Hi Conrad

I hope you're still around, and I'm not talking to myself. I do enough of that when I'm taking class!
It doesn't matter too much though, this could be of use to others who are thinking of teaching in China.

More about living

Middle size cities are I think generally the most popular cities for FTs ( foreign teachers ) to live and work in. Many find places like Chengdu, Kunming, Guilin, Shaoxing and Hangzhou great places to stick around in.

They all have beauty spots, historical sites and a fair amount of western amenities.

It's been said that some Chinese are prejudice against, among others Japanese, Indians , Africans, blacks in general and Americans. There is some truth in that, but remember this is only a minority (feelings about Japanese, excepted,)and I have found that apart from their feelings about the Japanese these prejudices generally are NOT deeply entrenched because of Chinese peoples relatively short exposure to foreigners, particularly westerners and their(Chinese peoples,) general good nature.If they get to know you on a personal basis they are easy to get on with and you can make some very good friends.I would never have stayed here, (particularly as a black guy,) for three years, if I didn't feel comfortable here.I think you are in more danger in the west as a foreigner than you often are in China.

Working

If you work for one of the countless small private language schools in China you can generally earn more money than if you worked in a government school.
Other advantages of a language school is often a cleaner and more modern environment, and you often get an opportunity to teach adults (who have payed for their own classes, ) and get a rest from challenging children who often haven't got much of an interest in learning English.

The disadvantages are that in language schools you've got a much greater chance of getting ripped of by many greedy, cheating opportunists who see the ESL market as an easy opportunity to get rich quick.
They often don't care who they hurt in the process either.In These places you generally get a lot of crap from everybody : Employers, students and parents. I've been there, done that, and didn't enjoy the experience, so now I'm sticking to government schools. Each to his own though, because some foreigners prefer the more modern Language schools.

Time has run out again so I'll talk more about government schools tomorrow. I hope you're still awake Conrad.

All the best mate.

YL