Job Discussion Forums

Minhang Oz · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 610 Location: Shanghai,ex Guilin

The "expensive" tag would apply to any Chinese city that offers a reasonably cosmopolitan lifestyle if that's the way you choose to spend your money.
Three of us - wife, 4 yo and self - manage comfortably on 3000 a month. We could eat out at a medium priced restaurant each night and stay inside that budget. Go to western bars and drink Guiness and its a different story though. Housing could take out 2-3k if you rent privately. Fresh food markets are only marginally more expensive than inland cities. I suppose the killer for many is the sheer variety of consumer goods available; its just too tempting. Your choice though.

Bertrand · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 293

Bertrand · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 293

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

Do you mean the restricted area? No chance of entering Shatoujiao, my friend! It is closed off, only CHinese citizens get the permission to enter it from both Shenzhen and the Hong Kong side! There is a small town shatoujiao on the mainland side of the fence, and adjacent to it but walled in is a small extension right across a river that marks the boundary between the HK SAR and Guangdong; that is a special, special economic zone, existed well before the SEZ came into being: There is a small street, Chung Ying Jie, or China-England Street, manned on one side by mainland police, and on the other side by Hong Kong police. This used to be a kind of duty-free shopping street where mainlanders could stock up on imported luxuries.
For reasons not publicised, it has always been off limits to outsiders. Even Hongkongers need a special invitation. I once went to the Sheung Shuyi District Policestation to request such a permit; it was denied me.
Only businesspeople with a valid reason are allowed in.
You might wonder what's so special there?
Until the handover to China, it used to be an illegal immigration hotspot. Especially pregnant mainland women would come to Shatoujiao, then try to reach the clinic on the Hong Kong side which protected them from deportation until they gave birth to their child.
The true reason was, so I heard, that the mainland authorities would have lost face if they had allowed Westerners access to the only free market under Chinese soverainty - so many Chinese snapping up Johnny Walker and Marlboro!

Debalky · Joined: 28 May 2003 Posts: 79 Location: hell on earth

Hey Bertrand,
I mentioned it to the G-friend, and she said you were correct. According to her, however, Shenzhen was special even compared to other SEZ. She said the city was a tax paradise for big buisness more than the other places. She also said that it is the city that has lost out most in the change. I know next to nothing about it, but she is in international trade, so i'll assume she knows what she is talking about.
Dabalky

Bertrand · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 293

Bertrand · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 293

beck's · Joined: 06 Apr 2003 Posts: 426

How difficult is it to get teaching jobs in the universities/normal schools/techinical colleges in Shanghai?

ContemporaryDog · Joined: 21 May 2003 Posts: 1477 Location: Wuhan, China

[quote="Minhang Oz"]The "expensive" tag would apply to any Chinese city that offers a reasonably cosmopolitan lifestyle if that's the way you choose to spend your money.
Three of us - wife, 4 yo and self - manage comfortably on 3000 a month. We could eat out at a medium priced restaurant each night and stay inside that budget. Go to western bars and drink Guiness and its a different story though. Housing could take out 2-3k if you rent privately. Fresh food markets are only marginally more expensive than inland cities. I suppose the killer for many is the sheer variety of consumer goods available; its just too tempting. Your choice though.[/quote]

Do you think 7000 is enough to live on in Shanghai if your accommodation is paid?

Peter · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 161

I have been a stick in the mud.....never left SZ as I am here for the money and the proximity of HK;much easier to get the spare money out in legal 6000 RMB per one time.

I have lived mostly in Nanshan district, in Shekou . a suburb of Nanshan.
It has a great asset; a very good ferry connection to Central or TST in HK
The border crossing in Shekou Harbour ferry building takes 5 mintes at
worst.

Shekou itself , IMHO, is the better of suburbs of SZ.
It has all levels of work, from kindy to Uni

Minhang Oz · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 610 Location: Shanghai,ex Guilin

C. Dog......depends on your version of "live" I suppose. The American next door likes only the best in life, and spends 8k most months. I've outlined our position, but we don't have expensive tastes, and are paying a mortgage back home.
If you're not a big spender in London, you should save at least a few grand a month. Food, clothes, booze [mostly] are cheap, and if you're based in "the 'burbs", the chance to spend a lot is really only on weekends.

Minhang Oz · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 610 Location: Shanghai,ex Guilin

Becks
There's certainly more competition, Shanghai being a popular place and all, but I think if you fit their job and person specifications, you should have a good chance. The top few unis. in town don't advertise with the pack; possibly they fill positions through arrangements with foreign institutions. The Unis. don't pay well [the story all over] so you'd need to supplement your income, which is easy to do.
Top pay I've heard of at a state school is 8K basic, which is part of the reason I'm here....part only mind you, as we'd be happy to settle here.
There are many vocational schools-I've seen them at job fairs-which are likely to employ native English speakers, but where they recruit is a mystery to me. It'd almost be worth employing a local agent to locate a good college/tech. school job.