Hey Troy!
Welcome to the Saloon. Thanks for all the kind words, and sorry I was delayed getting back to the party.
I lived in the DongBei (northeast) region my first year-and-a-half or so in China. DongBei is mostly rather poor and a bit backward. There are serious water shortages up there. DongBei was a major bastion of the old State-Owned Enterprise (SOE)- lots of government-run heavy industry- and has perhaps suffered the most from the last years of privatization...rates of poverty and unemployment are quite high there. There's a definite Rust Belt feel to the place. Pollution is high because of the mountains of low-grade coal they burn...places do tend to be a bit grimy up there. There's a lot of ugly old brick buildings.
However, there are some nice cities up that way, some oases from the frankly bleak position of the region. Harbin is one such oasis...along with Dalian.
Harbin has enough Russian influence to give it a rather exotic crossroads ambience. It's seen a lot of non-Chinese foreigners for a long time, and there's a fairly large and vibrant expat community there. You'll find a bit of night life, plus a few comforts (such as cheese, bread that doesn't suck, and great cheap vodka) up there that help make life a little nicer. It's definitely NOT Shanghai or Beijing or Shenzhen, but it's also definitely possible to live well and have a nice time up there. I think you'll find most of the things that you really want and need will be there for you.
It's COOOOOOLD there, dude. Nothing between you and Siberia except some lines on a map. Winters are long and cold and bitter and dressing for the weather is genuinely a matter of survival. No way around this. Our Canadian, Russian, and Danish friends might truly understand this level of cold, but a lot of Americans, British, and Aussies are perhaps in for a bit of a shock.
Some compensation...Summers up that way are delightful. You'll be out having fun while most of the rest of us are hugging our ACs and making our own gravy.
And, you'll get the world-famous Ice Festival every winter. Truly a marvel to see.
Harbin IS a city in China...and as such it will have its quirks and its discomforts and its frustrations. And its filth. But for a city to live in, and to begin a China experience in, you could do far, far worse than Harbin.