Guanzhou vs. Bangkok

[SABloke]

Has anybody lived in these two cities? How does Guanzhou compare to Bangkok? Cleaner/Dirtier? Cheaper/More expensive?

 

I'm getting tired of BKK and am exploring other options.

 

Thanks in advance for any input.

[DoctorG]

I only travelled through Guanzhou a couple of times during my time in China so I cannot answer your question. I would however be interested to know why you would consider it as an alternative to BKK. Have you lived in China at all?

[masuk]

17 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

I only travelled through Guanzhou a couple of times during my time in China so I cannot answer your question. I would however be interested to know why you would consider it as an alternative to BKK. Have you lived in China at all?

I've been to Guangzhou a few times and will go again in a month or so.  I have always been impressed by its cleanliness both in the streets and the air.  Diesel is not permitted, commercial vehicles run on LNG, motorbikes are almost entirely electric.

The subway system is excellent, if a little crowded at peak times, but the trains run at 1 or 2 minute intervals.

The recreation areas are great, and I love walking through the huge parks, esp the 5 rams park.  It's huge. On weekends there are small local traditional groups of musicians playing.

There are a number of museums both modern and historic.

[jackdd]

Just be careful where you walk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-crotch_pants

[topt]

I lived there for 5 and a half years and could not wait to get away to Thailand every 4 weeks (had an annual  business visa but had to do a visa run every 30 days).

 

Buying food from the markets was probably cheaper than Thailand but eating and drinking in western bars/restaurants was much more expensive than Pattaya - vs Bangkok prices possibly not so much. 

However I much prefer basic Thai food to basic Chinese fare. 

 

Language was quite a big issue and people spitting all over the place when you were walking around......

13 minutes ago, masuk said:

motorbikes are almost entirely electric

They banned motorbikes some time ago so now you have to be doubly careful crossing anywhere - silent electric bikes almost got me a couple of times coming from the wrong direction 

 

If you want to play golf it is expensive and transport is an issue. There were groups of expats/chinese playing football/rugby etc in a few places.

 

Agree with @masuk about the subway.

 

Be aware that during the winter it is normally very cold. Most apartments have no real insulation and unless you have AC with a heater you will end up sleeping with more layers on then you thought possible - unless you have an expensive quilt.

 

If you have some specific queries ask and someone may be able to give you an answer.

[natway09]

They just do not compare.

Lifestyle in Bangkok is open , relaxed, pretty inexpensive to be able to eat & drink well, safe,

immigration to live is cheap  & good accommodation in most parts clean & inexpensive with

most businesses having at least one English speaking staff available.

I would not think of trying to enjoy my lifestyle as here anywhere in China except Hong Kong maybe.

And to to that I would need to be very wealthy & even then I do not think I would enjoy

 

[murraynz]

i found Guangzhou far cleaner and more civilized than bangkok..

[Mansell]

Before I opted forChina I would look a little further  afield in Thailand. BKK is not the be all and end all of this country. It all comes down to what you are looking for and who. Kind of doubt that an English speaking Chinese woman would be available like Thai ladies here. And most countries with severe Communism controlling them don't usually look very happy......to me.

[VMOMMO]

I go to China for business and tgere is no way I’d go there to live. Filthy air, fake or contaminated food. You’re living in a police state. Half the internet is blocked, no YouTube, google, gmail, facebook, etc. that food is much nicer, thai people are much nicer. 

Move to Chiang Mai

[Skeptic7]

It's been near a decade, but used to spend a couple nights a month in Guangzhou. I liked it, but still much preferred BKK and Thailand in general. Granted...didn't live there in CAN, but spent enough time to make realize which was my preference. Also spent even more time in Shanghai and Beijing...and while totally enjoyed both, especially Beijing...always preferred BKK.  

[smotherb]

Haven't been to Guanzhou in 40 years, but if you believe Numbeo

 

Indices Difference
Consumer Prices in Guangzhou are 26.73% lower than in Bangkok
Consumer Prices Including Rent in Guangzhou are 27.46% lower than in Bangkok
Rent Prices in Guangzhou are 29.12% lower than in Bangkok
Restaurant Prices in Guangzhou are 14.17% lower than in Bangkok
Groceries Prices in Guangzhou are 31.57% lower than in Bangkok
Local Purchasing Power in Guangzhou is 86.88% higher than in Bangkok   https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Thailand&city1=Bangkok&country2=China&city2=Guangzhou

[Bang Bang]

1 hour ago, smotherb said:

Haven't been to Guanzhou in 40 years, but if you believe Numbeo

 

Indices Difference
Consumer Prices in Guangzhou are 26.73% lower than in Bangkok
Consumer Prices Including Rent in Guangzhou are 27.46% lower than in Bangkok
Rent Prices in Guangzhou are 29.12% lower than in Bangkok
Restaurant Prices in Guangzhou are 14.17% lower than in Bangkok
Groceries Prices in Guangzhou are 31.57% lower than in Bangkok
Local Purchasing Power in Guangzhou is 86.88% higher than in Bangkok   https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Thailand&city1=Bangkok&country2=China&city2=Guangzhou

 

Check out the numbers for Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, even cheaper, which means squat.

[spidermike007]

I had a good friend who lived in both for some time. He absolutely hated China. And he absolutely loved Thailand and Bangkok. Mostly it was about the gals for him. He spoke decent Thai. But, he also preferred the people, the openness, the food, the light hearted attitude, etc. The Chinese government is positively heinous. He said the only reason to live in China is if you are making an absolute fortune.

[Alex Teo]

If you can put up with the spitting, queue-jumping and other obnoxious behavior, then GZ is not so bad.

 

 

[maxpower]

Guangzhou is on a serious clean air and tidy city mission with infratructure way ahead of Bangkok. Cost of living depends on required standard because living in China can be super cheap if you dont mind a few health risks thrown in or just as expensive as any other big city.

 

Vloggers Winston and Matt have been kicking around China for a while now.
I dont agree with some of their opinions but most are on the money.

 

ADVChina - https://www.youtube.com/user/churchillcustoms

Serpenza - https://www.youtube.com/user/serpentza

 

Guangzhou V Shenzhen 

 

 

[smotherb]

1 hour ago, Bang Bang said:

 

Check out the numbers for Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, even cheaper, which means squat.

Check out the numbers to McCuneville, Ohio.

[The Theory]

Well we see Chinese here from all over China. 

No thank you. 

[sandrabbit]

I remember having an overnight there after coming onshore after a service visit. We were in a nightclub and to see the rich Chinese kids fighting was so funny, the bouncers didn't want to touch them in case they got in trouble. I like Chinese food but the problem I have is eating it at the same time as Chinese people.

[Destiny1990]

How about go there to check it out and update us about ur conclusions.

[zzaa09]

Never could figure out the faux reasoning towards comparisons of locales of any nature. 

 

Why?

 

Oh well - never mind.

[masuk]

15 hours ago, car720 said:

and you can spell  it correctly too.  

xie xie

[Rimmer]

A couple of racist troll posts removed also replies

[varun]

It is not worth it. 

 

Although Guangzhou may have superior infrastructure compared to Bangkok,

there are so many aspects that will wear you down.

 

People - 
Hawking and spitting, bumping into people, an overall lack of civic sense are the norm.

Grandmas allowing their grand kids to squat and defecate or piss on the streets, the list goes on and on.

 

Food - 

Western food is expensive, not easily available and poorly prepared.

Guangdong chinese food is oily and bland in comparison to Thai food.

 

Internet - painfully slow for international sites, so you will need a VPN as a requirement.

Communication - 
This is where everything will completely break down.

Standard of English is extremely low so speaking some basic Chinese is a must.

Transportation - 

Public transport is quite good esp. buses and the Metro
Taxi drivers are alright, but Bangkok public taxi's are much cleaner and in better condition.

 

Pollution - 
Not too bad, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are some of the lesser polluted cities compared to Bangkok.

 

Unless you are in a position to double your earnings, forget about China in general.

 

[Wake Up]

Worked in Shenzhen and traveled sometimes to Guangzhou and consider them similar places. Expats live in Shenzhen which is really cheap compared to Hong Kong but not as cheap as Bangkok IMO. Chinese men out number the women drastically and the pretty Chinese women remind me of American women. Expensive and arrogant and not into sex. They have a saying that if you want to date a Chinese women you must have 3 Cs to ask her out cash, car and own not rent a condo.  Almost every weekend I flew to Bangkok to get away. I don’t like pushing all the time and no one queuing like the Thais que, spitting, smoking everywhere, and people eating with mouth open and the loudest talking everywhere you go. IMO the best thing about that area of China is to make money otherwise the BS is not worth living there. But I know several guys that live in Shenzhen that would tell you it is great especially for taxi, metro, clubs, golf and living expenses and they also speak the languages and dialects well. 

[varun]

1 hour ago, Wake Up said:

Worked in Shenzhen and traveled sometimes to Guangzhou and consider them similar places. Expats live in Shenzhen which is really cheap compared to Hong Kong but not as cheap as Bangkok IMO. Chinese men out number the women drastically and the pretty Chinese women remind me of American women. Expensive and arrogant and not into sex. They have a saying that if you want to date a Chinese women you must have 3 Cs to ask her out cash, car and own not rent a condo.  Almost every weekend I flew to Bangkok to get away. I don’t like pushing all the time and no one queuing like the Thais que, spitting, smoking everywhere, and people eating with mouth open and the loudest talking everywhere you go. IMO the best thing about that area of China is to make money otherwise the BS is not worth living there. But I know several guys that live in Shenzhen that would tell you it is great especially for taxi, metro, clubs, golf and living expenses and they also speak the languages and dialects well. 

 

Agree with most, if not all of this.

 

However, according to the latest data on Numbeo, 

Bangkok is more expensive than Shenzhen.

Strange..

 

[Wake Up]

7 minutes ago, varun said:

 

Agree with most, if not all of this.

 

However, according to the latest data on Numbeo, 

Bangkok is more expensive than Shenzhen.

Strange..

 

Maybe for buying a condo as Bangkok condo prices for new buildings are IMO way out of line. See the Q on Sukhumvit near soi 4 Nana and other new buildings. But renting condos is still cheap in Bangkok. I can only guess (no actual knowledge) that expats are not buying the new condos now —it is Chinese getting their RMB out of mainland China.  Rents in Shenzhen used to be reasonable as well but I have not kept up with them in the last few years and I never bought a condo in China. Wish I had of bought an apartment in Hong Kong but I kept thinking the market in Hong Kong was overpriced for the last 20 years. I was 100 percent wrong as I have never seen a property market go up as long and as fast as Hong Kong. Still have trouble believing Hong Kong apartment prices. 

Train travel from Shenzhen is cheap and well run. But Air Asia and Thai smile are cheap Airlines in Bangkok. 

 

So IMO Bangkok or Thailand is a overall better place to live than Shenzhen or Guangzhou or mainland China unless you are working and wanting to make a lot of money. Much better potential in Shenzhen than Thailand with the exception of the new Thailand EEC potential. And to live nicely in Hong Kong you need an international great job with expenses paid or have close to 10,000,000 USA dollars net worth minimum. 

 

Actually feels good to write this down down as I don’t miss Shenzhen so maybe I am biased a little. And if I was 20 years old and wanted to be rich I would be living in Chonburi trying to make a fortune in Thailand’s EEC just like many people did who moved to Shenzhen and Guangzhou in the 1980s and 1990s and early 2000s. 

 

Cheers. 

[rosst]

Try Vietnam, I have lived in China Guangzhou and Bangkok, and I think you should look at Vietnam unless you are seeking employment in which case China is the better option if you have specialist expertise. 

[james1995]

i once visited china before and the visa was very very expensive$200-$300. probably prohibitively expensive to do visa runs.  i could never imagine wanting to go there again never mind living there.  lots of spitting and beggars.  not for me.

[topt]

3 hours ago, james1995 said:

probably prohibitively expensive to do visa runs. 

No - from Guangzhou you get on a bus/coach from various places and go to the Macau border at Zhuhai. Less than a couple of hours each way.

The queues at Immigration can be a bit much at the weekend but it is what it is. Have lunch and come back. Transport cost to the border used to be 70RMB (about 350 baht) but that was a few years ago. Less than 1000 baht all in.

[Guest Jerry787]

lived in both

pollution in GZ is very heavy, you see the sun less then 160 days a year
traffic its worst in BKK
ent and dining scene, GZ can not offer even half of what BKK offer
public transport almost the same, good in GZ with a fast train you in HK in 2 hours
health care - definitely BKK is the place to be compared to GZ, where you wish to to go to an hospital
educational for kids : again BKK win the prize

over all i will never change BKK to GZ