I'm gonna weigh in on the issue of learning Chinese.
The way I see it, learning Chinese is the best way to integrate oneself into Chinese society. By learning Chinese, you can better understand Chinese people and Chinese people can better understand you. Not only does life become easier but it ultimately becomes richer and more fulfilling.
If you're solely here for one purpose, such as working, drinking etc. then I suppose you don't need to learn Chinese. But you're already in China and it's such a unique experience that it would be such a shame if you didn't learn the language. You can be a wage slave/trained monkey anywhere, you might as well be sitting in a cubicle in the West if you have tons of free time and don't want to learn any Chinese at all.