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bendan
Joined: 18 Jun 2004
Posts: 739
Location: North China
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 Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 11:37 pm Post subject: |
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| nolefan wrote: |
If you need cheese, good bread, wine, scotch and any other western comfort then it might not be enough. |
Yes, and that's true of trying to get by on three or four thousand anywhere in China, not just Shanghai. You'll probably find those goods are a little cheaper in Shanghai than in the provinces. |
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laska
Joined: 05 Nov 2005
Posts: 293
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| Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 3:39 pm Post subject: |
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Experienced teachers looking for long-term employment should not accept less than RMB 12,000/month working in Shanghai, unless it is a part-time contract.
Just my opinion.
Corporate expat lifestyle is much different from teacher lifestyle. In the Shanghai suburbs a nice, modern two-bedroom house near the subway rents for under RMB2500. You'd probably be lucky to find an equivalent-sized serviced apartments in an expat community for US$2500. Obviously I don't even know. But tens of thousands of Shanghainese don't have indoor toilets, so obvioulsy it's not the 8th most expensive city to live in for everybody. Or, to put it accurately, Shanghai is very expensive for most Chinese. |
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7969
Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 5782
Location: Coastal Guangdong
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 2:16 am Post subject: ..... |
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| sigmoid wrote: |
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| Hardly applies to us, though, does it? |
Why not? If it's an expensive place to live for a Western executive then it is surely going to be a VERY expensive place to live for an English teacher getting paid less than a US $1000/month. |
hardly applies to us because we're not six figure salary executives working for multinational corporations that need a car, western style accommodation (what we get wouldnt cut it for most execs), international level schooling for our kids, clothing allowance, entertainment allowance among other things. that's the criteria used by mercer human resources when they compile these sorts of lists. the criteria for such lists needs to be examined closely before people start going off about how expensive all these places are.
our needs/desires are a lot different than the people these lists are prepared for. |
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vikdk
Joined: 25 Jun 2003
Posts: 1676
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:11 am Post subject: |
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| our needs/desires are a lot different than the people these lists are prepared for. |
maybe I'm not Donald Trump, and I don't mind roughing it a bit - but I'm a teacher here who has a car, a two storey appartment with garden, who likes to mix going to the local noodle dive with eating western food, and I enjoy the challenge of selling my teaching hours for a wage level which will support my lifestyle. So if we are again into this game of making generalisations and catagories, you can exclude me from the business-exec class, but certainly don't lump me in the 4000/month live in a hovel work 5000 hours/week do anything my bosses say ride a bicycle and bus everywhere eat fried rice or dumplings 20 times/week league, just because I have the title FT and it's expected of me!
Sorry that was a nasty post - but some FT's who are trying to actually make a go of living here on a more permenant basis should understand where I'm coming from. And for those whose stay won't be that long - well at least in the big cities - going for good wages and good conditions - not just those which can be classed as adequate to live on - seems to be the best option, since in the long run it should be to everyones advantage 
Last edited by vikdk on Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:22 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Midlothian Mapleheart
Joined: 26 May 2005
Posts: 623
Location: Elsewhere
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:19 am Post subject: |
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Edited to remove offensive content.
Middy
Last edited by Midlothian Mapleheart on Mon May 29, 2006 5:54 am; edited 1 time in total |
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andrew_gz
Joined: 15 Feb 2005
Posts: 502
Location: Reborn in the PRC
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:55 am Post subject: |
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I have never thought of my needs and desires to differ from any other professional.
And I have always regarded teaching as such.
Some may snicker at the thought of teaching ESL as a profession. (and maybe even more so in China)
I do consider myself a professional.
And because this is my home I certainly want to maximize my earnings and earning potential.
Why?
I suspect my tastes and expenditures fall more closely in line with those execs than the lowly paid ESL teacher. |
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vikdk
Joined: 25 Jun 2003
Posts: 1676
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 5:07 am Post subject: |
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| Some may snicker at the thought of teaching ESL as a profession. |
never a truer word written - contemplation on the above probally gives more insight into the mess that the new China FT finds herself entering than the entire content of dave's China forum |
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bendan
Joined: 18 Jun 2004
Posts: 739
Location: North China
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 1:46 pm Post subject: |
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| andrew_gz wrote: |
And because this is my home I certainly want to maximize my earnings and earning potential.
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Nothing wrong with being a professional. Just like vikdk, I have a car and a home of my own here, and I need to earn a decent salary. But the fact you consider this home makes you different from the execs these cost of living surveys are for. It's the cost of trying to make it just like home that is so expensive. I just don't believe anyone really falls for the nonsense these lazy journalists put out. Shanghai is not the 8th most expensive city in the world. |
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7969
Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 5782
Location: Coastal Guangdong
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 2:03 pm Post subject: ...... |
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| Quote: |
| I have never thought of my needs and desires to differ from any other professional. |
they not be any different, but the primary difference is, some MNC is paying a handsome compensation package to the foreign exec posted to china, the foreign exec is here because his/her company wants them here. compensation packages provided by ESL/schools are somewhat less generous. you're here because you want to be here. |
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