Qs for Shanghai veteran expats: living in Shanghai ???

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12345678

Newbie

Joined: June 29, 2005
Posts: 1

Status: Offline

Posted: June 29, 2005 - 02:31 AM
Post subject: Qs for Shanghai veteran expats: living in Shanghai ???

Hello Shanghai expats

I'm considering moving to Shanghai

never lived in China Sad

I understand the cost of living in China is very low

how about Shanghai?

what are average/better than average EFL teaching salaries?

how much is a cold beer? , OK, 10 cold beers? Cool

what about demand for private English lessons? , whats
the market rate for a 1hr. private English lesson?

how about a 15km taxi ride?
decent meal?

>>> 1 hr at an Internet cafe?

Thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for the info

-12345678

cully1

Talker

Joined: May 31, 2005
Posts: 81
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline

Posted: June 29, 2005 - 09:06 AM

I'll try my best to answer you questions, but I've only been here for just under 2 months.

I have just begun teaching english at a school in Changning. They pay a respectable 150rmb an hour. It's an average rate, and I have heard people getting much less, and much more for teaching. Its with Children and can be exhausting, but reawarding at the same time.

Good luck finding a cold beer. It seems that 'chilled' is a new concept. At higher-end, or mores western style bars you'll find a good drink, however some chinese restaurants havn't begun to catch on. Prices range significantly. There is a 'Beer-Thread' going on right now, you should check that out for a better idea. I'd expect to be paying between 40rmb-60rmb at a bar, depending on where you are, but there are deals to be found, you just have to know where to look.

Taxi's are quite cheep, and i'd actually be surpised if you were going to ride one for 15km. The bus and metro system is so comprehensive that it's easy to get around to most places without a taxi. Its 10rmb to start the meeter, and for the first 3 kms. after that its 2rmb per km. and you don't have to pay for time, only distance.

A decent meal at a chinese restaurant can be very very cheep. 20rmb is the standard at the restaurant that i fequent near my appartment. the price goes up from there but paying more then 80rmb per person (without alcohol) isn't very common, but does happen.

Internet cafe's all seem to charge different rates. for the dirty, smokey, and loud place near my appt its a 10rmb deposit to get a card, and then about 1 or 2 rmb per hour.

I hope this gives you a general idea of what your coming into. Hopefully other members can give you more info, and give better advice from their greater experiance.

pm me if you have more questions.

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Magnolia
Board Biatch

Joined: June 01, 2004
Posts: 31083

Posted: June 29, 2005 - 09:28 AM

Great advice, Cully1!

Beers... there are a good number of places that have RMB10 beers too... plus happy hours are offered are virtually all bars with half price or buy-one-get-one-free deals. The selection varies between bars, as do the hours and the deal. There are a few nicer places that have beer prices starting around RMB20-25 too. I am sure you will have a good time exploring everything!

Taxis... I thought that there was a small fee for stopped time that accumulated after a certain amount of stopped time... that is why a RMB14 fare becomes an RMB20 fare when there is lots of traffic (15 minutes usually and 45 minutes in traffic) when taking the same route... but I could be wrong. You can generally get most places within the inner ring road for less than RMB25. There is also a decent Metro system in place which can be quicker than taxis during peak periods. After 11:00pm, the flag falls at RMB13 for taxis (I never remember if the rate is higher for everything else) so they cost a bit more late at night. But still not expensive.

Cost of living can be high or low, depending on your lifestyle. If you spend your time in bars and restaurants that cater towards Westerners, then the cost will be considerably higher. A good analogy is that it costs less than RMB2 to purchase a can of coke in the supermarket. A a small. local restaurant you may pay RMB5 for that same can of coke. At a somewhat nicer local restaurant, you may pay around RMB10. At a nicer retaurant or western cafe, that same can of coke may run you RMB20 - 25. At a even nicer place, you are looking at RMB40-50. At a 5-star hotel, that coke is about RMB70 by the time all the service charges are added on. Which means that within one city, a simple can of coke costs between RMB2 - RMB70, just depending on where you are. Same with cost of living... it all depends of what you do and where you do it.

Decent meals... the price range is massive! You can get a fantastic bowl of noodles for less than RMB5 all the way to a a divine filet for over RMB400 and up. The variety of food is great... you can eat something different everyday for a month. Shopping in the local supermarkets is inexpensive and imported goods are usually more expensive that you would pay at home. For example, a box of Cheerios runs about RMB50-60, which is almost 3x the price at my home.

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