Taixing, China

With a population of 994,445, Taixing is hardly the quaint rural idyll many Westerners imagine when moving to China. This county-level city in Jiangsu province is firmly industrial, with a history stretching back to the 10th century. Bureaucracy is a persistent headache, as the city bounced between different provincial jurisdictions for decades before settling under Taizhou in 1996. The climate is unremarkable, with no major weather extremes to contend with. Overall, Taixing caters more to pragmatic professionals than lifestyle expatriates.