Job Discussion Forums

[The Noodles]

Hi All


I have a question. I see a lot of Adds for Shanghai at 8000 net minus accommodation. How the hell do you survive on that?

what kind of accommodation can you afford. Do you have enough cash to enjoy living there too?

[eslstudies]

Accommodation, try this link:
http://cityspace.shanghaiexpat.com/search.php?type2=-1&type=ANY&sh_city=-1&sh_district=-1&sh_size=-1&sh_currency=2&duration=-1&price_min=1000&price_max=3000&keyword=&property_search=Search
Lower price range, but if you're willing to share or rent in the burbs, not too costly.
General living? Live like middle class Chinese. Mom and Dad restaurants, 3Y beer, only do the expat haunts on special occasions. 5-6 a month is plenty.
Don't get sucked into working more than 20 hours a week for 8K though. Some of the privates will lock you in an office for another 15 hours.
Set up costs for an apartment aren't cheap. Shared could be the way to go on a budget.

[Surfdude18]

That is nucking futs. After accommodation you would work out worse off than I was in my old, bog-standard, job in Wuhan, which is a much cheaper city.

[7969]

if people continue to take those crap jobs then they will continue to be advertised. we really only have ourselves to blame for the situation. on that note, i wouldnt move to shanghai for 20,000. i just hate big cities.

[Surfdude18]

Yes, I would expect - at least - 20,000 to live in Shanghai. Prices there are comparable with London from what I've read.

[eslstudies]

Surfdude and others, if you want to live in Shanghai, you can do it comfortably for well under 20K. Half that maybe. Just don't hit the big end of town, use taxis too often, or buy imported consumables. I doubt if you could buy a decent meal and a few beers in London at 5 times the cost of the same in Shanghai. And looking at the link I posted, those prices would buy you one night in a sleazy hotel in many Western cities.
Very few uni jobs in town pay 8K, but at least you get accommodation and short hours. Even places like Web were giving a housing allowance which covered a basic apartment. It's the office hours I'd object to.
Basics in Shanghai are marginally more expensive than many Chinese cities, but really this cost of living debate is often fuelled by people who've only been there as tourists, which is expensive.

[Surfdude18]

I've heard that beers in bars in Shanghai cost about 50-70 RMB on average. When I was last in London I paid 2.50-2.90 (35-43 RMB) for pints of beer, and that was in central London.

[Surfdude18]

ESL studies, can you turn that link into a URL link like this, please?

Ta.

Otherwise 'they' will be moaning.

[eslstudies]

[The Noodles]

wow. what a lovely range of messages to wake up to! Well fortunately, my eating habits in China revolve around; noodles, bao zi, jaozi and hun dun. and a lot of bbq. That's pretty cheap the country over. Oh and when I get the chance dim sum. I love dim sum.

As for bars, I like all sorts of places BUT usually drink bud as I find imported beer doesn't give me such a harsh hang over (anyone else find that?).

Ok and to be honest, I'll be earning a fair bit more than 8000. But I figured, if people can live there and have a decent time, then so shall I. the remaining money i'll use as savings... never works out like that though!

[7969]

shanghai apartments

like this sir!!!

there are two options for adding url. put your mouse over the url box when composing your message. the code you need to input then appears just above the text box you're typing into. choose the second of the two options.

[Surfdude18]

simply write [url then = then the link then ] then the text then [/url]