I have wanted to move to China for ages (lived in Taiwan when I was younger, and my wife is from Shanghai), but haven't seen any opportunities in my field that would protect my income and give a minimum package (tuition for my kids -- international schools are expensive). So I have stayed put. I can pretty much save as much money in a year in the U.S. as I would make in salary in China (we're spendthrifts -- my wife's influence). The experience would be great, but just not worth it. Maybe when I'm "retired."

It's not only about a 70% pay cut. If you are going some paradise which is 5 times cheaper to live in it might be fine (but still have to consider savings for retirement). But Shanghai is definitely not it.

That kind of school teacher salary will at least half your everyday enjoyament comparing with your salary and life in Australia. I don't think that will keep your Chinese wife happy even if you move here.

boingo wrote:I have wanted to move to China for ages (lived in Taiwan when I was younger, and my wife is from Shanghai), but haven't seen any opportunities in my field that would protect my income and give a minimum package (tuition for my kids -- international schools are expensive). So I have stayed put. I can pretty much save as much money in a year in the U.S. as I would make in salary in China (we're spendthrifts -- my wife's influence). The experience would be great, but just not worth it. Maybe when I'm "retired."

Depending how old you are and how many kids you have, it could still be possible... Shanghai still offers significantly more opportunities than many other cities in the world. I have seen way too many white faces having a good job for not much more than just being white. This includes my clients, competitors and our own company.

boingo wrote:I have wanted to move to China for ages (lived in Taiwan when I was younger, and my wife is from Shanghai), but haven't seen any opportunities in my field that would protect my income and give a minimum package (tuition for my kids -- international schools are expensive). So I have stayed put. I can pretty much save as much money in a year in the U.S. as I would make in salary in China (we're spendthrifts -- my wife's influence). The experience would be great, but just not worth it. Maybe when I'm "retired."

Thanks boingo. Similar to you, My savings in Oz would be 1.5 times my wage in China. Maybe you could holiday in Shanghai once a year before you retire!

GirlatWork wrote:It's not only about a 70% pay cut. If you are going some paradise which is 5 times cheaper to live in it might be fine (but still have to consider savings for retirement). But Shanghai is definitely not it.

That kind of school teacher salary will at least half your everyday enjoyament comparing with your salary and life in Australia. I don't think that will keep your Chinese wife happy even if you move here.

I think my disposable income drops to 1/3 of what it would be in Australia.

wagnett wrote:Not knowing what the 3 degrees were or your experience or nature makes it hard to be sure, but with some digging around I would guess you should be at least at RMB 30-50k per month. Costs here would vary greatly depending on how 'local' the 2 of you want to be; it could be much cheaper than Oz or much more expensive.

Degrees in Mathematics, Finance, Actuarial Science. 4 years in insurance, 3 years in banking.

Now the question on everybody's head will be why you want to be a teacher and not sticking to insurance/ banking?

GirlatWork wrote:Now the question on everybody's head will be why you want to be a teacher and not sticking to insurance/ banking?

Only in your head. OP is talking about a job in a bank.

Oh sorry I mis read. Somehow I thought it was an English teacher job. Must be that salary number..
OK now the question is: what kind of bank would make such an offer to someone with OP's qualification?
And what sort of role does he have with that bank? I know international banks offer over RMB 1mil gross just to be their real estate person looking after their offices and branches. And that's just a "minimum wage" and will take them 6-12 months to secure someone...

Ridiculous and stupid. For this sort of money moving to china? And from the West? There must be some other reason or this is a fake post.

No one in their right mind takes a 70% pay cut to move to Shanghai because their Australian/Chinese wife's family is in Shenzhen. Why not donate all your money and teach poor peasent children in inner Mongolia? This seems like a more intelligent thing to do....

Offer should be at least 40/mo for a job matching your qualifications, and as some indicated maybe a lot more if you actually can perform in business not academia (though some of the cynics on the Forum may say real capability doesn't matter much). So maybe come to Shanghai, but not for that offer!

Why not stay in Australia and go to a TAFE or community center and learn Chinese. I mean if your wife sits at home and does nothing, why has she not taught you any Chinese in your time together?

Your rational for coming to Shanghai is highly questionable. I have no wife and that salary is not even something I would consider. She might even hate Shanghai, it has a vastly different mentality than Australia.

ecoman wrote:Why not stay in Australia and go to a TAFE or community center and learn Chinese. I mean if your wife sits at home and does nothing, why has she not taught you any Chinese in your time together?

Your rational for coming to Shanghai is highly questionable. I have no wife and that salary is not even something I would consider. She might even hate Shanghai, it has a vastly different mentality than Australia.

Thanks economan. I've done 3 night courses in Mandarin, and my wife does help me with learning.

The bank is a massive bank, but there are other banks in the world that may offer more reasonable wages.

mate i think u should wait for a better offer..
what ur getting paid seems to be a local managers pay here in the finance industry. With your degree and experience you can def. get a better paying finance role in HK...~
I work in IB and they def. chose to move to SH for the low wages. If you apply for a role on the street they will pay local wages, if u can get the job from OZ and then relocated, thats the better move - you'll def. get 40K+ per month here...
If u accept 18K,.. honestly i think ur nuts... plus the missus isn't working~

I would agree with most other people and suggest that you deny the offer. I definetly think there are better offers out there.

Now, if you are not in a hurry to come here - did you ever look at joining a bank / insurance back home and then request a transfer to china ? Surely there has to be banks etc in your part of the world that have a office in Shenzen or Shanghai that you could eventually transfer too ?

Might take a while but seems a bit more secure.

And if your inlaws are looking to move to OZ anyway then why would you move to China ?

But anyway, I would suggest to you to join a company back home and be upfront with them - who knows, they might have something.

UPDATE: A heartfelt thank-you to all who replied to my post!  

In aggregate, the responses ranged from "well, it depends...", to "outter ur mind!". Deep down, I guess I always know the answer was towards the latter end of this spectrum.

In the end I counter offered, but was unable to affect an increase in remuneration.

Alas, the search continues...

You sound like you're very qualified and all that, but a pay drop like that is insane. I can't believe your wife is actually putting you in this position. And you said her parents are moving to Australia soon or something?

Don't do it; such a drop in wages will mess you and your future employment and future job wage demands up. The luxury you are offering your wife right now is being paid for by that large salary of yours. Cut that by 70% and it won't be long before your luxury-loving wife will be getting at you to earn more.

Failing that, get her non-working ass into a job in China so she can pay her way, too

Regardless of what your salary is in Australia, for your qualifications 18.5k a month is not a fair salary in Shanghai.
I think this company might be taking advantage a little, maybe you seemed a little too desperate to move? Surely there has to be some room for negotiation there?

But otherwise, life is about more than just money and it would be of great benefit to you and your wife & kids in the long run if you have lived in China for a few years, not just with your Mandarin skills.

If you accept the 18.5k job, you should consider it as only a stepping stone, and start looking for other jobs as soon as you arrive.