4000 yuan a month?
Tags : property, business, travel, technology, nightlife, events, food, food, expat_services
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AUSCNRUS
Talker
Joined: Feb 25, 2009
Posts: 115
Status: Offline
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 Posted:
July 08, 2009 - 04:13 PM |
 
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| woodstock128 wrote: |
| Would I get a better paying job if I spoke Chinese? |
1.3 billion people in China can speak Chinese. What is your expertise? |
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aznrurounikj
Barker
Joined: Dec 19, 2006
Posts: 186
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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July 08, 2009 - 04:22 PM |
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| BeiDong wrote: |
What exactly does everyone mean when they say "Western standards" and living like a foreigner. Does that entail eating Italian and burgers every day for lunch and dinner? Taking taxis everywhere? Pretending to be rich while drinking on the Bund every weekend?
That's what I'd call an unnecessary lifestyle. |
Couldn't have phrased it better myself. The really expensive places aren't even known about by expats here. |
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Chrisse
SuperStar
Joined: Feb 25, 2009
Posts: 1323
Status: Offline
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July 08, 2009 - 04:43 PM |
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| BeiDong wrote: |
What exactly does everyone mean when they say "Western standards" and living like a foreigner. Does that entail eating Italian and burgers every day for lunch and dinner? Taking taxis everywhere? Pretending to be rich while drinking on the Bund every weekend?
That's what I'd call an unnecessary lifestyle. |
More like buying the same things you usually bought at home (the US and Canada, Europe and so on). For example the same kind of food (and quality of food), clothes, apartment in a more expat oriented neighborhood (recently renovated, nice furniture) and so on. All of this is generally more expensive than where I am from.
Probably includes eating out once in a while (in a restaurant which serves good Western food) and a nice beer. |
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Chrisse
SuperStar
Joined: Feb 25, 2009
Posts: 1323
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July 08, 2009 - 04:44 PM |
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| aznrurounikj wrote: |
| ...The really expensive places aren't even known about by expats here. |
Expensive is not always equal to good. |
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divergirl
Lurker
Joined: June 03, 2009
Posts: 25
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July 08, 2009 - 05:07 PM |
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It depends what you want to do - nearly all of my friends who weren't transferred here with their current company are teachers because the pay is so good in comparison to local wages, and it's harder to get a high paying job in another sector if you don't know people or the city. My teaching friends in Shanghai generally take home at least 12.5k after tax and find that they can live really well, and still save quite a bit. So if the job you're looking at is a teaching job, I'd say that you will be able to find something better paid than the one you have been offered.... PM me if you want details of companies  |
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BONNIE
Fire-eater
Joined: June 17, 2005
Posts: 2539
Location: Amsterdam/Shanghai
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July 08, 2009 - 05:09 PM |
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@ the OP
Just curiuous as to why you want to leave home and come to a strange country and try and live off 4000 kwai a month ?
The reasons make a whole lot of difference to whether you have what it takes to succeed in this venture. |
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It is what it is... |
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BONNIE
Fire-eater
Joined: June 17, 2005
Posts: 2539
Location: Amsterdam/Shanghai
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July 08, 2009 - 05:10 PM |
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divergirl says it all |
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It is what it is... |
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aznrurounikj
Barker
Joined: Dec 19, 2006
Posts: 186
Location: Shanghai
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July 08, 2009 - 05:16 PM |
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No it doesn't, but "good" is really subjective as well. I wouldn't consider a 5000 rmb fetal human baby soup "good" but I'm sure the people who do pay for that do. |
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BONNIE
Fire-eater
Joined: June 17, 2005
Posts: 2539
Location: Amsterdam/Shanghai
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July 08, 2009 - 05:19 PM |
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What does a teaching job have to do with "baby soup " ?
Sounds like you are saying that the only really rich people here are Chinese ?
I am inclined to agree with you, by the way |
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It is what it is... |
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victorinchina
Board Royalty
Joined: Jan 17, 2009
Posts: 7821
Location: Shanghai
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July 08, 2009 - 05:23 PM |
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^ Think she was anwering Chrisse |
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'it's not pink... it's fuschia' - Mickey Maguire |
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Chrisse
SuperStar
Joined: Feb 25, 2009
Posts: 1323
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July 08, 2009 - 05:54 PM |
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| aznrurounikj wrote: |
| No it doesn't, but "good" is really subjective as well. I wouldn't consider a 5000 rmb fetal human baby soup "good" but I'm sure the people who do pay for that do. |
Of course it is subjective... But if we start saying everything is subjective, we might as well stop discussing right now since it will lead nowhere. I gave the OP a basic idea of how it is here. 12k gets you a cushy life compared to a local, 12k might be a little tight (doesn't mean it isn't doable) comparing to the life style many westerners had before if they where working in their own country. Of course this is a generalization and definitely just a rough picture on how it could be.
And I also gave a brief explanation of what I meant with "western lifestyle" which I stand by. Apartment (2 rooms, approx 80 sqm) in a good area in a bigger town in Sweden about 4500 RMB/month (including water), a comparable apartment in Shanghai, probably around 5-6k (+some for water). Milk, cream, cheese, juice, fresh (good quality) veggies, bread, meat are all examples of stuff that are much more expensive here. The list can go on and on, of course there are some stuff that are cheaper here but I hope you get the point. |
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shalamazoo
Raver
Joined: May 28, 2002
Posts: 461
Location: I'm not sure?
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July 08, 2009 - 06:03 PM |
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| littlelion wrote: |
Zam tells pretty much the fact.
Local people with the same salary are much happier. They live with their parents, saving up a lot of money, rent, meals etc.
Living in SH, a quality life, 12000 a month needed at least. |
At least 12,000 rmb |
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drllau
Seeker
Joined: June 15, 2009
Posts: 43
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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July 08, 2009 - 06:22 PM |
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| BeiDong wrote: |
What exactly does everyone mean when they say "Western standards" and living like a foreigner. Does that entail eating Italian and burgers every day for lunch and dinner? Taking taxis everywhere? Pretending to be rich while drinking on the Bund every weekend?
That's what I'd call an unnecessary lifestyle. |
Coming from Australia, I would say the major differences in living standards are
a) expected living space ... whilst locals are quite comfortable with say 50m^2 or less, I think Westerners are more used to something more spactious ... and forget about a house with grass backyard.
b) dining out ... perhaps not every night but 2-3 times a week go out to a decent meal ... $A20 = ~RMB 100 per person. I notice that even some locals start feeling a little anxious when dishes go above Y20 ... I can understand as a lot of young grads are saving up for apt so they tend to stretch their budgets
c) knic-knacs ... impulsive purchase of relatively inexpensive curios ... I think this may be due to the western habit of instant gratification. Whereas my observation is that chinese tend to be more deliberate, waiting for bargains or specials, or expecting 2ndhand freebies.
d) taxis ... it's a matter of convenience, I just figure out which option is best ... MTR, walking or taxi but a lot of people, would automatically exclude taxi, instead thinking about cheaper options like bike. This was a nuisance when trying to find an apartment as needed to inspect a lot of scattered places so had to hike around with agent in hot day.
I hate to use the phrase conspicuous consumption, instead I think a notable difference in mentality can be summed up as "work to live, not live to work". My friends in Aussie have a certain lifestyle they aspire to, so they work to reach that level (whether MacMansion or seaside shack up to their preference). I see a lot of older generation chinese just pinching fen (pennies) for what? So their grandkids can blow it up? But when people with a Depression era spending habit look at foreigners blowing a big chunk of disposable income they must think that everyone overseas must be loaded.
Lawrence |
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balbon
Reacher
Joined: Oct 11, 2008
Posts: 261
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July 08, 2009 - 06:27 PM |
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friend of mine, canadian. 10k/month (approx)
- eats at company cafeteria
- lives in the suburb
- bikes to work
- shops at cityshop/carrefour
- parties almost every weekend
- travels 1~2x/year
- cool dude
simple living is the key. |
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RussianBear
Veejay
Joined: June 25, 2008
Posts: 2148
Location: Milky Way galaxy
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July 08, 2009 - 06:42 PM |
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In Tongzhou district you may rent a apt. for 1500 RMB. Utilites for 300 RMB/month. 600 RMB/m for transportation. Meal for ~ 20 RMB/time in KFC/MackDL or 10 RMB for hefan.
Probably you can survive. |
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Abramis
Reacher
Joined: Mar 18, 2008
Posts: 228
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July 08, 2009 - 10:49 PM |
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This thread is starting to sound like survival story indeed.
Expats & survival... |
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RussianBear
Veejay
Joined: June 25, 2008
Posts: 2148
Location: Milky Way galaxy
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July 08, 2009 - 10:57 PM |
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| Abramis wrote: |
This thread is starting to sound like survival story indeed.
Expats & survival... |
During Beijing and New York turn to be a sister-cities in living cost. |
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compsolutions
PopStar
Joined: Mar 07, 2009
Posts: 1103
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 12:03 AM |
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zam
Talker
Joined: June 06, 2008
Posts: 110
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| Posted:
July 09, 2009 - 12:41 AM |
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| Post subject: Re: 4000 yuan a month? |
| woodstock128 wrote: |
| What's it like living on 4000 yuan a month in China. Doesn't sound that great. |
If you are an expat, please don't even bother with it. |
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BeiDong
Ranter
Joined: June 09, 2009
Posts: 538
Status: Offline
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| Posted:
July 09, 2009 - 02:46 AM |
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| drllau wrote: |
| BeiDong wrote: |
What exactly does everyone mean when they say "Western standards" and living like a foreigner. Does that entail eating Italian and burgers every day for lunch and dinner? Taking taxis everywhere? Pretending to be rich while drinking on the Bund every weekend?
That's what I'd call an unnecessary lifestyle. |
Coming from Australia, I would say the major differences in living standards are
a) expected living space ... whilst locals are quite comfortable with say 50m^2 or less, I think Westerners are more used to something more spactious ... and forget about a house with grass backyard.
b) dining out ... perhaps not every night but 2-3 times a week go out to a decent meal ... $A20 = ~RMB 100 per person. I notice that even some locals start feeling a little anxious when dishes go above Y20 ... I can understand as a lot of young grads are saving up for apt so they tend to stretch their budgets
c) knic-knacs ... impulsive purchase of relatively inexpensive curios ... I think this may be due to the western habit of instant gratification. Whereas my observation is that chinese tend to be more deliberate, waiting for bargains or specials, or expecting 2ndhand freebies.
d) taxis ... it's a matter of convenience, I just figure out which option is best ... MTR, walking or taxi but a lot of people, would automatically exclude taxi, instead thinking about cheaper options like bike. This was a nuisance when trying to find an apartment as needed to inspect a lot of scattered places so had to hike around with agent in hot day.
I hate to use the phrase conspicuous consumption, instead I think a notable difference in mentality can be summed up as "work to live, not live to work". My friends in Aussie have a certain lifestyle they aspire to, so they work to reach that level (whether MacMansion or seaside shack up to their preference). I see a lot of older generation chinese just pinching fen (pennies) for what? So their grandkids can blow it up? But when people with a Depression era spending habit look at foreigners blowing a big chunk of disposable income they must think that everyone overseas must be loaded.
Lawrence |
I eat out every day, lunch and dinner. Occasionally, I make some Thai food or something else if I have people over or I'm just feeling productive, but otherwise I eat at restaurants. If you want to eat at places with English menus, English-speaking staff, Italian, French, American, Mexican, Middle Eastern food; then of course you're going to need at least 30 RMB per dish and way, way up. The problem for me is I eat more than most, so ordering a sandwich at somewhere like Element Fresh doesn't really do it for me. If I ate at these places every day, twice a day; I would need to make a lot more money than I do now.
Learn Chinese. Learn how to spot which restaurants offer what kind of food. I never understand when people say, "I'm sick of Chinese food." There's a lot of different styles of Chinese food, you don't need to stick with the boring "cold or hot dish," and "noodles or rice."
I can find small, hole-in-the-wall Korean restaurants that serve delicious Korean food for 10 RMB. If you want to only eat in candle-lit, restaurants with air-conditioning and leather seats; then you're gonna have to pay the price. Ho ho.
Learn some basic phrases, such as:
Zhèli yǒu Nàlǐ cài ma?
Literally, "Here has where food?" Or, "What kind of food do you have?"
I'll post a link to something useful when the damn website starts working again. |
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DrShanghai
Raver
Joined: Nov 06, 2005
Posts: 425
Location: everywhere
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| Posted:
July 09, 2009 - 08:20 AM |
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DrShanghai
Raver
Joined: Nov 06, 2005
Posts: 425
Location: everywhere
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July 09, 2009 - 08:21 AM |
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everybody is leaving china right now |
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woodstock128
Squeeker
Joined: July 05, 2009
Posts: 15
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July 09, 2009 - 08:33 AM |
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woodstock128
Squeeker
Joined: July 05, 2009
Posts: 15
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July 09, 2009 - 08:34 AM |
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Do you think that online teaching can be profitable? |
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bleepingbleeper
Ranter
Joined: June 18, 2009
Posts: 504
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 08:53 AM |
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| balbon wrote: |
friend of mine, canadian. 10k/month (approx)
- eats at company cafeteria
- lives in the suburb
- bikes to work
- shops at cityshop/carrefour
- parties almost every weekend
- travels 1~2x/year
- cool dude
simple living is the key. |
that about sums it up. 4000RMB/mo = 133RMB/day. it's certainly doable if you have free rent. but don't expect to be living it up with nice meals, taxi rides everywhere, going out to bars, and loads of discretionary spending.
you will have to watch what you spend, and you will probably have to eat box lunches that typically cost around 10-20RMB. these won't be the healthiest or tastiest meals, but that will leave you a little more to spend on dinner.
i've done it before - not out of necessity, but just from spending all my time at work. i worked in south china, lived in a company apt, and had a per-diem of about 140-160RMB (in addition to my US salary). and i would actually have money left over from my per diem at the end of the week. but my life was nearly all work - eating box lunches at the company, but going out for a decent dinner. occasional spending on DVDs, snacks, foot massage. no going out on weeknights (unless the boss called us to ktv - but he paid for the room and drinks), and very little on weekends. never bought clothes or furniture/knick-knacks save for a couple fake watches, a dvd player, and speaker set.
if you want to have a little more fun, you definitely can. but don't expect to save anything at the end of the month. so if you are okay with hand-to-mouth/paycheck-to-paycheck living, then you'll be okay. |
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