momopi wrote:Winston wrote:Momopi,
I don't get something. Why are there foreign brides on websites in China?
First of all, I thought China was becoming rich. Second, I heard everyone say that males outnumber females there, so doesn't the surplus of men there give Chinese women the pick of the litter?
Can you explain?
Also, why would a girl as hot as the one above, need to seek a foreign husband on AFA?
And why would an airline flight attendant, such as the woman in the profile below, advertise herself on a foreign bride site? Don't flight attendants make good money?
http://women.happierabroad.com/women/info104565.htm
That's like 6 questions. I will only answer the first 2 --
respect other people's time by asking fewer questions.
1. China has 1.37 billion people, with gender ratio of 51.27% male : 48.73% female. To put things to perspective, if only 0.1% (1 out of 1,000) women in China wanted to marry out, that still adds up to ~6,671,900. So even a tiny fraction adds up to millions of people. Currently, there are over 270,000 Taiwanese men married to Mainland wives, not counting all the unrecorded "second wives" and live-in GF's to Taiwanese & HK men in China. Whatever you see on English language mail order bride sites is but a tiny fraction of the whole.
2. By Chinese government stats, 23% of the population is middle class (or better), earning annual household income of 60,000 RMB or better. By foreign agency stats, only 7.5% of China's population is middle class, earning annual household income of 150,000 RMB or better. The rest are low income to poverty. On the flip side, even 7.5% of the population in China adds up to 100 million people who can afford luxury goods.
Winston, I'll take a stab at answering some of your questions since you brought this thread to my attention via PM.
1. Consider the true economics. China falls within the range of some other hot countries for finding potential foreign brides online. Just look at average GDP per head in US$ according to IMF:
Brazil: 10,816
Russia: 10,437
Colombia: 6,273
Thailand: 4,992
China: 4,382
Ukraine: 3,000
PI: 2,007
Just for perspective, USA is 47,284, Switzerland is 67,284, and Norway is 84,444.
If you adjust numbers for local cost of living (PPP), China still falls in the bottom half:
Russia: 15,837
Brazil: 11,239
Colombia: 9,566
Thailand: 9,187
China: 7,519
Ukraine: 6,712
PI: 3,737
As for China becoming rich, I don't think it will happen for a long time, at least not on an average per-head basis. When projecting future growth rates, you need to account for the base effect. China was economically suppressed by design (government policy) for many decades. When that policy changed, the calculation base (total size of economy) was virtually zero. Naturally, as the country caught up with basic outside world levels, the economy posted attention grabbing high double digit rates. But now that the base has finally reached a reasonable size, future annual growth rates will likely register single digits going forward, probably 8% or less. Don't buy into Globetrotter's subjective hype. Up to now, the biggest growth driver of China has been US demand which may wane for quite some time given contracting credit levels on the back of consumer de-leveraging.
Also, PPP can be misleading. While basic goods in China are relatively cheap, housing prices have become extremely high by almost any measure. It is much easier for an average citizen to buy a property in most if not all the other countries mentioned.
2. I think its quite possible to date airline hostesses in Asia if you knock on enough doors. I've been with 2 EVA girls (one lived with me before she started interview process), 3 from CAL, 1 from Mandarin, 1 from Thai Airways (a Taiwanese), and 1 from Singapore Air (a Taiwanese). Been with a Thai ground staff girl from Thai Airways too. I also met a local stewardess on a domestic flight in China (forgot name of airline) who seemed very interested since she called and texted me several times trying to meet. It never happened though as I soon left China. From what they told me, some of these girls are pretty open. Things happen with co-workers, pilots, and sometimes passengers. Some of the younger pilots (30s and 40s) can get quite a reputation among the girls. EVA is probably the most conservative and strict. The Singapore Air girl even told me that one of her co-workers had sneaked a quick cigarette in the bathroom by re-directing all the smoke down the sink drain. And on long-haul flights, discreet intimacy between flight attendants sometimes happens in crew-rest rooms.
3. Momopi, I believe the gender ratio you cite is quite misleading. If you focus on the demographic Winston is probably interested in, 18-45 year olds, its likely skewed much more strongly towards males. Some sources claim a ratio as high as 1.15-1.20 males/female ratio for Gen Y and below.
Anyway, I believe urban areas are more balanced gender wise. And the guys who are relatively well-off will kinda be like that top 20% of guys in the States who never have problems attracting women. And keep in mind, the 30 something girls generally get passed over by the most desirable local guys. If she's divorced, her market value is even lower. If she has a child, even worse. But, as you've noted, many of the Chinese girls do a great job of preserving their beauty as they age. Therefore, China might turn-out to be a great dating market for someone like yourself Winston. You should give it a try!