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bm1026
Newbie
Joined: July 09, 2009
Posts: 4
Location: sh
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 09:41 AM |
 
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Chrisse
SuperStar
Joined: Feb 25, 2009
Posts: 1323
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 09:54 AM |
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Yes, but 4k RMB is not... RMB != $ |
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yu888
Board Deity
Joined: Jan 25, 2003
Posts: 19335
Location: ZhongShanParkArea SH
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July 09, 2009 - 10:25 AM |
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4k rmb can be done. but its really about what one's current lifestyle is, and what expectation one has in coming here.
New grad, little experience, gets 4k with cheap housing, can do the student lifestyle just fine. 4k buys a lot of beer at 2rmb a bottle at lawsons. But if you are planning on going to bars, the price jumps at least 5x for windows and 15-20x for most expat frequented bars.
Food- depends on if you can live on local diet. As a student here my first year, i lived on 20rmb lunches daily...and considering I was taking a break from a decent payrange back home, it was quite a drop in standards, BUT i set realistic expectations and did it for awhile and it was ok. Actually it was quite fun for awhile, but only for awhile.
Living- I cheated and bought a place and mortgage was over 10k a month. I recommend if where you live is important to you, spend the money and get a place that has decent heat AC and hot water. But i could have easily rented a place for less than a third of that and been ok too. Again, i had higher expectations as I have a house in the US and I wanted certain comforts. If the last place one lived was a dorm, then by all means some 1500rmb studios will do you fine. |
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The right to free speech does not grant you freedom from the repercussions of what you say. This and more on my Blog...Random Thoughts about Living in Shanghai...and more |
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RussianBear
Veejay
Joined: June 25, 2008
Posts: 2148
Location: Milky Way galaxy
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July 09, 2009 - 10:38 AM |
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And don't forget about flatmating. BTW, Beijing have huge underground city, like Zion from Matrix. Rent a place for live there cost just 200 rmb/month. Anyway, i do not recommend it unless you really want make a friends with rats and another creatures who lives there. |
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karinalee
Barker
Joined: Mar 30, 2007
Posts: 133
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 11:40 AM |
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dont do it.
4k is way too little.
the girl in my office who just graduated with no real work experience is getting that.
a note to all the expats, halfpats out there - dont settle for less. i know alot of locals with somewhat experience getting 15-35k a month and half as competent.
we are giving ourselves a bad name by settling for less.
dare to ask for more. |
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Seen
Reacher
Joined: Jan 14, 2009
Posts: 330
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 12:59 PM |
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| BeiDong wrote: |
Zhèli yǒu Nàlǐ cài ma?
Literally, "Here has where food?"
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I'm Chinese and that sounds to me more like "Do you have "Where" food here?" in Chinese. Maybe you should try "Zhe li you shen me yang de cai?" (这里有什么样的菜?) for "What type of food do you serve here?" |
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RussianBear
Veejay
Joined: June 25, 2008
Posts: 2148
Location: Milky Way galaxy
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July 09, 2009 - 02:05 PM |
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Or "Ni zhe li you shen me cai ma ?" What a food you have (to serve) here ? |
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8lrr8
Wonder Wit
Joined: Oct 14, 2004
Posts: 3745
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July 09, 2009 - 02:15 PM |
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Seen
Reacher
Joined: Jan 14, 2009
Posts: 330
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 02:26 PM |
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| RussianBear wrote: |
| Or "Ni zhe li you shen me cai ma ?" What a food you have (to serve) here ? |
I think it's better if you do without the "ma" else it could sound like "do you serve food here?" instead.
| 8lrr8 wrote: |
| street version: 你有啥? |
Brilliant. |
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BeiDong
Ranter
Joined: June 09, 2009
Posts: 538
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 03:29 PM |
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| Seen wrote: |
| BeiDong wrote: |
Zhèli yǒu Nàlǐ cài ma?
Literally, "Here has where food?"
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I'm Chinese and that sounds to me more like "Do you have "Where" food here?" in Chinese. Maybe you should try "Zhe li you shen me yang de cai?" (这里有什么样的菜?) for "What type of food do you serve here?" |
Yeah, that's normally what I use, too. I just wanted to use some words beginners might already know. Very often, Shanghai/Anhui people don't understand when I say "nali cai" instead of "shen me yang de."
Then again, you shouldn't be eating shitty Shanghai food anyway.
The link:
http://tinyurl.com/nlkpkk
The 2nd best food in China.  |
Last edited by BeiDong on July 09, 2009 - 03:40 PM; edited 2 times in total |
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txaggie07
Reacher
Joined: Aug 10, 2007
Posts: 298
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 03:33 PM |
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just be smart with your money, set Daily budgets on food. You can buy quality food at wet markets and cook yourself, and eat well for less than 50 rmb per day EASY.
Most locals save crazy money because they have discipline for themselves. If you're eating for less than 50 rmb per day, the 200-300 you spend on the weekends at the bars isn't going to break the bank.
When most foreigners come to Shanghai, they go on a binge of bars, nightclubs, and high end restaurants, and then complain about how expensive Shanghai is. Shanghai is more expensive than any other city in China, however, it's a lot cheaper than you think.
With western food, the best thing to do is cook. However, cheese, and high quality meats are expensive.
Woodstock128 -
companies now aren't keen on hiring foreigners anymore as they are expensive.
Working in a Chinese company, knowing Chinese is a requirement, and it doesn't mean you get a higher salary. With foreign companies, the added Chinese language skill is a plus, however my former company didn't think my Chinese skill was much value at all, as they liked to have a "No Chinese" policy. |
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ProcrastiNation
Reacher
Joined: Oct 21, 2008
Posts: 302
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 04:18 PM |
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Yeah Chinese language ability won't guarantee you more money but will definitely give you more opportunity. I would strongly recommend against working for a Chinese company and if your skills don't warrant at least 12k a month (unless you plan to subsidise your income with savings) then you should give it a miss. |
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lemongrass
StreetBeater
Joined: Jan 15, 2005
Posts: 2440
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July 09, 2009 - 04:40 PM |
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| 8lrr8 wrote: |
| street version: 你有啥? |
or the 40 y/o Shanghainese lady version: 要啥？ |
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Bassie
Barker
Joined: Jan 16, 2009
Posts: 161
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July 09, 2009 - 05:01 PM |
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wow living on 4k a month isnt that hard at all, especially if you dont have to pay rent you can easily do it and still have a good time going out in the weekends. You just cant go to the more expensive clubs, but well even if i was rich i'd avoid them, just waste of money...
I always wonder how places like Xin Tian Di can exist, like why blow so much cash on drinks when you can get it much cheaper elsewhere with a similar great atmosphere... Maybe my mind is still in student mode, but I think that'll never change...
Seems to me most ppl in this thread are of the "if it isnt expensive it isnt good" kind tho, personally I think most replies are quite narrow minded, that's a bit sad... |
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txaggie07
Reacher
Joined: Aug 10, 2007
Posts: 298
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 05:07 PM |
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it's because XinTianDi and these places cater to the foreigner who can't speak Chinese and demand western style service and western culture in China. |
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squareface
Lurker
Joined: Apr 15, 2009
Posts: 23
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 05:49 PM |
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4k a month is more than enough for a single person, since rent is paid and all! |
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PNWer
Barker
Joined: Oct 18, 2007
Posts: 178
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 07:16 PM |
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The Big 4 accounting firms pay fresh grad 5500 RMB/month, with overtime pay when the economy is decent. Local accounting firms are 1500-2000.
The competition for these jobs are intense.
Foxcon, the largest OEM in the world, just announced a policy of promoting local managers. They said cost ratio for American/taiwanese/local managers is 5:3:1. |
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Chrisse
SuperStar
Joined: Feb 25, 2009
Posts: 1323
Status: Offline
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July 09, 2009 - 07:43 PM |
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| Bassie wrote: |
I always wonder how places like Xin Tian Di can exist, like why blow so much cash on drinks when you can get it much cheaper elsewhere with a similar great atmosphere... Maybe my mind is still in student mode, but I think that'll never change...
Seems to me most ppl in this thread are of the "if it isnt expensive it isnt good" kind tho, personally I think most replies are quite narrow minded, that's a bit sad... |
Have had this discussion many times. I am a student, mostly eat in cheap Chinese joints or at home. Sometimes though (a couple of times a week) I like to have something nice.
And "if it isn't expensive it isn't good" is not what people say, there is ofc always bargains to be had but most of them requires that you know a bit of Chinese. And trust me, you will change your living style as you get more money. I know a lot of friends who (after graduation) go from 7k RMB/month to about 15-20k RMB/month, after a year they all say that they refuse to go back to student life. They still agree though that it is a sweet life  |
Last edited by Chrisse on July 10, 2009 - 10:03 AM; edited 2 times in total |
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leafvert
Barker
Joined: July 06, 2009
Posts: 136
Status: Offline
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July 10, 2009 - 09:58 AM |
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zam has see through it. That's basically the fact. |
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lucy@wpsnet.com <-- for web design & development projects |
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monica1229
Lurker
Joined: July 19, 2009
Posts: 26
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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July 26, 2009 - 01:16 AM |
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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. |
That is the life style of my westerner colleagues
They had more than 25000 per month salary. |
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