Hi all,

I am an expat from the states and have been working in Shanghai for almost half a year. Work and personal live have been terrific comparing to my boring hometown in the states. Just I enjoying it so much, my company is sending me back to the corporate office. However, they gave me an option to stay but I have to become localized, which mean my expat package is out the window...no luxury apartment, allowance, leave, but the most heart-broken is they cut my salary in half (from USD 50 thousands to 25 grant).

I really love it here and more favor in staying here. I know if I go back I will be more financially satisfied and have more opportunity to climb up the corporate ladder, but work will be bored and not as fun as here (I really enjoy working with my co-worker and I learn a great deal of my field here). And personal live is outstanding! I am struggling real hard now to come up with a decision.

So I wonder if opting to stay here is a foolish decision. Anybody have the similar experience, I would love to hear your comments and suggestion.

thanx,

Is there any way you can set up your own shop in Shanghai doing the same or similar business and you remote control it from the States?

Why don't you try working for another company as an expat or suggest to your company to cut 1/3 of your salary instead of 50%. It never hurts to negotiate.

just my 2 cents

Vin,

Here is my 2 cents:

1) You don't go far with 50K in the US (don't know where in the US you live, I live in San Diego). You can live like a king with 25K in SH. I lived well with less than 10KRMB/month there.
2) Climb up the corporate ladder? Good luck! only if you play the politics & don't get that pink slip. Same everywhere
3) Agree with Donald & Filip - Negotiate a better deal & /or set your shop - Be a consultant to your present employer
4) SH has much more to offer - opportunities, experiences, etc. But I'm biased because I'm moving to SH soon (I'm back here to finish things up)

Francis

Vin,
I thought of a bunch of questions to consider to help your decision making:
Where do you consider your home?
And where do you see yourself 5, 10, 20 years from now? Would an extended stay in Shanghai help you get there?
Your pay would be cut in half, what about taxes and benefits (401K? social security? medical?)
Would you be having an equally great time in Shanghai without the cushie expat package?

Thank all for your 2 cents!

I am trying to negoitate with my management again. This time I asked them to let me keep my U.S. salary and willing to give up all my expat benefits, such as apartment allowance, R&R, transportation allowances, and othe allowance. Hopefully, they will agree to it, but I doubt it.

The only 2 things that tell me to go back is my parents and siblings (I can support them finacially better in U.S.) and other thing is career path. I have more opportunities in the states (in Wilmington to be exact) because most people are quite old and close to retire, so more chance to fill up those positions and here in Shanghai, people don't get promote that quick and my team members here are at the same level and same age.

Anyway, I am waiting for a response! I wonder if I can survive here in Shanghai with USD 25K and being able to remit like around USD500/month back to U.S., fair condition housing and all the expenses!

thank you all

When you say

I wonder if I can survive here in Shanghai with USD 25K and being able to remit like around USD500/month back to U.S., fair condition housing and all the expenses!

You mean 25K USD/month?

like Francis said : You will live sufficient with that salary in SH, can't you tell? you mentioned you have live and work here for half year now. I guess you will have atleast a slightest hint of idea.

Anyway, you can grab all the wise advise here, but still you're the one will decide...SO GOODLUCK!

25K USD a month? That would be 206,750 rmb a month. I don't think so.

Go home. Stay with your present company, move up the ladder a little, and keep an eye open for new opportunities that might bring you back to China and Shanghai. Don't be stupid. $25,000 a year is 16,000 RMB a month. Yeah, you can GET BY, and have fun on that. AND, if you are sending $500 a month home, that is only 12,000 RMB a month. Still decent for a local, and if you are young, don't care about the future, and just want to hang out and party fine, but it will be harder to find a decent new position in the US going back when you tell them you accepted a 50% cut in pay.

The only true decision is what you want to be when you GROW UP!! This isn't about working here or in the US. This is about wanting to 'just have fun' and a way to fund it. The world is changing quickly, and if there is truly opportunity back at the home office you should take a shot at it. Maybe work yourself into a position to reverse whatever perception is behind the decision to localize you.

There are a lot of US companies where the worst employee's are in the HR business. Many contribute little if anything to the company. And sometimes, it is some nitwits way of 'moving up the ladder' to suggest how they can save $50K by localizing a position in China when they haven't the first clue what that might truly cost the company in the long run.

This is a point to discuss with you boss, if you are negotiating with an HR geek, get to the real decision makers, explain what you do, why you shouldn't get paid less to do it, and why moving you back to the US will negatively impact the company. Sell yourself. Expats are an important part of business in China, and there are some postions that should be localized. I don't know what you do, so I can't say. But if you have skills that can't be easily replaced from within the local job market, you are doing yourself, and your company a disservice not to stand up for yourself with the right people. Corporate management is done from boardrooms, and most spend one or two days here and think they know what is going on. Then some scrub HR loser walks in with their idea to localize a position, all they see are the up front numbers, and of course, they rarely ask what the impact is in one to two years.

Good luck, but I wouldn't stay long enough to let the paint dry.