[yangtheman]

I didn't move to China, but Korea, working for a large conglomerate. I was there for two years. I wasn't particularly young, but in early 30's with two kids. There were several expat from the US.

IMHO, the move to the East is worse for Asian Americans than for Caucasians.

Why? Because they expect certain things from what they consider the same race than Caucasians. Over and over, I have seen Caucasians getting a lot of leeways and tolerance for their behaviors, as they look very different from Asian Americans. For Asian Americans, especially those Korean Americans who could speak the language in Korea, they expected the same behaviors as native Koreans. If you don't display what they expected socially, you get cold shoulders. It's even worse in business settings where everyone plays savvy office politics in ever subtle ways. If you can't read or play them, your career will not go anywhere. I've seen VP-level Korean American guys getting crushed, after moving to Korea to jumpstart their careers. I've heard the same from many Japanese Americans who moved back to Japan. I am not sure if it would be the same in China. But, I've also read about Chinese companies hiring Americans or Caucasians for nothing but to increase their credibility for being able to hire a Caucasian.

So if you are a Caucasian, yeah, it could be worth it. As a second or later generation Asian Americans, probably not so much.

[jcampbell1]

Caucasian and male. Single female expats don't seem to stay very long. There are way more male expats, and even dorky ones tend to date pretty locals. The expat nightlife and social scene is not something that is appealing to most women.

[eddy_chan]

+1 for this, it sucks being a westernized Asian precisely because you're getting squeezed in between 2 cultures when you try to work in Asia. China is worse than Korea or Japan, if you are ethnically Chinese then you can expect to be treated as a Chinese Citizen in China.

Multinational companies in Australia have gone so far as to be advised not to send ethnically Chinese executives to do business in China see here: http://www.smh.com.au/business/fears-beijing-targeting-ethni...

I haven't tried to work there but when I am in China I basically 'act local'. I wouldn't think about working there because as you said I would get crushed politically and socially in an office environment as my language skills wouldn't be up to par and my thought processes would be too Western when I would be expected to act Chinese.

[alexcharlie]

Curious if you think there are any places somewhere globally where being a Westernized Asian is advantageous the way being a Caucasion is advantageous in Asia.

[unavoidable]

Also a Westernized Chinese here. It's hard to say that there are any solid "advantages" - there simply are too many Chinese people (especially in North America) who are over-achieving to stand out. Plus, it's pretty well documented that affirmative action / diversity programs are actually a detriment to ethnic Asians because of the competition.

I can't really think of a place where it would be a straightforward advantage. Of course there are other perks being from two cultures and speaking two languages, especially in formation of relations and bridging some cultural gaps.

Edit: I also want to point out that the view that being Caucasian is good for business in China is a bit naive. Sure, they want to attract foreign investment and present a good side to the world, but that doesn't stop the fact that many locals are still suspicious of the West and many of the smaller towns harbour racist tendencies.

[eddy_chan]

In my experience, of all the places in the world I've been to, California (and specifically SF) is probably the most progressive and best place for Westernized Asians to be. It's the one place where the bad stereotypes have withered away leaving us with the good stereotypes (well educated, hard-working, low-crime, high achievement), the whole model minority thing.

Anecdotally speaking, sorry I don't research this, it's the place where I've seen the most Asians of all ethnicities in politics, as C-level executives in addition to the usual fields of achievement in Medicine and Finance. It's also the place where I've noticed the most AM/WF couples.

I'm from Sydney which probably has another 20 years, a full generation to catch up to Cali. I've only ever been to Canada for short holidays so I don't know what it's like up there but the vibe I got in the 2 big anglophone cities was good.

And then at the other end of the spectrum I've been to South America, Eastern Europe where they think 'slanty eyes, yellow skin, must be Japanese Businessman! Konichiwaa!!!' lol

I'm going to try really hard to make my kids bi-cultural as well as bi-lingual, I guess the only way to do that though is to make them live in China for large tracts of time in their formative years.

Oh at the end of all of this I forgot, Singapore is great place to be for Westernized Asians

[zhemao]

I think only Caucasians enjoy the benefit of being a privileged group wherever they go.

[danso]

Louis CK has a great bit about how white people can take a time machine and end up anywhere and be worshipped (at least, in the past): http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Louis-C.K.-Chewed-Up/70108425