The apartment game is another disaster as well. I recently bought one with my wife and paid a hefty sum for the place. We don't live in that city since there are no jobs there. At least no jobs paying over 6000 per month and as a certified teacher with a doctorate I am not working for 6000 RMB in any country while also trying to raise a family and take care of her aging parents. The mortgage is 2700 RMB per month. We rent it out to some Chinese people for 1500 since that is the market rate. I am paying money to own an apartment I don't live in so that my wife's family is happy that we have a home. My wife did not want to buy a home anywhere else other than her own town. Her thinking, which is partially correct, although I think China's bubble will burst soon, is that real estate is getting more costly in China and we need a home in China at some point since she is not leaving China to go to my country. Putting our child into a good school is going to run around 2000 RMB per month for an excellent kiddie school. If you teach in China you must get paid, do doubt about it. If you are on a tourism excursion hiking around Asia, 6000 or less RMB per month is ok. But when you are married, own an apartment, and have a child, the only options are high-level international schools or high-end colleges. As for being married in China overall, it can be a raw deal as far as visas and maintaining any level of valid legal status in China. The long L is one option and many use it. I am glad I have this 5-year perm residency status and I am looking forward to getting a 10-year document after this expires. As for changing hats and nations...it is indeed an option and one that I and many people that I know of are considering. If you plan to dump your American citizenship, do it soon because they will start charging about $425.00 or more to process the paperwork to become an un-American in the near future. Teaching English in China is a dead campaign in my book. I teach AP and IB programs or college-level sciences these days as that is where the stability and some level of growth seems to be.