Inside China: Experience the Daily Routine of a Foreigner in Shanghai (work life and brunch dates)

Living abroad isn't always epic adventures and traveling. Realistically, it's waking up early with a mundane routine and working a full time job. Follow along on my daily routine as an expat living and working in Shanghai, China. From brunch spots to navigating work life, get a realistic glimpse into a foreigner's life in this bustling city. Discover the real side of Shanghai and what it's like to live and work in this bustling city. Don't forget to subscribe for more vlogs about living in Shanghai!
In this video, I share my daily life in Shanghai, my routine on work days, show you some of our favourite foods, and give you a glimpse of some of the errands that follow you no matter where you live in the world (I’m looking at you mailman).
And what would a weekend in Shanghai be without strolling the bustling and trendy city streets, meeting new friends for a delicious brunch (my new favourite brunch spot in Shanghai???), and cafe hop.
Now we’ve shared our favourite foods, let us know in the comments what your favourite food is!
国外生活其实不总是超然洒脱、说走就走的冒险与旅行。实际上，更多的时间被平凡的工作所充斥。在这个视频中，我将向你展示在上海的平淡生活，工作日的日常、我最爱的美食，以及一些无论你在世界的哪一个角落都逃不过的差事。
周末，在上海繁华时尚的城市街道上缓缓而步，结识到新朋友并约着一起享用早午餐和咖啡，这种感觉美妙至极。当然我也想知道，你最爱的食物是什么，请留言在评论区。
谢谢你对我们频道的支持！不要忘记一键三连！
Thank you for supporting our channel by watching! Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe and share this video.
Love always,
Natt + Miu
⏰ Timestamps
00:00 Working Life Routine
03:08 Shanghai Metro Museum
04:02 What we eat in China
06:33 Brunch Date in the City
08:27 Walking around Shanghai
09:17 Kuddo Coffee
09:55 How to send and receive mail in China
10:13 Shanghai’s Best Donuts 🍩
Locations:
📍Shanghai Metro Museum
📍Songjiang University Town (pizza)
📍 很久以前羊肉串(skewers)
📍 钟路商会缘家（虹泉路店） (KBBQ)
📍 Toasty by O’Mills (brunch)
📍 Sloppy Gin (donuts)
📍 Hong Shou Fang
📍 Kuddo Coffee
🎵 Music Used In This Video provided by Epidemic Sound
______________________
❤️ ABOUT ME ❤️
Hi, I'm Natt! I'm a travel and food enthusiast currently living in Shanghai, China with my fiance, Miu. Subscribe and follow along for more mishaps and adventures in The Middle Kingdom!
❤️ WHERE YOU CAN FIND ME ❤️
Instagram: / expatnatt
Business Instagram: / nattpaints
Support me on Etsy: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/nattpaints
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[@mitchelllee3503]

That doughnut looks really tasty.

[@ExpatNatt]

I keep thinking about it. It was soooo good. I’ll have to go back into the city soon to get another one 😍

[@pauladonaldson9867]

Thanks Natt, great video of your 'mundane life'!!!! Food looks amazing x

[@ExpatNatt]

Thanks for watching! ❤️❤️

[@linus631]

All the food looj so delicious! Thank you for sharing!

[@ExpatNatt]

Thank you for watching! ❤️❤️

[@shijiemiao723]

even your everyday life is fun

[@ExpatNatt]

I have to agree! There's always something to do in Shanghai!

[@liamporter1137]

Thanks for sharing and surfacing the truth. 👏👍

[@ExpatNatt]

Thanks for watching!🥰❤️

[@edwin-qb3lm]

You are an early bird in your place of residence! The place was like a ghost town! I like how you explore different cities and taste different cuisine, your life could never be bring! I feel through yout videos, that it is I who is travelling and tasting the food! You are like my medium! 👍💟💓

[@ExpatNatt]

Thank you for watching! I always try to choose music and film shots to make you feel like you guys are here with me (although I’m very much still an amateur videographer/editor). ❤️❤️

[@Anonymous------]

Nice video of close-up shots of food.

[@ExpatNatt]

Thank you!❤️🥰

[@cogniktive1147]

You managed to make a megalopolis of 25M people look and sound kinda bucolic lol good editing 👌🏽

[@ExpatNatt]

Hahah thank you 😅❤️

[@JohnnysCafe_]

It's wonderful when you love your job especially when you are in such an amazing city, very enjoyable video Natt 😀

[@ExpatNatt]

Thank you for watching!❤️❤️

[@alessiii58]

天哪，怎么早起来😂，video 录制的真好，bgm也好听应景，下了很大功夫

[@ExpatNatt]

哈哈哈 因为要去市区上班 呜呜呜

[@asl6304]

All the food you ordered for brunch looked amazing! I could happily cycle between Mongolian food, pizza/hot dogs, and Korean food throughout a week! I wonder how much the donut cost, or in general, bakery/pastry shop items-- just today, I paid $9.37 (in USD, factoring in tax) for a sfogliatelle in Los Angeles, California lol

[@ExpatNatt]

Oh my goodness, that's a lot! I can't remember exactly, I think it was around 18RMB which is around $2.60 USD. It was bigger than you'd get from Krispie Kreme or Dunkin' (not that we can get either of those in Shanghai anymore 🥲). Bread is more expensive, maybe $5-8 for a loaf of freshly baked sourdough bread from a bakery.

[@Hoo88846]

Noodles, dumplings, rice, rice wine, rice noodles, tea, tea ceremony, hotpot, bean curd, miso, soy sauce, chopsticks, are all Chinese inventions, without which you can’t enjoy “Korean cuisine” or “Mongolian cuisine” or “Japanese cuisine”. I much prefer the inventor brand Chinese food. I live in Los Angeles, too, and it’s filled with the true authentic Chinese cuisine. Chinese Ming Dynasty culture becomes “Korean culture”. Chinese Tang Dynasty culture becomes “Japanese culture”. China is the authentic and full version. Ramen comes from the Chinese word lamian meaning “pulled noodles” and it’s Chinese, not “Japanese”. Jjajangmyon comes from the Chinese word zhajiangmian or fried sauce noodles and it’s Chinese, not “Korean”. Japan and Korea are trying hard to erase Chinese culture and history and doing cultural genocide of China by misbranding everything Chinese invented as “Japanese” or “Korean”. Chinese supermarkets and restaurants sell the authentic cuisine. China has Eight Major Regional Culinary styles. Japan and Korea just keep copying from China and pretend everything is “Japanese” or “Korean”. I shop and eat at Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles, not as much in the copycat Japanese and Korean restaurants. Those ingredients they use in their cuisines originated from China, so why spend more money eating copycat brands when I am surrounded by authentic Chinese brands that I can order from Sam Woo, 168 Supermarket, Fortune Supermarket. Chinese brands are authentic and cheaper. Japanese and Korean copycat brands of soy sauce, tea, miso, dumplings, bean curd, etc are just overly advertised and they aren’t “Japanese” or “Korean”, but Chinese. ❤❤

[@nickh9108]

I think I just gained about 20 lbs watching this vlog. Thanks for sharing.. loved it.

[@ExpatNatt]

Thanks for watching! We actually only eat unhealthy things once a week so most of the vlogs are a compilation of our naughty days (otherwise we would gain 20lbs every week!) 😅

[@leelexus5515]

Beautiful young girl ( just follow your heart while you still young) a like from Singapore 🎉

[@ExpatNatt]

Thank you for watching! ❤️❤️

[@AF-wr9hx]

That restraint is next door to where my daughter lives!

[@ExpatNatt]

Oh wow! It’s a great area to live in! 🥰

[@user-dj6ot8pp5h]

I don't know about others, but I enjoy watching everyday life videos a lot💘

[@ExpatNatt]

Thanks for watching! ❤️

[@dodid0]

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would! Can relate to the dragginess of the routine, but sprinkling some friends and brunches in between the days certainly helps ;) Kudos for the 5am commute 🙄

[@ExpatNatt]

Thanks for watching! I try to balance work and social life as much as I can otherwise I think I might go crazy 😂

[@user-eq2cv4cg8y]

🙂

[@user-zj8cf3fq8e]

Wow, that donut looks really good.

[@ExpatNatt]

It tasted even better than it looked 😍

[@humgarchaun]

good job Natt ^^ love your videos

[@ExpatNatt]

Thanks for watching!❤️❤️

[@alyciawang2892]

, thank you

[@user-ib4qv1on8h]

Man i wish i know China is amazing instead of scare to try something new, i luv chinese cities n village

[@sayaandyangsaya2756]

Another wonderful day.

[@ExpatNatt]

Thank you for watching! ❤️❤️

[@LanyLouren]

Hi! I lived in Songjiang for 2 years, near Wanda Plaza. I wanted to make friends but sometimes is not easy. Pity we never met ☺

[@ExpatNatt]

We live not too far from Wanda Plaza too, it seems so many people live here now! ❤️

[@tullicui928]

Hello Nat, love your content, you two are such a nice couple☺. I wanted to ask if your job is paid well, I assume rent in SH must be pretty high. I may consider also moving to CHN but havent properly informed myself of job prospects there. Cheers!🌼

[@ExpatNatt]

Thanks for watching! My salary is higher than I’d get for the same position in the UK and allows for us to live comfortably. We also live outside of the city (hence why I need to be up at 5am each day) which keeps renting costs down! If you live in the city centre you might find that the salary doesn’t stretch as far as you might like hahah ❤️

[@tullicui928]

Thank you for your reply! I was wondering about salary comparisons between Europe and CHN. Personally, I have many friends in Germany who are teachers and love teaching but our current educational system is kinda messed up with not enough teachers and lacking funding severely (which reflects in teacher's salary and teaching materials made available). Your reply gave me clarity about that . Some friends and I were pondering moving out from europe (for a while) due to the various problems we have and will have with the declining economy and stuff. Maybe a second or third tier city will be more forgiving regarding rent, but then nobody speaks english there and the choice of international exposure is limited, time will tell. All the best 💫

[@ExpatNatt]

Sadly the salary really depends on your passport. If you don’t have a passport from the UK, US, AUS, NZ, SA, Canada then you cannot legally teach English and other teaching areas don’t pay as well. For jobs outside of teaching the salary isn’t much higher than that in the west ❤️

[@OguejiDavid-ey4cw]

Cute and beautiful natt, ❤❤❤

[@ExpatNatt]

❤️❤️

[@jucee777]

Great video, thanks for sharing. What about the rent prices?

[@ExpatNatt]

Thanks for watching! It completely depends on where you live in the city. When we lived here h the former French concession area we paid 7500rmb/month for a one bed tiny apartment with broken plumbing and no elevator. Now we have a large two bed apartment outside of the city in Songjiang and pay around 2500/month with deductions. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend living here but twice the city for expats though unless you are living owning your own settle in China. It can be pretty antisocial and there’s not really access to western foods or events. If you share with multiple roommates the rental price will be lower too!

[@jerryyee5209]

Songjiang!

[@ExpatNatt]

Yes! We live in Songjiang 👌 Represent more than just the city centre 😂

[@Catalonia]

Favorite pizza is in songjiang?

[@Zhen-Lin-CHN]

2:25 Your new friend slipped away behind you

[@ExpatNatt]

Hahah yes I noticed this too 😅😅

[@user-ud8le3wq8g]

English teacher 一看就高薪。国际学校一个月至少3-4w rmb

[@ExpatNatt]

哈哈哈😆 差不多

[@charleneji6759]

Always enjoy your video. 😀 Poor air quality this winter in Shanghai. You probably want to have an air purifier at home. :-)

[@ExpatNatt]

Thank you for watching! I don’t actually spend much time at home but I always have the air purifier on at work. ❤️

[@exeit8649]

Do you prefer living on the outskirts in Songjiang or downtown Shanghai? What are the biggest differences for you?

[@ExpatNatt]

Both have their benefits. I enjoy living in Songjiang because it’s quiet and peaceful (and sooo much cheaper like 1/3 of the price), but I also miss the convenience of the city where I could get anywhere quickly and be more social and also not have to get up at 5 to go to work. Out here we rely on the car a lot whereas in the city centre you really don’t need a car

[@exeit8649]

@@ExpatNattIf you are staying for just 1 year in China do you think it is better to be living downtown in Shanghai or outskirts in Songjiang? Can you really say lived in Shanghai if you lived in Songjiang? ( daily living?)

[@ExpatNatt]

@@exeit8649 if only one year definitely choose the city centre. Even if you’re only planning 2 maybe 3 years in Shanghai I’d still recommend the city centre. For us we are planning to build our life and raise a family here so Songjiang is a good place to settle but for expats definitely stay in the city. The food options are much more limited out here!

[@chanmi143]

Hi I’m from the UK. Do you ever miss London? Because I would not 😂

[@ExpatNatt]

Hi! Honestly even when I was living in the UK I never felt like London was a suitable place for me personally. I have been many times but never really felt safe and comfortable things aren’t as convenient or open for long hours compared to Shanghai so I really have never even considered missing London 😅😅

[@pauladonaldson9867]

Did Miu get any doughnut????

[@ExpatNatt]

He didn’t even want a bite of mine! He doesn’t have a sweet tooth like me 😅

[@alex100yi]

在上海起来这么早？我们都要睡到8点多才起来呢，年轻人太疯狂了

[@ExpatNatt]

哈哈哈 因为要去市区上班 呜呜呜

[@alex100yi]

@@ExpatNatt 辛苦，悠着点...

[@Abhishekkumar-up8zw]

what job do you do ? English Teacher ??

[@ExpatNatt]

Yes, I am an English teacher at an international kindergarten

[@Abhishekkumar-up8zw]

​@@ExpatNatt oh I guess right 😂 ,, teaching dozens of cute kids is the best thing to do ❤❤.

[@ExpatNatt]

They are adorable. I love my job 🥰

[@ll-io4bd]

It looks like a BBC filtered video😅

[@user-zk5zv3en4s]

You little video has that Amélie vibe and you are Amélie of course 😅

[@partyhu]

祝你多赚点，这样就可以在市区租房子，不用起那么早了。