hi all,

i'm a newbie on this site...a confused one. i'm looking into possibly relocating to shanghai for a business development manager position. granted, all industries are different. however, i have absolutely no clue to even start with my negotiation if we get to that point. i have the feeling that the salary will be dramatically reduced from what i'm used to in the states. but what is a good benchmark for a BD position? also, is it fair to say that living expenses (not including food) comprised the biggest expenditures for an expat? any info would be appreciated? thank you so much!!

newbie

To maintain a semi-US style of living in Shanghai is more expensive in Shanghai than in the US, especially with real estate. Food, clothes, and a car/driver are often also more expensive (sometimes 2X more). There's also the expense of taking care of anything you have in the US, selling a house, forwarding mail, storing furniture. Add to that trips back home, long distance phone calls, 5% high taxes here (plus you have to pay US taxes as well if you are an ex-pat).

Beer and cigarettes are cheaper here. Many things seem cheaper here at first glance, but life gets expensive here once you learn about 'value'.

You're staying with your existing company, or a new company ? Ask if they have any other expats in China and what kind of a deal they got. If possible, you want salary equalization....total compensation in China same as US, with the company covering housing/car/re-location expenses as a separate deal.

Feel free to PM me as well...I'm a fellow Texan (Austin).

..you both know there's not a single F150 in China, right?

sure there is...oh wait, it was a F-350. Shanghai Power company actually has a fleet of Ford heavy vans and trucks.

For starters, come with an open mind. You will NOT be able to have a US lifestyle unless you spennd lots, and even then you cant seem to shake the pesky locals so...might as well not try.

Housing can be pricey (unless you are like me from California, where housing is even MORE expenseve)
Food is cheap cheap cheap unless you can only live on Western foods, in which case it can me more expensive than at home.
Transportation is cheap if youa re in town and can take taxi's and metros and sometimes even...gasp...buses. But if you are looking top maintain a car and driver, its a bit more costly.

Best bet would be to negotiate housing and a car allocation into your deal. Tax equilization would be a nice thinng since it limits your tax liability to what it would be back home.

Defeintiely advise you to peruse the site mroe as many of these topics are covered across the site in teh form of forum topics and articles.

good luck.