Lots of info there. Alot of your questions are in this site and you should use the search and look around.

In a nutshell... I am no idea what a Deputy GM of a Bank gets paid, but if you go for the same kind of salary you get at home as a starting place for this kind of position... you will probably do OK.

There are several posts on taxes, accomodations, and your other question. Read through the post in the relocation forum.

There are Deputy GMs and there are Deputy GMs... title often can be misleading... and expatriates from different places command diferent salary ranges too.

But to live comfortably and yet be able to mix with local, my suggestion is not to rent service apartments, get a semi-furnished house or fully furnished, pay a rent of RMB 6,000 to RMB 9,000 depending on the size and location you are after.

Transportation is not expensive, and living cost is not too high if you are talking about a normal meal and not much of nightlife.

Good luck in your info search.

Hi Jorge,

I work for a real estate agency, and if you would like to know information about renting an apartment in Shanghai, you may mail me:jiaxiaolan@hotmail.com, or visit our website: http://www.shcentaline.com.cn/classichome

good luck

Hi Centaline, Appreciate your kind gesture. Your help would be very much handy. Would get in touch with you as soon as I get hold of my package anytime this month. From then, I can decide and tell how much can I allocate for rental. Kindly leave me your email address for faster and better correspondence in the future, if it would be fine for you.

Jorge

Hi there.
I also work for a real estate agency specialized in find a place to rent for Expatriate.
We are use to deal with budget starting from 1500usd per month to 15000 us per month.
I am a foreigner and our staff is fluent in english.
Our service aim at find you a place to live and help you out with all the question and needs that will go with your relocation in Shanghai. Living here for 3 years I know a lot about the life as an expat in shanghai.
Do not hesitate to contact me at marc-a@joannarealestate.com.cn
also check out our website: www.joannarealestate.com.cn
If you have any question do not hesitate to contact us

jorge you can live very comfortably between1 and 2000 usd per month here, more than happy actually and taxis are cheap 1 and 1/2 dollars for like 3 km or so so no worries.
Anything else and especially for apts... i got the contact for you her name is jennifer and her # 13917147486 she is outstanding she has fond all our apts and exactly what we wanted, she will negotitate for you and will help you alot.
hopw this helps, food luck and God Bless you

Hi Jorge

My email address is jiaxiaolan@hotmail.com

Hi Jorge, Sorry every got all exited following my mail. Result now you have more choice to find a good place.
If you are a westener I can promiss you that you will not support the local way of eating very long. Chinese food is great but far from being as similar to the chinese food you have in Europe or in the US. It is very fat, oily ( I took 10 kilo with in yearand now struggle to get rid of it). This is not a real issue as shanghai is a very international city with a lot of foreign restaurant that provide quality meal for a very reasonable price.
Regarding your package it really depend on your company HR policy I have here costumer with management position with 2000 usd a month as accomodation allowance and other with 6000 usd/month.
If you don't mind living close to the locals in an avarage location/ accomodation 2000 usd is more than Enought.
For your living expence( restaurant, going out, basic living cost+ imported food, etc..)you can easely use 4000 to 10 000 rmb/ month depending on the life style you adopt in Shanghai. Be aware that even Shanghai cost of life can be pretty cheap it is also very easy to spend a lot of money. I am sorry to not be more precise but without putting your foot on the ground here it is quite hard to have a clear idea of how you will accoutumate yourself to this new environement.
Let face it! the cultural gap can be quite hard to overcome sometimes and this is when you need to spend your money and hangout with other expats= a lot of expense= a lot of fun as well.

If you need other information you can contact me directly at marc-a@joannarealestate.com.cn

Are you working for a Hong Kong listed bank? There seems to be a lot of HK bankers coming to China after CEPA put into place nowadays. If you do, your employer should have more info on tax than any of us here since HK banks are among the first foreign firms landing in China.

If you're from the US, AmCham in both HK and Shanghai should be able to give you more direct advice. If you're from the UK, ask your friends in from HSBC and Standard Chartered to find info on pay packages and tax for you. Sorry, I'm not a banker, can't really help.

If you work in an international bank, you should negotiate some sort of bonus related payment as well, the market is growing in an unbelivable rate.

Rental: Cheap can mean US$ 300/month, comfortable by western standard = US$ 1000-2000/month.

For the rest of your question: search on this site.