Welcome to the ‘Jing From Shanghai: The Krasickis!

My husband, Steve, daughter Olivia, and I relocated from Shanghai to Beijing in February this year. We’d been living in Shanghai since 2016 and, before that, lived in Sydney, Australia.

My husband’s work in the hotel industry led us to China, and we relocated to Beijing for him to take up the Food & Beverage Director role with the Grand Hyatt. I work remotely for a company in Australia, so I can easily work anywhere.

 So you were in Shanghai before. How similar / different is it compared to Beijing?

We have so much more exploring to do in Beijing! We’ve not even scratched the surface of what this city has to offer. Our initial thoughts of Beijing are that the lifestyle feels much more relaxed than in Shanghai, and we enjoy the slower pace. Still, the cities are unique in their own ways, and I like them for different reasons.

From our experience, Shanghai has a lot of restaurants, bars and nightlife. This may also be the case in Beijing, but we’ve had a slow start and are just starting to delve into Beijing’s restaurant and bar scene. Beijing’s cultural and arts scene is incredible. We enjoy exploring and learning about all the cultural and historical sites in Beijing and we feel very lucky that so many of them are right on our doorstep.

What has been the best thing since arriving in Beijing?

The proximity to nature and the mountains is fantastic. We love that we can jump in a car downtown and be at the Great Wall in just over an hour. We love hiking and recently went away with friends to stay in Yanqing and climb the Shuiguan section of the wall. Such an incredible experience. That was my third visit to the wall, and I can’t wait to go back again!

How are you taking care of yourself during this transition?

We’ve definitely had our ups and downs since arriving in Beijing. Yet all we can do is take each day as it comes and be thankful for our health and all we have. We are fortunate to have friends in Beijing who we know from our time in Shanghai, so I feel like we had a ready-made tribe, which has made the transition easier for us.

What’s your family most excited about in Beijing?

This will sound silly to most people, but my daughter and I are excited about the snow!! As an Australian – any snow is exciting. The first time it snows, I’m going to be that crazy person you see running out into the street and dancing in the snowflakes. My husband grew up surrounded by snow in Canada and has very different thoughts (and strong opinions) about snow.The cold, however, is another story. Beijing is the coldest city I’ve ever lived in, and I hope the prospect of snow will help to take my mind off how cold it is! (Though, ask me again in a couple of months. I may have changed my mind.)