I would like to add: Even if you are ethnically Chinese and speak the language, don't go back to China unless you really cannot find a decent job in the west.

Especially if you are young and educated in the west, here are the things to consider:

- It is not very hard to find a STEM job in the west, and the pay is good.

- Your parents are healthy now, not much to worry. It's better to get a green card before they get old.

- You may start a family soon. It is much much easier to raise a child in the west.

The problem is that Asians hit bamboo ceiling when they try to climb the corporate ladder in the west. It's very difficult for them to get into upper management. Google "bamboo ceiling", it's an interesting read.

Care to expand on your last point? I haven’t heard that before.

A) Parenting. You will mostly have no parenting on your own in China. Tech companies will make you work long hours. It is not uncommon that when you finished work and back home, your kid is already asleep. When you leave home early to catch the train, your kid is still asleep. It is not a joke but many Chinese young couples only see their kids during weekend, even they live together. You think leaving your kid to your parents 5 days per week is good? Noooooooooo

B) Medicare. Every time your kid gets fever: IV. Your parents just love it. They think it is the best. Chinese people love to have their kids get blood test, X-ray for just cough... Children's hospitals are crowded by (grand)parents and kids who simply have cold (see pictures and story http://www.sohu.com/a/212568582_407108). Most Chinese people (including educated middle class) do not understand get cold is not because of cold, it is because of virus.

C) Also everybody knows: the highly competitive education system is a huge burden on kids and parents. It is common to spend lots of money to purchase apartment at good school district (xue qu fang). And many parents do this for kids going to elementary school, middle school, high school... Middle class life is not easy.

A story on the this point - I worked with some colleagues from a giant China company. One of them just had his firstborn and was deployed outside the country for 3 months. The other also had small children and was also deployed outside his country for months.

These guys were also the first in the office, last ones out.

I doubt a Western company would be as eager to split a parent from their babies, but this was a common thing, especially when you're the linchpin.

To your point B - When I was in China for an extended work obligation I made sure that I told people I was diabetic because lots of food has sugar in it. My co-workers kept asking me daily if I needed any medical treatment for my diabetes and one of them could take me to a clinic. Even on weekends co-workers would ping me to ask. It was very sweet of them but a bit comical.

One thing is the stress and pressure on kids to perform well on testing in school, which transfers to the parents.

It's already pretty bad in the US, but it's nothing compared to China (or Asia in general.)

Ahhh... ok, I have heard that can be an issue from my wife's side of the family. I've also heard that the education is much more rigid and doesn't really encourage independent or creative thinking. More memorization.

> get a green card before they get old

parent age and green card -- how do these two things relate to each other?

If your parents get old and sick, you have to go back to your home country to visit them more frequently. It is much better to have a green card. You don't want to worry about your visa, your job security, and your parents' health at the same time.

Also after 5 years on the GC you will get naturalized and can get a GC to your parents really quick.

Because when your parents get sick and you have to go back to China, it might be hard getting back to the US AND still be able to meet requirements to get a green card.

Once you have the green card, you can travel freely back and forth.

"- pollution can be a big problem."

This would already be a showstopper for me. I have spent a week in Mumbai and never want to be in such an environment again.

I was recently in Seoul South Korea for a month, and there were a few very bad pollution days. At first I thought there must be a fire close. Then the locals informed me it comes from China and their factories. Koreans are obviously not happy about it, and there seemed to be a sense of disdain for China.

To be fair I've heard it varies a lot depending on the season in Mumbai. I was in Mumbai in December and it was honestly fine, at least in my opinion.

I am sure it changes but I wouldn’t want to live there for sure and I feel sorry for the people who have to put up with it.

I've visited several developing economies and this is basically it for most of them. You can replace "Chinese" with "Indian", "Brazilian" etc. We live in a bubble in the West.