An Englishman in Shanghai

choi

Emma Mahony, China Fever; Expat lives; The buzz of Shanghai lured Ed Dean away from London. Financial Times, Apr 28, 2012.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/9 ... 8-00144feab49a.html


(a) Excerpt in the window of print: 'I had quit my job in London the day after my 30th birthday, and I thought "there has to be more.”'

(b) Quote (from Mr Dean):

“Most [expatriate] people will tell you they plan to leave some day – it’s difficult to become accepted here as a foreigner. The Chinese often remind you that they have a culture that is 5,000 years old. This informs their world view so that even after living here for many years, marrying and settling down, you are still considered a foreigner.

(In reply to the question: Will the family miss the lifestyle if they decide to leave?) “It may seem silly because China is such a big country, but everywhere you go, there are crowds, noise and, in the cities, pollution. It’s rarely peaceful here. If you’ve grown up in the US or Europe, you know what you’re missing when it comes to a peaceful, idyllic countryside in which to live.

(c) My comment:
(i) To view the report, there is no need to sign in.
(ii) The report quotes Mr Dean as saying, "Or sometimes we’ll spend Sunday at Sheshan, where there are golf courses and a country club.”

Sheshan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheshan

can be an island or a hill, both of which are in Shanghai. However, The Wiki disambiguation page also shows that only the latter has a golf club.
(iii) Names.
(A) Emma
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_(given_name)
(B) Monony is variant spelling of Mahoney.
(C) Louie, for male, is a diminutive form of Louis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_(given_name)