Living in Shanghai can make you a happy person. To be fair, it is a challenge for anyone living here, whether you came for studying in china, for learning chinese or for a shanghai job offer. However, it is a very rewarding enterprise, I promise.

When you try to get to know this colossus of a city, you will find that Shanghai is full of possibilities – and full of contradictions. You can dine in a five star hotel or you go to the next street restaurant in walking distance. You can join a yoga retreat or go to a Rolling Stones concert. Or both. You may enjoy the opera or watch happy old people doing tai chi in the park.

The secret to Shanghai is that it is not one city, but many in one: you can visit former villages of the old Ming and Qing dynasties, but you may also choose to look at impressive skyscrapers. You can dive into learning chinese or meet tons of like-minded foreigners who you can chat English with.

But: you cannot be “a little bit” in Shanghai-  as well as you cannot learn mandarin half-heartedly. The city demands your full attention and so does the study of mandarin. Granted, as soon as you know the language a little bit, everything becomes easier. It becomes easier to communicate to people and to get what you want. The feeling of bliss when you manage to make yourself understood in Chinese for the first time can hardly be described. For me it was being able to buy needle and thread on my own in a tiny convenience store close to West Nanjing Road. Wǒ hěn gāoxìng - 我很高兴 - I was very happy!

It becomes easier to find a job in Shanghai even if you only get as far as HSK2 (Chinese Proficiency Test, link: http://hsk.chinese.cn/), which means you are able to speak Chinese on a basic level. However, if you consider studying in China, it is worth carrying on learning chinese, as many universities require HSK 4 as the minimum level.

Finding a job in Shanghai is both easy and difficult. It is easy, because there are many jobs and opportunities on the market and the city keeps on booming and developing wherever you look. It is difficult, because you need to find the courage and dare to jump into the cold water of a different business world than yours.There are hidden rules you can only find out by making mistakes – and try to never make the same mistake again.

Also if you decide to study in China, the most demanding and the most enjoyable city is Shanghai. If you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere.