How the new generation of half-pats is changing the face of our world

Brian Bucsit, who was personal trainer to the rock band Pearl Jam, took a severe pay cut to come to Beijing in 2004 with his wife and son. “China was never really in my sights,” says the 35-year-old, “until my wife decided to study Sinology.”

Bucsit’s wife Katja Sassi, wrote her Master's thesis on the lives of Beijing’s “half-pats,” defining the group primarily as foreigners coming here to develop their careers. Before the arrival of the half-pat, most of China’s foreign community came here on fat expat packages and lived in exclusive communities. Half-pats, meanwhile, settle for pay and apartments that look a lot more local. According to Sherry Xiao, a partner at the Shanghai offices of the human resources consultancy, JLJ Group, half-pats, which make up about 40 percent of the workforce in executive positions in China-based companies, take home a salary about half of their expat equivalents. The typical half-pat might have medical or accident insurance coverage thrown in, but luxuries like education allowances are excluded.

Belgian actress and model Shannti Dinnoo is a half-pat living the Chinese dream. She reckons pay and conditions are better for actors in Europe, but there just aren’t the same opportunities. China means “more work, more challenges, more excitement,” says Dinnoo, who was cast in a TV commercial within a month of arriving in Beijing in September 2003.

Chinese-speaking half-pats, who come without the expense of family relocation or education, are attractive for cost-conscious employers “because their commitment is firstly to China,” Sassi says. “They usually earn less but speak better Chinese than expatriates.” Such discrepancies are often frustrating to half-pats who see themselves as having insider knowledge but without all the creature comforts.

The salary crunch makes settling down a tricky proposition for long-term half-pats. A mortgage on a two bedroom apartment beyond Beijing's Fifth Ring Road chews up a third of a ¥10,000 monthly salary, says five-year Beijing resident Patricia Cadena, a presenter on CCTV’s Spanish channel. It often boils down to choosing to go home once a year, or choosing to own your own place.

“I am not where I want to be in terms of financial security,” says Maria Gilsenan from Ireland, who moved to Shanghai in 2004 to work as a marketing executive at a real estate management company. “Friends at home are doing better financially. They have cars and mortgages.”

Yet the relatively accelerated professional learning curve makes the move worthwhile for many half-pats. “I’m doing so much more professionally than friends at home or friends elsewhere in the world,” says Gilsenan. “I want to differentiate myself when I go back home.”

Like Gilsenan, many career-oriented half-pats are here for a China experience, but not for the long haul. Chanell Daniels, Publications Coordinator at the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, plans to return to the UK next year after less than 12 months here. “I fear that if I stay in China for much longer my career will always be associated with China,” she worries. “I have also heard of problems people have had with finding jobs that have a domestic focus in their countries of origin, or that are international without a focus on China.”

For those in China for the long haul, language ability is the way to get an edge in an increasingly crowded job market. There's plenty of chances for go-getting half pats, says Ivana Vuckovic, from Serbia, who’s spent 10 years building a public relations career in Beijing, where she estimates more than 80 percent of foreign PR executives are on half-pat packages. Extra skills and hard work are rewarded in half-pat pay packages. “You don’t get the car and the house but your worth will be reflected in holiday, pay and status.”

Half-pat life has been a mixed bag for Bucsit, as China’s fitness industry remains unsophisticated compared to the West. “My wife was able to follow her course,” Buscit reflects, “and my son has had a rich first three years of life.”

Atipa Limpisvasti, 30, US: Chiropractor

Disadvantage: Half-pats can sometimes be seen as undervalued or a cheaper alternative to normal expats. However, this may primarily be due to lack of experience and technical skill sets. Personally, my inability to speak Chinese (unlike most half-pats), is a disadvantage in some day-to-day activities. This desire to learn more about the language and the Chinese culture motivated me to move to Shanghai. Fortunately for me, my patients mainly speak English, and this common language has been very important in my work. Clear understanding between patient and healthcare practitioner is paramount, as many people are hesitant to seek out local doctors due to the difficulty in communicating important medical issues.

Defining characteristic: I believe the characteristic that most distinguishes a half-pat is the time frame in which they live in China. Many half-pats have come to China by their own volition, and have a long-term view on living here. This may differ from many expats who have been transferred here or are on short-term contracts. In the future the half-pat may prove beneficial in the development of social and economic relations between China and the rest of the world.

James Nicholson, 31, UK: Strategic Communications Director

Advantage: The best thing about being a half-pat is the flexibility. I can move between industries, and I’m not as type-cast by management. I live comfortably, but I don’t feel like I’ve given in to “The Man” quite as much as expats.

Defining characteristic: Getting over the love-hate phase of being in China. As as a half-pat, you come to understand that its not up us to change China or judge China according to our standards. I don’t have good China days and bad China days anymore. I just go out, with a healthy dose of skepticism, and I get on with it. I do what needs to be done.

Channell Daniels, 24, UK: Publications Coordinator, E.U. Chamber of Commerce

Advantage: Being in China is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m actually glad that I’m not in a management position like some of the expats, because it gives me the chance to see all the changes on the ground. I think you miss some of that if you’re higher up.

Disadvantage: Earning in RMB but paying off my school loans in British pounds. That’s painful. Defining characteristic: If you originally came here as a foreign student, it would be turning down a ladies night because you know you have to wake up early in the morning for your job.

Brian Bucsit, 36, US: Personal trainer

Disadvantage: Moving from the U.S. to China was the perfect way to ruin a career. I went from touring with a famous rock band as a trainer to being in a place where no one knows me. But I guess that is what makes us half-pats: putting personal freedom over career.

Defining: What makes half-pat different is the will to live in a different place. It outweighs going after a better career. We made the choice for personal growth, the choice to be here.

Top Ten Signs You're a Half-pat

1. You speak better Chinese than expatriate colleagues.
2. HR at your company refers to you as “local hire international staff.”
3. You live in local housing with an average rent of ¥2,000 per month.
4. You get paid about half the salary of your expat colleagues.
5. You pay for your own medical insurance.
6. You are under 30-years-old.
7. Your kids go to Chinese kindergartens.
8. You are in public relations, marketing or journalism.
9. You are not teaching English.
10. When you arrived in China, no one was there to meet you at the airport.