I'm actually not moving there yet - but I have a home (well two) and spend a lot of time there. I'm also opening a trade representative office there. It's a long process unless one has REALLY big dollars - which I do not.
I've spent a lot of time in Southern China - well, actually all over the country. I enjoy it a great deal and would have NO PROBLEMS LIVING THERE.
Unfortunately most Americans have no idea what is happening there - other than recalls. They're so far ahead of us in many ways, it can be stunning. Problems? Yes, of course. There's also a BILLION THREE HUNDRED MILLION people there.
About your English teaching - if you're good at it, you be welcome.
Wild statistic?
There are more people STUDYING English in China than there are PEOPLE in the United States. It raises a lot of hackles when you tell people that CHINA is so far a head of us in many ways, it's so unfathomable - people get a little "gingoistic," and thats more of a reflection of being niave than anything.
It's a great place, sure, it has many problems but: I don't get searched like a criminal when boarding planes, there are more internationally rated five star restaurants in some CITIES than in all of the U.S. People can be quite polite, and some cultural diferences are often intrepreted as rudeness when the truth it: we have cultural differences.
I actually know many Americans who've moved there. When I ask them if they'd return to the U.S. there response is ususlly . . . sure . . . for a visit.
You'd just have to go, take a look for yourself. Oh, and if you can't find Americans to talk to, here is the easy way. Walk into any international hotel, look for the fattest people around, that'll be the Americans. I'm not kidding! Americans who live there use this all the time when they want to talk about "home." That's the "unwritten" rule that gets known to the expats. "Find the fatties and you've found the Americans." (Oh the absolute BEST PIZZA HUT in the world is in Bejing - I"m not kidding).