Job Discussion Forums

[Lobster]

After the latest fatal fire in Shanghai, there has been a heightened awareness of fire hazards and more inspections have been taking place. It's always a good idea to know your evacuation route, where the fire extinguishers are, and the fire emergency number. If you live in school-supplied accommodations, make sure that the emergency exits are not chained shut (they seem to like to do this).

RED

[Oriented]

I haven't had the kind of 'threatening' issues the OP has had, but I have been renting apartments in BJ since 2007 (two in the same compound). Just wanted to give information based on that experience, for what it's worth to others headed to China. There were many things I didn't know.

Apologies to those who already know all this stuff ...

Living costs are rather low compared with most Western cities. Start-up costs in China are higher than many people expect. It's common to go through an amazing amount of cash in your first couple weeks; it seems like every time you turn around, someone is saying "you must pay ..."

If you have Chinese language fluency or a friend to help, or if you know someone personally to rent from, things are cheaper. But many people arrive without those things.

You can still rent a basic 1-bedroom place in BJ for 3,500-4,000/month. This means, reasonably modern, but the kitchen and bathroom won't be what you're used to, the size will be about 50 sq meters, and the location or the compound won't be prime. The general condition of the apartment can be mixed -- furniture advertised as IKEA but is a cheap copy, shoddy construction work, and it might be amazingly dirty. The landlord might pay to have it cleaned after he's secured a tenant ... or sometimes not.

You need at least four months rent in most cases. It's split between rent and deposit (2/2 or 1/3). The agent/owner will expect it all in cash when you sign a lease, almost always.

If the rent is less than 3,500/month (I think that's the current rule in BJ) you, not the owner, pay the agent fee. Then you need the equivalent of 5 months.

So do the math, you'll see you need about US$2,000 to get an apartment.

With some agencies, there's a period of a few days to revoke the lease (either party). With others, not. If you have to leave early, you may not get any of your money back. And there is no equivalent, that I've found, of landlord-tenant court, consumer/tenant rights agencies or advocates, etc. that would be useful in case of any dispute.

Usually landlords want to see your passport and often they will show your their national ID. I really haven't had any issues with this process, or had anything threatening happen. Agent pressure is just that, sales pressure. There are so many agents competing that you shouldn't allow yourself to be pressured.

The good thing about all this is that most apartments, unlike many in the West, come with basic furniture (bed, sofa, computer desk etc.) and the basic appliances (fridge, wall A/C and heating units, washing machine, microwave, TV, possibly a DVD player). You won't have a clothes dryer or an oven. So all you need provide is stuff like sheets and towels, basic cookware, dishes and maybe a couple of optional appliances such as a toaster or coffee maker. These are cheap enough at WalMart or any of the dozens of local supermarkets. The bed will probably be amazingly hard -- you can buy a cheap extra mattress at places like WalMart.

Since utilities are generally paid by stored-value card (electric and gas at least, and they switch off immediately as soon as the money runs out), you need to buy the remaining value on the cards at the time you move in. How much that is, varies, but usually enough for a few weeks. Water is usually charged by the compound (for some uses) and the city water company (other uses) every 2 or 3 months. Water adds up to maybe US$10-15 month, all told.

You need to allow for drinking water -- tap water is drinkable technically, in the sense that you won't die of cholera from it and yes, you can brush your teeth with it, but it's some of the hardest water around, leaves white residue in any cooking pot and tastes bad. A large (1 liter) water is about US$1, and you'll probably need at least one a day, or another US$30-50 a month, depending on your habits.

Internet/landline may not be installed before you move in -- though there might be a handset -- and monthly costs are about 170/yuan, as I recall, installation fees about 300 yuan.

Small stuff, maybe, but not if you're on a tight budget. It all adds up. The bottom line is people who arrive with "only" a couple of thousand dollars (or less), and I've seen several such people, will be scrambling to cover their startup costs.

Some such people end up spending the first few weeks or even a couple of months largely at home, reading and re-reading the same books they brought, as they're so short on cash, they can't go anywhere or do much of anything. Did you come all the way to China to live like this?

You'll probably have to pay a tiny cable TV fee, maybe US$20 for a year, which will only bring CCTV and maybe not in English. You can get a much wider range with BBC, CNN etc. but it can cost thousands of yuan a year (there are also 'private' dish services you can find in the city magazines).

City magazines include thebeijinger.com (most useful IMO), cityweekend beijing and timeout beijing. These are useful for general living/shopping info and finding out what's on entertainment and restaurant wise. The apartments on these sites, however, and those on craiglist beijing, often tend to be posted over and over with slightly different descriptions and are more expensive than what you actually need.

The advantage to finding an apartment through those sites, is the agents speak English. Any local realty agency will have dozens of places on their books, that aren't on those sites, but their level of English fluency will be pretty low.

[JayCee86]

Great post Oriented, from living in Beijing I'd say your post is 100% accurate. Anyone want the definitive guide, in Beijing at least, see above.

[mike w]

[Oriented]

Surely, there's a huge variety in terms of quality/price. Just intending to give people an 'average' rent ... in NYC or in Washington DC, two places I've lived, it's hard to rent anything below US$1,000 a month, at least in a condition/location most people would accept.

You can get a place for a few hundred bucks a month -- if you can/will spend an hour driving from a remote Virginia suburb where the nearest grocery store is miles away. Or if you're willing to live in a bad inner-city neighborhood. If you want to live within range of the public bus system, have some shopping nearby and be able to go home safely after dark, that's different, you're getting close to or above US$1,000.

So rents in BJ look way cheaper ... but then there's all the startup costs. No place I saw in NY or DC required 4-5 months of rent in cash, day one. Reading this board at various times, I see so many questions that touch on these issues. Employers, for whatever reason, aren't giving the full picture to new arrivals.

People can go to the management office in the compound and sign the lease directly with the owner, quite true, but many people come here without the language skills to do that. And with nobody to help them do that. Even so, many landlords will require more cash upfront (advance rent/deposit) than is customary in most parts of say, the US. In the US, generally you pay one month, and if you have good credit, often less.

My basic point is: if you're coming to BJ without accommodation arranged by your employer, you will face many unexpected costs that quickly eat up cash. I wasn't aware of many of the things I mention, such as large deposits -- luckily, I had a lot of cash from a corporate layoff in the US.

Not to mention that you need cash upfront if you encounter a medical emergency or have to leave suddenly ... which are different topics but the same principle.

So adding up the numbers, I think it's unwise to arrive with less than US$3,000, and I'd advise more if possible. Having to spend your first weeks or months doing nothing for lack of cash -- not much of a China experience!

[MADAMELEACH]

Well, I have noticed that the jobs that INCLUDE accomodation are considerably low paid.
Not just lower because they supply accom but in relative terms it seems low ven with your monthly pay on top at the end of it.

Not, that I have inspected any of these ones that include accomodation in the salary.(and don't slam me for this as I just haven't had the chance to inspect any accomodation that is included in a job 'package'.

However, At least you would save on a load of deposits though if one is desperate, recieving a pension or easy-going enough to take a salary that low

[7969]

most jobs that supply accommodation are university jobs. the salaries are lower not because they incl. accommodation (that's a small part of it) but because the number of hours in the classroom is typically about half of what you would work anywhere else (private schools).

at any rate, how low is "low" in your opinion?

[MADAMELEACH]

I guess around 5.5 -6.500 rmb

[Oriented]

[MADAMELEACH]

SOUND ADVICE!!

Seems as though you have seen it all for newbies coming to China.

Problem is, the recruiters sound so nice and sweet and make the contracts and the jobs sound rosy and inviting for the unaware.

Recruiters are Very enticing new graduates or someone oblivious who wants to do a gap year with limite funds.
(unLike me)
There are those recruiters who spend more time advertising about the surrounding 'wonderful scenery' rather than focus on the reality of the job and the financial outlay one needs to set up.

Comes to something when we have to buy our way into a job.

[Oriented]

Recruiters are salespeople. They only get paid if there is a transaction. In this situation 'you' are the transaction. I don't have anything against the recruiters or salespeople or agents. They might well know more about the market than you do and you might benefit from using their services.

But it's just like people selling used cars or cosmetics in the mall near you: they're primarily in it to make a buck. That's all.

I'm not saying don't come to Asia to teach ESL. I'm saying come with information (which really shouldn't be that hard to get with all the ESL forums around, including this one), cash and a way to get out if needed.

Cash gives you the flexibility to stay in a hotel if the realty agent is being a problem, the ability to say no to a bad job and the ability to get on the plane and leave if things aren't working out.

There's lots of competition for jobs these days in most cities (not just in China, check the Japan and Korea forums) and Asia is not as cheap as it used to be.

[Skyblue2]

If you're flying in from overseas, does your employer usually set you up with a hotel for a couple weeks? Do they ever assist in finding accommodation, or are you all on your own?

[Skyblue2]

[mike w]

[Skyblue2]