1. The irregular road. In most cities in Northern China, like Beijing, Xi'an and my home town Luoyang, streets are either N-S or E-W and the street intersections are always 90 degrees, like a chess board. It is totally different here in Shanghai -- streets wind through the city and seldom can I find a completely straight road. Lateron , I found even the newly designed roads in either the Pudong Area or in the Jiaotong University Min Hang Campus were not straight. The designer drew two big circles on the blank area and constructed the campus based on the circles. This was completely unacceptable for me, who came from a traditional Chinese city. Actually, how the road was designed had nothing to do with my daily life, but this kind of unfamiliarity definitely made my home sickness worse.
2. The Smallest Big City. As one drives into Reno, Nevada there is a sign saying, "Reno, the biggest small city in the world." Shanghai give me the feeling that it is the smallest big city in China. Shanghai was definitely the biggest city in terms of population (Chongqing is now the biggest), though it still seemed so small when I had just got here. They call buildings square, while my concept of square was something like Tian An Men square - the largest square in the world. Roads were narrow, dishes were small, and people were sensitive to any minor price change. Everything seemed smaller in size compared to cities I had lived in.
   
3. The weather. Shanghai is near the sea and it is hot and dry in summer, and cold and rainy in winter. This is completely different to Northern China's cities -- Luoyang is rainy and hot in summer. I didn't expect rain in winter which made it colder. I never experienced a colder winter than in Shanghai -- it may be largest city in the North without warming facilities. We kept the windows open for fresh air at night in winter since there was no difference when closing the windows. Everything was cold. Keeping the windows closed didn't help to warm up the wet air inside the room.
4. The people. People in Shanghai were so business-oriented and process-driven, so I felt cold and had trouble fitting into the city at the very beginning. I don't want to talk about it -- more to keep away from the flaming discussion -- it happens everywhere on almost any BBS if someone posts anything about the Shanghainese. The famous scenes of Huahai road, the Bund and the city were meaningless to me - I felt like a tourist, not a part of the city at that time. In the depths of my heart, I was eager to escape from the city as soon as possible. I got used to Shanghai in one and half years
   
5. I talked with many friends who had just came to Shanghai, and I never found anyone who loved Shanghai in their first year. However, after one and half years, I was hopelessly in love with the city. This also happened to many of my friends who originally hated the city.  After several years, I have become very used to the city. Whenever I leave the city, I feel very uncomfortable. Here are some examples.

1. The 24x7 Stores. When I was in Chengdu or Beijing, I missed the 24x7 convenient stores like Lawsons and Lianhua so much. I wandered on the streets after 11:00 PM and found it was not easy to buy any drink. The city went dark.
   
2. The bus and taxi. The public service like taxis, buses, gas, and electricity are very good in Shanghai. I believe many people are either impressed by the clean and unified Shanghai taxi system or depressed by the dirty and small taxis in many cities. With the effort to promote public transportation, the air-conditioned buses look very nice and comfortable in Shanghai. This has changed a lot during the last eight years. When I first came here, so many people were pushing each other to get on board a crowded bus,but recently, buses are no long crowded with the introduction of the metro and light railways.
   
3. The overly-careful people. This was the reason I didn't like Shanghai - People in Shanghai were so sensitive to small money. After I took a whole year to get used to this style, I found them easier to deal with. If you take a taxi in Shanghai, and the meter shows 141 RMB, you need to pay exactly 141 RMB - including the 1 RMB, or you give them 200 RMB and they give you 59 RMB in change. In Beijing, taxi driver typically will ignore the 1 RMB and only ask for 140 RMB. I am comparing the styles only to point out the difference, without judgement. In fact, the accurate, cold and professional behavior in Shanghai made life easier. Taking the taxi as an example, the clear agreement between the passenger and driver will cause no argument, while if the price is not accurate, people will be uncomfortable if some driver charges 141 RMB - in such a situation, people will say "the driver looks Shanghainese..."

In conclusion, it will take you at least one and half year to get used to the city and take longer for you to fall in love with it if you come from Northern China.

If you are foreigners new to China, Shanghai will be the city that you can easily get used to, since Shanghai was influenced by Western culture and is more similar to Western cities than any other part of China. If you first visit Beijing, the culture shock will be huge. Do you agree?

• Metros cost 3 RMB (for most trips). Double the price and you get 4 - 6 RMB, which will be 180 RMB per month. If you take a taxi, average taxi fares should be abpit 20 RMB (about 6 km).
  
• For apartments, 1000 RMB to 1500 RMB should get a nice apartment for two occupants in downtown Shanghai.
  
• For food, Shanghai may be more expensive for food since it is not easy to find cheap food like Beijing - 10 RMB per meal is the bottom line. Typically it costs 15 RMB per meal.
  
• Regarding working hours, it is common practice to work from 8:30 to 17:30 or 9:00 to 18:00, including one hour break time. Typically, it is not possible to go back home during the break.
  
• If you are concerned about the Shanghainese language, don't worry. I have lived here for 8 years without be able to speak Shanghainese and I still feel well and respected. My personal judgment is, people older than 40 with a salary less than 1500 RMB tend to speak Shanghainese and hate people from outside of Shanghai. For the younger generation, people with a university education or with a high income, they are very nice to people from outside Shanghai.

So good luck in Shanghai!

Living Costs

Income

• According to a goverment report, average worker's monthly salary is 1492 RMB.
  In 2001, Shanghai's average worker's salary was RMB17,910, making it number one in the 30 areas of China.
  
• 1492 RMB is a magic number and was used for many areas, such as the house fund deduction.
  
• 179 USD for one month? This number is astonishing for most people in U.S or Europe. Well, it's true. I told my friends just arriving in Shanghai that people feel happy if they get 400 RMB per month in my home town, they said "Oh, my god!"
  
• Don't get the wrong impression. For undergraduates of computer major, their expectation for starting point salary is about 3000 RMB. Some can get 5000 to 7000 RMB, this will be a very good number. It is very common for employees in foreign companies to earn more than 10,000 RMB per month.
  
• For foreigners, it is another story. The first question when they see a job advertisement is, "Is it local pay or U.S. pay?" This phenomenon is interesting. For local pay, they get RMB and although it is still very high (4000 - 12000 RMB? I guess), but for U.S. payees, they get a package that is attractive even in the U.S.
  You know the payment level.
  

Rent for a small house depends. Apartments with different sizes, areas, decoration styles and environments may vary greatly in price.  I was once living in a rented apartment for 600 RMB per month. It had two bed rooms and one living room -- 68 square meters. Now, I have moved into the new apartment I bought. It is rented at 3000 - 4000 RMB.