Job Discussion Forums

[poet13]

I usually post on the Korea forums, but have been looking at China lately as a next destination.
I chose 7500 as an average salary.

I don't want to live in a capital city. Somewhere in the south, near the coast would be fine. Somewhere small enough that we could have a house an garden would be even better. I have a wife and two children.

Prices are on the rise here in Korea. Are they going up in China also? I know the cost of living is quite a bit less than in Korea, and I am not so concerned with saving a ton of money, as I have a small second income. I'm more interested in a good experience and a few bucks left over. Food is very high on our Quality Of Life list.

Anyone care to share their experiences and thoughts?
Thanks.

[Anda]

Things differ in China from Korea somewhat. Most jobs in universities and public and private schools pay around 5,000 a month for an experienced teacher for about 16 class hours a week. If you work about 24 hours you can get around the 8,000 RMB a month mark.

The problem here is that many places only offer a ten month contract so they don't have to pay for the two months of summer holidays.

Honesty is no different here between government positions and private positions.

There is much bigger money to be earned in Shanghai for instance than smaller country cities. However your costs are greater by far in places like Shanghai for getting about and food etc.

I have a weekend job here where I stay overnight in a good hotel for 60 RMB and in another bigger city I found a good hotel for 80 RMB. You can also get dumps for the same price in both cities.

I enjoy shopping at the food markets here for fresh food instead of the supermarkets. If you like hiking then you had to be very careful as only some cities have mountains close by. Chinese co workers here usually eat at home or at very cheap places. They do not earn much except at some of the leading universities. So if you want to go to a good restaurant with them then you had better offer to shout them. Management that are party members however have an expense account and can eat at better places and will offer to pay for you.

Apartments in Shanghai go for about 7,000 RMB a month in central locations. Apartments where I currently live go for 500 RMB a month. Where I will be living soon in a bigger city 1,000 will get me a good one.
If you want a garden then you would be looking at a country town and catching a bus into a nearby city for work. The type of place you talk of will have running water but no toilet of bathroom inside. The toilet will be an outside job and consist of a hole in the ground.

Pork and cooking oil have doubled roughly in the last year here. Other things are also going up fast also; that is except for wages.

Local Chinese families live ok on about 3,000 RMB a month where both work. I eat up 3,000 by myself with ease and my job provides me with accommodation and all utilities are paid including phone plus I get my airfares. You will not be saving if you keep up anything like a Western lifestyle. But I see no problem if you can get that type of wage you are talking about in living like you would on an average wage back home in the West.

[poet13]

Hey, Thanks for such a detailed response.
We are quite happy to live "local". I was even considering what it might cost to hire a local (we call them ajjummas here in Korea) older married woman to act as our food market person and cook. I have hired people in that capacity in other countries (mexico, greece, philippines, nicaragua, thailand, india...etc) and found that they save me more in knowing what and how to buy and cook than I can even if I'm trying to be frugal. And the best part is that I actually get to eat local food instead of the either straight western, or pseudo-pickacountry cuisine that I can pretend to create in the kitchen.

The ten month thing is interesting.....and really sucky.

We live in the Philippines, and are currently based in Korea, so using a hole in the ground isn't a big deal.

I'm also curious about honesty. Here in Korea, unless you're in a government program (GEPIK, EPIK, SMOE) or a university (sorry apologists if I missed something), you stand a pretty good chance of getting burned. How's China for that? I mean beyond petty stuff.

Anyways, I want to look forward to continuing a dialogue. China for some reason, is really interesting to me.....food, language, history, culture...etc.

Thanks again for any thoughts or advice you share.

[Anda]

The home help for a permanent will cost you about 700 RMB a month.

A cheap meal out will cost about 4 RMB. A good meal consisting of a couple of dishes will cost you 20 RMB. A good chicken soup goes for about 30 RMB and the same for duck.

There is a good chance of getting burned at government and private places of employment here. At the end of my first year in a government position they kept delaying my airfare payment for ten weeks telling me all the time no problem and then said sorry. I hit the roof and had my airfares the next day.

Both government and private employers treat their own Chinese staff the same way. Some places are good but many are bad. The private institute where I work of a weekend charges students 10 RMB an hour. Local teachers get 1,000 RMB for a month. The local teachers budget 5 RMD for a meal. Ordinary Chinese are very nice and kind.

Be careful of pickpockets here and keep in mind that they will cut through your clothes to get money and hand phones etc. I avoid getting 50 RMB notes here in change as there are plenty of forgeries in circulation. Get your wages paid into an account especially the last one when you leave a job.

I was five years in EPIK and eight and a half year in Korea in total.

I have spent two years here in China and I'm just about to sign for two more at 5,000 RMB a month for 16 class hours a week. So yes China is interesting.

The difference for local government teachers between Korea and here is that they won't have a car here as the wages won't allow it. Most goverment teachers in Korea have a car. Their lifestyle otherwise is much the same.

I had a car in Korea for about five years but not here. The bus system here is good and interesting when using countryside buses.

[Anda]

Some good reading stuff on China for those interested:
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China Travel Stories | BootsnAll ArticlesChina Travel Stories ... Juha Uitto navigates the chaos of air travel in China. ... BootsnAll Logues. BootsnAll Logues. TRAVEL THEMES ...

http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/tags/China-Travel-Stories