Job Discussion Forums

[Surfdude18]

It's a great word

[Anda]

The word reminded me of this song even though the word is not in it.

sy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini - Wikipedia, the ..."Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" is a novelty song telling the story of a shy high-school student in a very revealing polka dot bikini ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsy_Bitsy_Teenie_Weenie_Yellow_Polka_Dot_Bikini - 24k

[mandu]

In my 1st year here in China i survived on 4000 amonth with a accomodation and food by the kindergarten i was working for.

[Anda]

My wage where I live is 4,500 RMB a month and this is my second year and I look like spending a third here. However the college is moving after that.

[kungfucowboy83]

I'm in qingdao and am going to tell you that 4k for 20 hours is too little money for too much time. Also universities here have a reputation to try to suck lots of extra time doing other activites. You can easily find extra work at the language schools for 100-125. If you want more money then you can do it but you will have to look a bit harder.

think about it this way if you at my lowest figure 100rmb a week for 10 hours you have the salary they offer doubled. However 30 teaching hrs a week is a lot of work if you get them down to 15 hrs a week then it's much better, if you can get them to 10-12 then it's pretty darn good.

as to your original question with accomedation (and utilities) supplied you could survive on 100rm a week if you you really wanted to (hell i could do that in the US if i really needed to) but you wouldn't have much fun.
realsticly on 4k take buses everywhere, eat at smaller resturants 10-25 a meal for 1 dish plus rice 4 or 5rmb worth of baozi or noodles for breakfast. dvds, walking, shopping occasionally for things you need and the internet for entertainment will leave you enough to have 1 good meal(~100-150rmb) by your self every week. Forget saving, forget bars, forget a girlfriend unless she is not originally from qingdao (qingdao girls are usually high maintainace money wise).
living like this isn't so bad if you take up taichi or some other inexpensive hobby, but the fact that you can make more money for less effort kinda puts a damper on it also when you travel durring the breaks you will be doing it on the cheap unless you want to spend some kind of savings that you already have.

the problem is qingdao has a lot of ways for you to spend money and most people in the city proper are rich you will not even be middle class on 4k

[kev7161]

[Surfdude18]

I disagree that on 4000 a person should completely forget about a girlfriend, bars, etc. The majority of FTs I have known in China have been on around that and have had good social lives, gone out often, etc. The only caveat is that if you are on that salary and want to go to the bar and also save money, you won't be able to, really.

[Anda]

Well my first year here on 4,500 RMB with no side line work I lived and paid about 4,000 in hospital costs for bad flu attacks. I filled up my apartment with stuff and bought a stack of clothes and had plenty of social life. This year I have a side job that gives me some pocket money plus fills my spare time up. This holiday I'll make enough from my side job to not have to touch my salary from my main job for two months. Apart from this I don't have to buy much now to make myself comfortable as I did that the first year. I want to have enough saved this year in case I need to relocate.

I get a little sick of hearing about the big money scene. To get it you need to be in a big city, be young, have high ability, work long hours etc. I can jump back to Korea and get 22,000 RMB a month clear plus accommodation and airfares plus I month�s extra pay at the end of the year and holiday pay. So China is not the place to come in the first place for the big money unless you are at the peak of the game here. In Korea with side work you can earn over 40,000 RMB a month if you wanted too. Only a handful earn that here teaching.

[kungfucowboy83]

No offence anda but your experices in china are not even close to the same thing that the people warning him are talking about. You are living in what you have called a poor town. Qingdao is a pretty expensive city. It's not shanghai or shenzhen but it's pricier than most places. if he was going to hebei or something i wouldn't say 4000 is so low.

surfdude, I said stay away from qingdao local girls as most of them although very pretty and some quite nice on the inside too are looking for a guy who will throw cash around for them big time, it's what the local guys do so it's what they expect. If you find a girl from another part of china originally or a western girl then you should be ok. as for bars if you are making 4000 rmb and want to spend 30rmb for a 330ml bottle of qingdao beer be my guest.

[cj750s]

My recreation bill alone is 2000 at least with most months reaching into the 3k region.

[Surfdude18]

[Surfdude18]

I'm surprised it's as much as 30 in Qingdao considering that's where Qingdao beer comes from. Here in Dalian it's usually 10 or occasionally 15 for a bottle of qingdao in a bar.

[vikuk]

Although personal pride doesn't buy beers - I think, as a group, FT's should be thinking of low wages in another way.
Think on this comment

[Surfdude18]

I fully agree - and I make a lot more than 4000.

I'm just saying that even on 4000 it's not necessarily a matter of just 'surviving'. You can have a good time on that money *if you know what you're doing*. And learning the ropes is all part of the fun...

[vikuk]