Hello all,

I'm in need of some friendly advice if poss??

I've had a good search through the site and there is a lot of useful and valuable information. However most of it seems geared towards the ExPats in business positions with fat salaries friendly cleaners and happy nannies.

I however fall into the other catagory =(

I've finished a couple of terms on the Uni circuit in Harbin (Heilongjiang) and recently been working ESOL in the UK. I've just accepted a position in jolly Shanghai and I'm looking forward to it greatly.

The problem lies with my only benchmark being Harbin, before I survived on a small 7000RMB a month. I had a modest apartment and a good standard of life. My new position is on the corporate side around 14000 RMB a month. Are there any sites that I can look at for property in the range of 4-6k a month, and will the remaining 8-10k be enough to have a good quality of life in Shanghai?

I'm not into expensive restaurants etc, but I love to socialise, party and make new friends, I am also an avid supporter of local live music scenes.

This may seem an odd post but I would love any input. Shanghai seems a long way removed from the friendly all night beer and chwar arcades of Harbin and teppid 2kuai pijou..then again I could be wrong.


please put my demons to rest...

Mr. ChRiS

Well Chris,

those days of 2 kuai pijou are over for you in Shanghai. If you want to go to an expat bar, you're looking at 30 to 70 for a half liter of 'bing' pijou. Cheers mate!

when was it 2kuai for a beer in shanghai?

Didn't say it was. Although, at some earlier date I'm sure it was. You've got to go to Harbin for that now 'cause it's sure not here in Shanghai!

Chris,

14K should be enough to live comfortably in Shanghai. Decent apartments start at around 3K. Check www.loushi.cn for listings. Better yet go directly to the area you want to live and find a small real estate agent who knows that particular area well. If you are single you will definitely be able to find a nice place for under 5k. Do not deal with real estate agents that specialize in catering to foreigners. They will overcharge you. Your biggest concern will be to have 3 months rent on hand, in cash to put down on the apartment. You will also need up to another 35% of one months rent for commission if you use an agent.

How much you spend on meals and partying is up to you. Its possible to spend very little or a great deal in this area. I've found that at budget of 1500 per week is just fine. This includes eating out at decent (and once in a while high end) places, a few beers, while living a fairly comfortable lifestyle. Transportation costs are minimal. At this rate you will be able to save a little each month for your thrice a year vacations. Good luck and welcome to Shanghai!

jonasei wrote:Do not deal with real estate agents that specialize in catering to foreigners. They will overcharge you.

Oh we do, do we?? FYI, I work my butt off to get the lowest rental possible for my clients including cases where I've purchased furniture myself, stored it myself, cut commission, paid for adsl, paid satelite TV, installed dishwashers etc. etc, just so that my client could get the home that they wanted for the rent they wanted to pay.

Please don't paint us all with one brush!

Adrienne
http://www.shanghaiprops.com

.........having said that, jonasei has given some excellent advice for finding lower budget apartments. I'd follow his/her advice on this one.

jonasei wrote:Decent apartments start at around 3K. Check www.loushi.cn for listings. Better yet go directly to the area you want to live and find a small real estate agent who knows that particular area well

Now, I think I will "have a Bex and a lie down".

Adrienne
http://www.shanghaiprops.com

In 1990 REEB was 1.5 kuai - much cheaper than the water.

Ahhh, thanks to all for the info, I'll check everything out. I'm lucky enough to have a few days in a hotel while I can do some apartment shopping. Sure I can get some cheap bottles from the market before I send myself out into the big bright lights of the city, will watch the mau's till i get used to the whole thing.

On another note, my Chinese (while no means great) was coming on quite well. Will I need a lot of acclimatization for the local dialect and likewise, will the Shangers locals laugh at my northern Chinese accent and label me Tu BaoZi as I'm left roadside crying into my 50 kuai tipple...

Jonasei has given you some excellent advice. If you do use the English speaking agents they do generally overcharge, sorry but it's true. I guess their ok if you have a fat expat package and your company covers everything, no expenses spared.

I would advise you to wait until you get here to find an apartment. Don't pay a deposit by just looking at a photo on a website. Stay a week or two in a cheap hotel/hostal such as the following two places: http://www.captainhostel.com.cn/en/ (great location next to the bund) http://www.motel168.com/english/index.htm (this budget chain has about 10 hotels around the city, nothing flash but does the job).

Research on this site and other ones and identify where you want to live. Try to hook up with someone that speaks Chinese if you don't know enough to handle estate agents. As jonasei said go and visit all the agents in the area you want to live and bargain hard with them all! Also try to talk to local people and ask how much you should be paying for an apartment in whatever area you choose.

In my opinion you would have to earn more than 35,000 - 40,000 in London to have the same quality of live that you can enjoy with just 14,000 RMB in SH.

Have a good one!

.....the good days!! 2kuai a 750ml bottle and 5mao back for the safe return of the bottle itself. A fair randsom by any account!

capulet wrote:On another note, my Chinese (while no means great) was coming on quite well. Will I need a lot of acclimatization for the local dialect and likewise, will the Shangers locals laugh at my northern Chinese accent and label me Tu BaoZi as I'm left roadside crying into my 50 kuai tipple...

I think the Chinese are impressed to hear any non-Chinese speaking our language so you'll be fine. Keep up the good work!

freeman2007 wrote:when was it 2kuai for a beer in shanghai?

Suntory or local beer 660 ml. (about a pint) is still less than 3 kuai in most local shops/bars. The problem you will find is that your friends wil probably not want to go socializing in those grimy arcades, because Shanghai is an altogether different idea of a town.

Perhaps if you're good at putonghua you may manage a hippy existence here, but most likely the decadent expat (and wealthy local) life wil trap you like everybody else. After all, Shanghai has always been the legendary city of vice.

Ps. Hey, I don't want to sound bitter, I am a corporate expat myself now, but I have the same kind of background in china and sometimes I do miss the good old times of rock and roll.

Chris you should be fine on 14k a month so long as you follow some of the above advice and avoid the expensive rip-off expat restaurants and bars like O'Malleys, Blarney Stone, Bull Dog, XinTianDi.

I was stupid enough to go to Malones on Saturday to watch the rugby and live band; it was 60 rmb for a very average pint of draught Heinekin served by rude staff who expect to be tipped! That's what puts a hole in your budget. Never again - it was however, great to see England stuff the Ozzies

ha ha, thanks all. Looking forward to it. Sure we'll all run into each other eventually on the circuit so I'll thank you in person once I find my feet!

capulet wrote:.....the good days!! 2kuai a 750ml bottle and 5mao back for the safe return of the bottle itself. A fair randsom by any account!

So it's 3 Kuai now. No big difference considering the rising cost of living.

Shouldn't your company/school/whatever be helping you with this though? At least help find you a place in the general vicinity?