Job Discussion Forums

[whitethunder10]

I got have a interview set up with Disney English. Then I said now way son!

[YAMARI]

I know a couple working there and they seam happy enough.

[whitethunder10]

is 10k per month enough to save money in Shanghai? What should I be getting as a living stipend also?

[kev7161]

Living stipend? I thought they were going to pay for your apartment? Are they going to find the apartment for you and just pay all the initial money for it (and then the month-to-month rent)? Or are they reimbursing you a certain amount? What about utilities? Your housing and utilities will be a pretty fair sized chunk of money. If the school covers everything, then my guess is that, yes, 10k is enough for Shanghai as long as you budget yourself. Is your housing to be near the school, within walking distance or a short bus/subway ride? If so, you won't burn through your money with too much in the way of transportation costs. Sometimes schools provide a mid-day meal, but not sure about language mills. You can find very cheap food in Shanghai up to quite costly and extravagant meals. There is certainly so much more temptations in Shanghai to take your money and the average cost of anything from a basic massage to a night out on the town is probably more expensive than many other cities around the country.

Again, depending on your housing/utility costs, you can certainly budget yourself on a week-to-week basis and probably make do. As for saving anything, depends on how closely you manage your money and follow your budget.

[eclipse12]

If the apartment is free then 10k is enough to get by and still save your money. As with anywhere though it really depends on your lifestyle.

For me personally, I could survive on the 10k and still have money left over to save if the apartment was free.

[whitethunder10]

Thanks for the answers... Here is what they offered :

10,500 rmb per month
4350 rmb for me toward an apartment
I they offered 7,000 rmb arrival bonus too.
Also they pay for the airfare.
and then pay up to $700 US for the airfare home.
Oh and they are paying for a hotel for 2 weeks as I look for a apartment.

They didn;t mention about utilities are those really high?


then they gave me the choice of openings:

Beijing: 1/20 & 2/10
Ningbo: 2/10
Shanghai: 2/17 & 3/3
Tianjin: 2/24
Hangzhou: May
Suzhou: 1/6
Nanjing: 3/17

I am thinking about Beijing or Suzhou since they are the soonest available.

I really don;t know what to take or what to try to get more of. Is the living stipened enough?

I lived in korea and left there with $12,000 US after a year. I just want to do the same in china. Is that possible with this offer? I want to save $1100 US per month if possible.

Thanks for your advice oh experienced ones.

ps - I am open to other schools too if anyone has advice there.

[thecafe]

Honestly, I think having "Disney English" on your resume in the future is a deal breaker. It just has really juvenile and "Micky Mouse" (excuse the pun) connotations.

[west2east]

thecafe, please stay on topic.

If you saved around US$1000, I think you'd really be scrimping to be honest. For a realistic expectation set your goal for around US$600 a month (again with a minimal lifestyle) and you'd probably be on target.

I'd say 10.5K.month in Shanghai, is ok but I have not taught there. Hopefully a SH teacher will post here too.

[whitethunder10]

West -

They are also giving me 4350 a month for living... so many that will allow me that $1000 per month savings...

[Trifaro]

I agree with East to West. Saving $1000 USD is pushing it. It could be done but you won't have any fun.

I used to earn around 15k rmb a month is Shanghai. After taxes, rent, utilities and commuting I had less than 10k to spend. In order to save 1k USD I would then only have around 3k rmb to spend the entire month.

Granted, I took a few too many taxis, shopped at City Shop and had food delivered from Mealbay a lot.

[YAMARI]

Even in shanghai you would have fun on 10000 a month but you would save more in the other cities. your choice do you want to save or have fun.

[whitethunder10]

Would Suzhou be cheaper?

[whitethunder10]

Would Suzhou be cheaper? Maybe there I could have fun yet still save a lot?

[JZer]

That really depends on what you consider fun.

[SandyG20]

I am getting ready to interview with Disney as well.
Would like to communicate with current teachers.

What documents do we need and can we get them by January?

Do we need large deposits on apartments in China?

What questions were you asked in the interview Thunder?

I am also eager to arrive in January.