I prefer being in a city with less or even no expats. I find most, and I did not say all, but most, expat FT's are braggards and competitive and jealous to the hilt. The older ones like to tell younger ft's of everything they have done and everywhere they have been and how well qualified they are and who they know and how they are a china expert. Yes, I have personally witnessed this bitterness from expats in the USA and UK who never went to university, and who seemed to resent me as a know it all for going to university, even though I only got a BA degree.

Then there are those with MA's looking down on everyone else, and those with PHd's and so on and so on. Not to mention the guys with chinese wives, whether young or old, will always look down on those without, and will use their having a wife to cover up their not having any education or so on, and will defend their wife and life to the hilt. Then there are those who even with an FT's higher salary always want to borrow money that they KNOW they will never repay, those who are envious of how good another FT's Chinese or classroom teaching can be, it goes on and on. Being a hermit is better, close you door, lock it, unplug the phone, and if you are going to have some expat friends, do not trust them from the get go, and certainly do not lend them any money.