Job Discussion Forums

BiancaT · Joined: 15 Feb 2007 Posts: 74 Location: Toronto

Hi all,
I'm a newbie who will be teaching in Foshan, Guangdong and I'm trying to figure out how much spending/start up money I should bring with me to last until I get my first full paycheck, which I assume would be after my first full month of teaching. I know that I should always have enough in case I needed to leave suddenly but since my flight is paid for I'm unsure how much I should have aside. Any insight you could all give me would be greatly appreciated.

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brsmith15 · Joined: 12 May 2003 Posts: 1142 Location: New Hampshire USA

Maybe around 1,500 $CDN.

BiancaT · Joined: 15 Feb 2007 Posts: 74 Location: Toronto

At first I was also thinking around 1,000CDN but then I thought that since I'm not paying for rent, only food, utilities and small extras until I get my first pay that maybe 500CDN might do. Now I'm not sure.

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jeffinflorida · Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:00 am Post subject:

bring a couple hundred and an ATM card. check with your bank to see if it will work in china and if so dont overstuff your pockets with $$ but use the atm as needed.

HunanForeignGuy · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 989 Location: Shanghai, PRC

caius celestius · Joined: 02 Jul 2007 Posts: 89

Just brushing a broadly encompassing picture: RMB5000 to 10'000 would tide you over comfortably: you could in fact do on considerably less - say, 2500.

That would buy you your daily grub from the canteen, even enable you to splurge on an occasional (weekly) burger with fries and a coke, and you would perhaps still have money to do sightseeing.

But you might run into some health hazard and quickly need cash to spend a certain time in hospital (Buddha forbid). Or you might feel a strong urge to nip over to Guangzhou (20 kms away) every other day, to sample its discos and malls.

Foshan has little in that department; you will quickly have seen it all in downtown. That's supposing you really are going to be working in DOWNTOWN FOSHAN - you might have been hired by a school in Sanshui or Gaoming - quite a distance away and quite, quite unhappening places.

SnoopBot · Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 740 Location: USA

Regardless of the prices in the area or your salary I would bring enough for the cost of an Airline ticket back home plus 20%. You can just leave this in an ATM account and just take a card.

YOU never know when an emergency might arise. that airline ticket might be needed in a hurry.

I went to China with 5000 USD in my ATM account with an additional 2500 USD being deposited each month.

I often did not need to dip into my account for extra money except during Spring festival and to buy some toys and my car.

But I urge enough to get an airline ticket if needed.

HunanForeignGuy · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 989 Location: Shanghai, PRC

SnoopBot · Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 740 Location: USA

China.Pete · Joined: 27 Apr 2006 Posts: 547

When traveling, I always used to keep enough on hand to buy a plane ticket home. Nowadays, I suppose an ATM card is as good as cash in hand. That's strictly for emergencies. For my first teaching gig in China, I believe I only changed about $100 for living expenses. The school - a university - repaid my one-way plane ticket to alleviate any further need for cash until my first paycheck. At a bare minimum, you should have the equivelent of one month's expenses - without housing, mine run about 2,000 RMB per month (and that's fairly generous!).

HunanForeignGuy · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 989 Location: Shanghai, PRC

Dear BiancaT,

I think that you have made a good choice of schools....one of my colleagues from the university where I am now will be going to work at the same school as where you will be working...he was there today for some preliminary items.

He told that MOST of the teachers, by far a very, very large majority, are returning to the school for a second-or-third year, which is a really good sign in China, given the fact that in most cases, the good majority run. At the uni where we are now, out of 20 foreign teachers, 18 have run, some in the middle of the term, some at the end (but still did not finish) and the rest of us now.

As I said, you are going to relatively wealthy suburban-like surroundings.

And China.Pete is quite right -- RMB 2,000 is a fair amount for the first month.

All the best,

HFG

Songbird · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:41 pm Post subject:

Whatever you are earning per month is what you should bring- 1 month's salary. This is what I do whenever I start a new position. Even if you don't spend all of your salary every month (I certainly don't!) you ALWAYS have extra things to buy that are missing in the apartment- cups never seem to be provided, as proper cultery (chopsticks don't count), what about FLAT plates (I always have to go out and buy them)- an extra heater/ fan if it's extra hot/ cold when you arrive?

What about extra to pay for taxis until you feel comfortable knowing your way on the cheaper bus? Extra towels? Stationery? Oh, and cleaning products, really you only need to buy every month or so, so this is a good time to stock up.

So the 1 month salary rule for me Wink

SnoopBot · Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 740 Location: USA

blowinlicks · Joined: 27 May 2007 Posts: 16 Location: Beijing

With all due respect to the other respondents - bring as much money as you can, because chances are, you're going to need every last penny of it to get out of here after you experience the hell of Guangdong. Don't be stupid. Bring it all if possible and hide it in your ass.

jwbhomer · Joined: 14 Dec 2003 Posts: 876 Location: CANADA

Well blowin'... I think you're making a pretty sweeping generalization. Parts of Guangdong are pretty awful -- thinking of Guangzhou -- but some places are OK. I liked Shenzhen, and although I only visited Zhuhai thought it not too bad.
I think if Bianca or anyone else comes to a place expecting to hate it, that becomes all too soon a self-fulfilling prophecy.