Post: #1

So I work for an international corporation with offices around the world, and frequently there are openings for short term (1 year) foreign rotations. I was just offered a chance for one of these one-year rotations in my pick of Buenos Aires, Paris, or Shanghai, starting in October

The problem is I haven't been to any of these cities, so I have no idea which one to choose. I speak fluent Spanish (no Chinese or French), but I've read so many terrible things about BA women here that it honestly doesn't sound that appealing. Basically I want to get laid as much as possible, have a good time culturally, and maybe doing some travel in surrounding countries. I figured with the amount of guys who've traveled here, I might be able to get some great advice

My initial uninformed thoughts about the pros/cons of each city:

1) BA:
+ Fluent Spanish will help me with the ladies / life in general
- Women notoriously tough; Nightlife starts crazy late, so might not be able to go out on weekdays because of job

2) Paris:
+ Great museums, general cultural scene; fashionable women
- Most expensive option; reputation as being anti-American, hostile to non-French speakers

3) Shanghai
+ White god factor, if it exists? Most "exotic" of options, maybe most adventurous
- Don't speak any Chinese; pollution; lack of diversity of women

About me: I'm 28 years old, 6'3 muscular white guy with a shaved head (started balding early). Not sure if that look lends itself more towards any of these cities. I generally like thick women (Rio is my poosy paradise), but I like Asians fine and for one year I could get down with anything.

Any thoughts? Much appreciated!!

-Ajax

Post: #2

I would choose BA simply because of the women. They may be more difficult but when you return your game will have improved significantly.
It's closest to the states so you can fly back home easiest.

Shanghai will be a drag unless you learn Chinese and love Chinese women. If you're able to travel to HK you might be able to have a good time here.

Paris is a amazing place but you will looked down because you don't speak french. Only the most tourist areas will accept english.
The women are great, however there is a slow muslim gentrification in france overall.

Post: #3

What is your budget ?

You need at least 2300/2500€ per month if you want to live well in Paris.

For the anti-american thing, this is just a cliché there is nothing to worry about, french people actually likes american culture especially in Paris.

As for being hostile to non french-speaker as long as you can say some words in french (hello, thank you, bye) people won't care if you don't speak it.

Post: #4

Buenos Aires is a terrific city, Paris is Paris. but
Personay I'd take Shanghai without hesitation. Why?

Opportunity galore.
You'd get a much higher ROI regarding women there than the two other cities.
Chinese women in China are a different bread than the Chinese you see outside. Much much hotter, more fashionable than you could ever imagine.
You'd get not only way higher numbers but also as an expat, you'd have access to the top talent IMO. But for that I'll defer to our China expert in here, my friend TravelKai to add more and expand in that.

The exoticism and adventure level will be much higher in Shanghai than the 2 other ones.
Plus I feel career wise you'd have much more opportunities and networking opportunities in Shanghai than both BA and Paris combined.

Shanghai I feel is the more exciting option of the 3.

Don't get me wrong, I had a blast in BA and fell in love with the city. Paris is a stupendous city to visit and to live but I still think that Shanghai would be more exciting, way more higher quality women easier to access not to mention almost endless networking opportunities.

As a Frenchy who has been to BA but not to Shanghai yet, my choice would be Shanghai without a nano second of hesitation.

Hope this helps man!

Post: #5

Strike Paris off that list immediately.

Horrible, horrible people.

Between Paris and BsAs, it's BsAs.

Never been to Shanghai.

Post: #6

depends if you like asian women or western types...you may want to choose BA. The city is more western and you will probably be more adaptable... what type of job do you do? is Argentina a good place to be there career wise? considering its economy right now...
Paris i would forget it... unless you are really in the fashion or luxury sector, then i would say definitly go for Paris.

Post: #7

Mate, if you have a year you will have one full year to break through women´s social circles
Pick Buenos Aires. if you know spanish enough that is one less barrier to meet gorgeous women.

if you d be posted for few weeks, i d say dont come here because it will be hard to score BUT if you have a year, you have abundant time to play it right

PLUs and dont get me wrong, you sound like a tall muscular guy. I bet you look better than most american guys who have come here and pretended our local women would spread legs like eagles wings on the sole basis they were american, they had dollars and due to crisis women would be begging. Far far far from the truth, mate.

if you have the looks, spanish and also time is more than enough, I think you have what it takes to score and enhance game.

FYI: dont pay any attention to guys posting horrible things about my city and country.
Security is not an issue, meaning that unless you enter a dark hole where scums will rip you off, city is pretty safe, and like you said, nightlife doesnt end like usual cities, well lit, taxies, etc you name it

PM me if you need solid background, intel, info. If you know nothing about this city, then you better be prepared at least so you dont look too much like another american tourist.
if you blend with the background, no hanging camera, if you play things nice and smooth, you will be another local in no time.

Cheers

Post: #8

(08-21-2014 05:59 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Personay I'd take Shanghai without hesitation. Why?

Opportunity galore.
You'd get a much higher ROI regarding women there than the two other cities.
Chinese women in China are a different bread than the Chinese you see outside. Much much hotter, more fashionable than you could ever imagine.
You'd get not only way higher numbers but also as an expat, you'd have access to the top talent IMO. But for that I'll defer to our China expert in here, my friend TravelKai to add more and expand in that.

(08-21-2014 05:59 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  As a Frenchy who has been to BA but not to Shanghai yet, my choice would be Shanghai without a nano second of hesitation.

VP, many thanks for the reply man, I appreciate it!

You mention at the end you haven't been to Shanghai, but I'm assuming you've traveled elsewhere in the mainland. Have you personally had the experience in China of doing well with local talent despite not speaking the lingo? Reading up on old data sheets here I keep seeing two contradictory recurring themes:

1) good looking (especially white) expats with some game have an instant leg up on local competition, and it should be relatively easy to score with pretty, - although not top-end - girls

2) as a clueless foreigner who doesn't speak mandarin, the best a guy can hope for is female expats, 5-6 range gringo hunters, and p4p.

Basically I'm confused as to which one of these is closer to the truth. What was your experience? Thanks!

Post: #9

Shanghai.

In China you will find a percentage of sweet pleasant girls. In general I have a low opinion of both Argentine and French girls. They are unpleasant in the ways many American girls are and are fully Western in character. The ROI will be higher in France, and while the beauty of Argentine girls is raged about on this forum, it is nowhere near FSU levels.

In China you have the highest chance of landing a high quality girl. Both in Argentina and France your ROI will be lower, as will the percentage of both beautiful and sweet girls (in Argentina, a beautiful girl will rarely be pleasant, unlike Russia or Belarus).

China is also the most exotic, but also toughest due to general lack of infrastructure. Regardless, it is a great place and if you have the spirit of adventure I would absolutely recommend it.

Quote:VP, many thanks for the reply man, I appreciate it!

You mention at the end you haven't been to Shanghai, but I'm assuming you've traveled elsewhere in the mainland. Have you personally had the experience in China of doing well with local talent despite not speaking the lingo? Reading up on old data sheets here I keep seeing two contradictory recurring themes:

1) good looking (especially white) expats with some game have an instant leg up on local competition, and it should be relatively easy to score with pretty, - although not top-end - girls

2) as a clueless foreigner who doesn't speak mandarin, the best a guy can hope for is female expats, 5-6 range gringo hunters, and p4p.

Basically I'm confused as to which one of these is closer to the truth. What was your experience? Thanks!

English levels are low. In Shanghai forget about the top-tier girls. Many of them are into the money business and are adamant about this in the way you would expect a silly Asian girl to be. I always like to compare the situation to Moscow. In Moscow, a 9 can have a sugar daddy who she fucks in exchange for money, but she knows what it is and compartmentalizes. But, the same girl who is whoring herself out for money is an idealist full of dreams about falling in love and romance. Often a 9 in Moscow is acting herself out for a man who pays her way, while madly in love with a shit-poor alpha. Their motto is "when a girl has 10 men, she has one man", a girl has many needs and if she must have them met by different men, so be it. They are cunning, but you can see their intelligence.
A Shanghai 9 on the other hand is an idiot. She does not consider these things, she is a child who dreams of dollar bills and that is her consideration. If she is lonely she does not think through a solution, she complains like a child.
Regardless, in Shanghai you will find very pleasant girls and it can easily be pussy paradise if you standards are not excessively high. Neither Buenos Aires nor France can offer this. Buenos Aires will offer extended dry spells followed by a difficult lay with an 8 who is a cunt. France will offer relative sexual variety with mediocre entitled women who you will likely never see again. China is the best option here.

Post: #10

I have been to China but not Shanghai, in general nobody speaks english in China.

However all the university students will be able to have at least a small talk.

I have discussed it with one of my friend who lived in Shanghai and he told me that there are more people speaking english there compare to the rest of China.

Your value will be higher in China than in France or Argentina. In all the places I have been to, China was the one where being white and tall gave me the most value.

And if you don't like Asian you can always focus on the expats, Shanghai must have a lot, most of the western guys prefer date Chinese and most of the western girls don't date Chinese guys and are bitter so you have a niche there.

Shanghai wins over Paris for the cost of living for the price you will pay in Paris you can have twice the size in the best location in Shanghai.

I would personally pick Shanghai, however Paris or Buenos Aires can be better if you want to learn a new language and will be easier if you want to be in immersion, make local friend etc...

Post: #11

Ajax,
Yeah I have been to mainland China in Giangzhou. While the talent in GZ may not be as high as in Shanghai I did see plenty of very attractive and sexy girls. I was there for a business reconnaissance trip with girls not being a priority, in my 10 days there I still managed to meet 11 girls without even trying. You can read about my adventures there on my Guangzhou and Hong Kong thread.

For China dating and anything Chinese girls related the only thing you need to read is the fantastic guide to dating in China that TravelerKai recently posted.

I'd say even if you don't speak a word of mandarin, you being a white guy even more so an expat, will make you extremely attractive in the eyes if the Shanghainese girls. You really can't go wrong with Shanghai at all.

I'll post the links to these 2 threads I mentioned:

My Guangzhou experience:
/thread-15175....+Hong+Kong

Kai's phenomenal Guide to Dating in China:
/thread-38876.html

Post: #12

paris, without hesitation

but i do have a love for the history of western europe, especially france

id advise against shanghai for a few reasons

1. youve never been to china before, its more different than paris, and you might absolutely hate everything about it, but youre stuck there for a year. more people that go to china hate it than love it
2. china has a lot of opportunities, however, this is your first time in china, you dont speak chinese, odds are they wont be that open for you
3. im not actually sure which one costs more, studies seem to give conflicting information

if youre going for a purely number of girls you can smash, then prolly SH, but if youre young, i wouldnt sweat it, youll have dozens of opportunities to go later in life

Post: #13

If you were a European, I'd probably recommend Shanghai in an instant. If you were spanish from Spain, I'd probably say BA without having been there. As you are American, my recommendation depends on if you have been to Europe before. If you haven't then I would consider Paris, since Europe is worth experiencing and the great thing is that even if you're in France, you can easily do weekend trips to London, Rome, Poland, Spain, Scandiland, wherever. I don't have much experience in Paris recently, but there are tons of young girls from northern Europe there as au pairs or on language exchange. Lots of francophiles in Scandinavia for example. That is something to consider.

I'd personally take that job in Shanghai without much consideration. It's a great adventure to be young and white in the east AND have a job which raises status and social networking. It all depends on your preference of course. If you don't have the yellow fever, then maybe it isn't the same.

Post: #14

Would have to agree with berserk and clever alias.

Shanghai/China is pretty great if you're young and white, but it's not for everyone. If you've never been there before, you might hate it and regret going there pretty badly after two or three weeks.

The rude people, spitting on the streets, crazy drivers, lack of sunshine and pollution, diarrhea from food, getting scammed, etc eventually gets to the average person. Also, SH girls are overrated IMO. Most of them are not THAT great looking. If you have yellow fever, you'll probably be into them though. Be warned, however: some of them have mustaches, lol.

Post: #15

I'd choose Paris...hit the language hard, chase the hottest native women that seem inaccessible, soak up the culture. Plenty of time for asia later in life.

Post: #16

Paris is one of the greatest cities on planet Earth. If you have a chance to live in Paris, take it. It's off the map for most simply because of the cost.

The French get a poor reputation IMO. Many French come to Paris to 'make it' and as a result they come with this attitude that is a facade of who they actually are. I notice that many new New Yorkers come with this same attitude.

Post: #17

Also, in Paris you have a two asian districts (Chinese,Viet, Laos, Cambodia). You can experience asian "life" easily.

As mentioned above, living in Paris allows you to travel to any capitals in Europe for less 50€ with Ryanair, easyjet. Also with train you are a couple of hours from Brussels, Amsterdam, London, Deutschland. But also from the south of France like Nice, Marseille.

Post: #18

Aside from the French language thing, I actually think Paris is cool for American. Parisian girls are transforming into Cali girls for what its worth, and American are considered cool esp among the under 20 crowd.

The cost are high though.

Go shanghai. Living expenses are down, and even if you strike out you can go hired gun. Red light district in shanghai is very affordable.

Post: #19

Paris is super expensive and it's the kind of place you need to dress well and be able to say some words of french (aka trying) to get good vibe for people. However, I had some bad experiences with bouncers and bartenders people and it is a huge city with a super complicated metro system, logistics will obviously never be at your advantage, I will hit it back later this year and try to avoid the same mistakes.

Post: #20

I did not experience any anti American sentiment in Paris. If you are cool and worldly, you should get along with the people just fine. I found the Parisian girls to be feminine and sexy. I got my French flag on my second night.

I haven't been to Shanghai but I found the people in BA to be cold and unfriendly. Moving to Paris seems like a chance of a lifetime. The beauty of the city itself and the cultural opportunities make it worthwhile alone. I vote for Paris.

Post: #21

I have only been to Paris for a day and HK for a weekend.

I don't have a YOLO point of view as in looking at the short term. I look for getting the most variety and looking long term.

When looking to move to any city I consider:

1) Is this city best for my current age? Will it be still nearly as good when I'm older?

Go to places you can get the most out of when younger first.

2) How much money will you be able to save and convert into personal wealth and investments?

Money becomes more and more important as you get older. Keep this in mind.

Best of both worlds is the city that you can do better young and stack some cash at the same time.

Post: #22

I would look at my long term career goals and pick a city based on that. What kind of projects would you be working on? What would you get out of it? For example, if you are considering moving to Asia at some point when you're older, one year in Shanghai is the obvious choice. A great opportunity to travel around the region and explore other cities and countries as well.

Post: #23

I would definitely avoid Shanghai. Paris is wonderful, as is BA. In fact, some call BA the Paris of South America.

You speak Spanish and will have $$$. Hit up Argentina now while it's on the downturn and live like a king.

Otherwise, go to Paris, buy a cheap place, and spend long weekends exploring Europe.

Post: #24

Brodiga above (and others in the thread) make very good points.

In Buenos Aires, keep in mind that it's relatively remote. If you want to travel regionally, you'll have easy access to Uruguay, but once you factor in flights, it's not that cheap to go elsewhere in S. America, including Brazil.

That is an important difference with Paris and Shanghai, where'd you have easier access to travel throughout the respective region.

I'd carefully consider how each destination might effect my professional advancement.

Lifestyle preferences aside, Shanghai sounds like the most cutting-edge market. Argentina is on the verge of (another) crisis, and apparently France has not recovered from their recession.

For me, I'd take the adventurous choice while young (Shanghai), learn some Mandarin, get professional experience and contacts in an important market, and having a work sponsor will make it easier to relocate there with all that this involves.

BA is relatively cheap and easy to go for a vacation. Same with Paris (though more expensive).

Having said all this, at the end of the day, go where YOU want to go after you weigh all the factors.

Post: #25

The other 2 cities are have some resemblence of Paris as well.
Shanghai used to be called 'Paris of the East', while BA is usually refered to as 'Paris of Latin America'. In that sense, all 3 seem similar. In that Shanghai you have the French concession area where most expats hang out. There are plenty of nice restaurants and cafes along those streets. And BA you have great neighborhoods with good culture and sophistication, and great food.