Moving your whole family to a country you’ve never visited is a big decision. Moving to China with three children? That came with plenty of questions, a little nervousness and a whole lot of excitement.

When people ask us, “Why did you move to China?”, the simple answer is that we were ready for a new adventure. But there was much more to it than that. After five wonderful years living in Qatar, David and I started thinking about what we wanted next for our family and whether China might be the place to find it.

In our video below, I share the full story of how we made the decision, including the things I worried about before we moved. You can watch it here, or open Why We Moved to China on our YouTube channel.

China had been on our minds for years

David, who is a teacher, had been curious about China for a long time. When we began looking for international teaching jobs back in 2018, it was near the top of his wish list. Things didn’t work out then, and we instead moved to Qatar, an experience we absolutely loved.

We loved our years in Qatar, but eventually felt ready for a change of scenery. Five years later, China was back on David’s list. I wasn’t quite so convinced. I worried about the language barrier, the cultural differences and how our children would settle into a place none of us had visited before.

In the end, I began to see the move differently. Rather than focusing only on what might be difficult, I started thinking about what we could gain. Here are the seven reasons that helped us take the leap.

1. We wanted a change of scenery

We have some fantastic memories of Qatar: beach days, desert camping and the opportunities it gave us to travel. But after five years surrounded by desert landscapes, we found ourselves craving greenery, mountains and proper seasons.

Then David came across a teaching job in Hangzhou. I started looking at photographs of the city and could hardly believe how beautiful it looked. Tea fields, green hills, streams and the famous West Lake. This was a completely different landscape from the one we’d grown used to. The prospect of experiencing four distinct seasons was another huge bonus.

2. We were ready for another family adventure

Starting again in another country isn’t easy. There are jobs to consider, belongings to pack, a home to find and three children to help settle into a new school. We already knew how much work an international move could involve.

But our years in Qatar also included some life-changing experiences that made us think about our priorities. We wanted to keep exploring and give our children opportunities to experience more of the world. China’s culture, food, language and history were all things we were eager to discover together.

We even said to ourselves that, if we didn’t end up saving much money, the experience alone might still be worth it.

3. Teaching opportunities made the move possible

Because David is a teacher, the availability of international school jobs was an important part of our decision. We’d considered places such as Malaysia and Thailand too, but the teaching packages we researched in China looked more competitive for our circumstances.

That doesn’t mean we moved for money. In fact, staying in Qatar would have been the better financial choice in some ways, and we gave up some benefits to make the change. We simply needed a teaching opportunity that would make our family adventure realistic.

4. The cost of living was appealing

Another factor was what everyday life in China could cost. As we researched Hangzhou, we were encouraged by the potential affordability of food, local transport and housing compared with what we were used to.

One example is our apartment in Hangzhou. We pay under US$800 a month in rent, which has been a pleasant surprise for us. It gives our family of five a comfortable place to call home, and it is a good example of why the cost of living here appealed to us.

If you’re curious about what our apartment looks like, I filmed a tour so you can see it for yourself. Watch the video below, or watch our apartment tour on The World n Us YouTube channel.

There is an important detail here: international teaching packages can include housing and school-fee allowances, and those benefits make a big difference to our family’s budget. Without support for schooling, sending three children to an international school would be very difficult for us. So our experience isn’t necessarily what every family moving to China would spend.

5. Our children’s education was a huge deciding factor

This was one of the biggest considerations of all. We wanted the children to have a broad education, with plenty of opportunities beyond the classroom. At their previous school, we felt that music, sport and extracurricular activities weren’t as accessible as we would have liked. We also wanted them to learn another language.

When we explored the Hangzhou school, we were excited by the smaller classes, the range of subjects and activities, and the facilities. The children were also going to have six Chinese lessons each week. For our eldest, Javi, the school’s swimming team and Olympic-sized pool were particularly exciting.

It wasn’t just about finding David a new job. We needed to feel confident that the move could be a positive step for all five of us.

6. We liked the idea of living without a car

After years of relying on a car in Australia and Qatar, the possibility of a different kind of everyday life was surprisingly appealing. We hoped we could make use of China’s metro systems, ride-hailing services and home deliveries instead.

By the time we filmed our video, we’d been living in China for about a year and a half, and still hadn’t bought a car. We were using the metro and DiDi, and getting so many everyday essentials delivered to our door. Not needing a vehicle also meant avoiding the extra costs of owning and parking one.

7. Feeling safe mattered to us

We’d felt very safe during our time in Qatar, and we didn’t want to give up that feeling. As parents, we wanted our children to have opportunities to enjoy life outside the home; as a woman, I also wanted to feel comfortable going out independently.

From our own experience in Hangzhou, this has been one of the things we’ve appreciated most. Seeing children walking home from school and using public transport, and feeling comfortable out and about myself, helped reassure me that we’d made a good decision. Of course, we still use common sense and take normal precautions, just as we would anywhere.

So, was moving to China the right decision?

Before we moved, I had real doubts. We didn’t know the language, we hadn’t been to China, and we couldn’t predict exactly how our new life would turn out. But we knew we wanted a change, and we wanted to make a decision that offered all of us something to look forward to.

There wasn’t one single reason we chose China. It was the combination of a new adventure, the opportunity to live in beautiful Hangzhou, a promising school for the children and the chance to experience a very different way of life.

Want to hear the full story in my own words? Watch “Why We Moved to China” on The World n Us YouTube channel. If you’re considering a move abroad, or you’re simply curious about what life in China is like, come and join us. We’d love to hear what questions you have in the video comments.

And if you’re curious about where our overseas adventure began, you can also read about our first impressions of living in Qatar.