Job Discussion Forums

[cheesepie]

I'll in living in Chaoyang district, Beijing starting in the New Year:


Quick background: I've been to Beijing before, but it was for university and that was over ten years ago. I've been working in the homeland (Canada) for several years but chose to take work in China just for a quick change of pace.

Note: To respect the well-done contract I received after I did my research/denied most of the low paying "crapshoots," I'm not going to state specific wages/school. Plus I have several employment opportunies back in the homeland if I feel that I want to switch jobs after the one year contract or after a few years, so I'm not relying on this as the "final career choice."


So here's the list of questions if anyone can provide advice:

1. Sending money home: do I have to rely on Western Union in China, or are there any banks in Beijing one can recommend to have an account that allows wiring money to a foreign bank account? (Only sending 2,000 - 2,500 RMB home on a monthly basis to keep the home bank account active).


2. Expected weekly grocery shopping costs? I'm going to be eating at home with free lunch at the workplace, sticking with cheap Chinese cuisine (go for the noodles, ARGH!), is it safe to say that 50-100 RMB a week is doable? I will on occassion (once every few weeks) treat myself to the homeland cuisine of McDonalds, but I assume a full meal (fries, burger, coke) is 15 RMB?

3. Caffeine requirements: What is the general cost of a two litre of diet coke? My fridge is a stockade for my caffeine supply

4. Liquor: I don't go to bars to party on even a monthly basis (more like once every few months for a celebration, keep it to one or two drinks), however I like to have the occassional glass of hard liquor once every few days in the evening.

Can anyone give me an estimate of the cost of a 2-6 of vodka, whisky or dark rum? I expect it to last me more than a month.

Also, as I have on-campus accomodation, would the school give me a "scolding" for having liquor in my living quarters? (This is in general with regards to Chinese culture).

5. Cigarettes: I'm not a chain smoker, but I like to enjoy a daily inhaling of cancer. How much would a pack of *cheap* Chinese cigarettes cost in Beijing? The only brand I've ever smoked are Chunghwa, but I believe that's a Shanghai brand.

6. Any other general tips/great locations for going out on that rare occassion in Chaoyang would be highly appreciated!

[kev7161]

Let's assume you will earn 5,000 rmb per month - - if more, then good for you. Instead of nickel and dime-ing yourself here, why not simply budget yourself about 100 a day? For sure there will be busy days at school and all you'll end up spending that day could be only about 20 rmb for your noodle and coke diet (with a cheap cigarette after dinner, followed by a shot of whiskey or something) so that means that 80 rmb surplus can be socked away for emergencies or your rare night out on the town. Then you can convert and wire the remaining funds home every month as you plan. If you end up with a huge surplus of cash at the end of the month, you can wire even more home or splurge on something REALLY cool (like a Burger King meal instead of McDonald's).

PS: They don't sell 2-liter bottles of Diet Coke here (or my personal choice, Coke Zero) - - you'll only find those in small bottles or cans. Two liter choices are reserved for all the sugary stuff only.

[johntpartee]

[kev7161]

In Suzhou, during the lunch period of 11:00 to 2:00 I believe, you can get several different McDonald meals for 15 rmb. Don't know how long this special will last though. But yeah, most of their meals are around 25 rmb I think. That equals almost $3.50 USD. If you want to supersize, well that's a whole 'nother story!

[A'Moo]

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

A Big Mac in Shenyang is 15 yuan.

All the prices in KFC and McDonald's have nearly doubled since I first arrived in 2004. Sadly, wages have not.

These answers are based on my personal experiences only:

1. Sending money home: do I have to rely on Western Union in China, or are there any banks in Beijing one can recommend to have an account that allows wiring money to a foreign bank account? (Only sending 2,000 - 2,500 RMB home on a monthly basis to keep the home bank account active).

You can set up bank transfers to an account using the Bank of China. Complicated, but doable. You need to have your working visa handy, your wage document of how much you earn monthly, bank transfer number of your bank back home, passport, and a few other things. I don't use it because it is so complicated and I find the fees too high.


2. Expected weekly grocery shopping costs? I'm going to be eating at home with free lunch at the workplace, sticking with cheap Chinese cuisine (go for the noodles, ARGH!), is it safe to say that 50-100 RMB a week is doable? I will on occassion (once every few weeks) treat myself to the homeland cuisine of McDonalds, but I assume a full meal (fries, burger, coke) is 15 RMB?

I was looking at on-line flyers the other day to compare the price of groceries in the United States and Canada to that of China.

I find in Beijing and Shenyang at least, the price of beef, pork and chicken pretty much the same. I saw a Safeway in Seattle with dollar a pound chicken. It can be around that price if not more here.

Fruit is not cheap, either.

My grocery bill is about 1,000 RMB a month, and I try to be thrifty. Mind you, the wife is pregnant so I am being health-conscious as well.

3. Caffeine requirements: What is the general cost of a two litre of diet coke? My fridge is a stockade for my caffeine supply

I would normally pay 7-8 yuan for a 3 liter bottle of Coke.

4. Liquor: I don't go to bars to party on even a monthly basis (more like once every few months for a celebration, keep it to one or two drinks), however I like to have the occassional glass of hard liquor once every few days in the evening.

Can anyone give me an estimate of the cost of a 2-6 of vodka, whisky or dark rum? I expect it to last me more than a month.

You can get cheap vodka for 25 yuan a bottle. It's not proper stuff from Finland or Russia, it's made in China. But it passes. Proper imported Smirnoff or Finlandia is well over 100 RMB a 26'r. Last I checked, Absolut was going for 148 RMB in Shenyang.

Also, as I have on-campus accomodation, would the school give me a "scolding" for having liquor in my living quarters? (This is in general with regards to Chinese culture).

I'm pretty sure unless they search your private accomodation or have secret cameras set up to spy on you, they wouldn't even know what you do behind closed doors. Chinese drink. THIS is general with regards Chinese culture. In Shanghai there is an add in the subway that says "In China, cheers means drink the entire glass!"

5. Cigarettes: I'm not a chain smoker, but I like to enjoy a daily inhaling of cancer. How much would a pack of *cheap* Chinese cigarettes cost in Beijing? The only brand I've ever smoked are Chunghwa, but I believe that's a Shanghai brand.

Chunghwa is an expensive brand of smokes. If you have them around, people will nick into your box because they are unaffordable to every day Chinese. They are between 38-90 RMB a box.

Other brands are far more cheaper. I am a smoker and I smoke 520 and those cost me 7 RMB a pack. They are extremely light and hardly worth smoking but I guess it's a social thing for me more than an addiction. If you are looking for something very cheap, I suggest Red River or something even cheaper around the 3-4 RMB range.

The absolute cheapest smokes I have seen are 9 JIAO but they are hideous.

6. Any other general tips/great locations for going out on that rare occassion in Chaoyang would be highly appreciated!

I don't usually hang out in Chaoyang so can't help you out there.

Good luck.

[kev7161]

[Halapo]

1. Not worth trying to send the money home monthly. The fees and fines make it better to go for 1 or 2 transfers a year ( and even then you still end up paying more then I think is fair ). If you have to do monthly transactions for some kind of upkeep back home then you can, its not impossible. The Chinese banks have really never been fond of letting money leave China, and right now they are even more sensitive.

2. If I stick to staples and basic items I can stay under 1000rmb a month. I will add that I have nearly 8 years of professional cooking experience, ( which still doesn't help much when my apartment doesn't have an oven... ) so I rarely buy pre-made. I have the time to make most of my meals from basic ingredients... It saves some money to do it yourself, but not a whole lot. I mainly do it for peace of mind, I know what I am eating... just not where the food came from or how it was raised...
That said, adding chocolate or to many imported items and easily double my monthly food bill. Good thing beer is cheap.

3. Pop, Soda pop, whatever its called where you are from, is 3 times the cost of the same amount of water. 1rmb for a 1L bottle of water, 3-4rmb for a liter of Coke. Prices vary from store to stall to restaurant, but I have only once paid 5rmb for a bottle of Coke, and I was standing on top of the Great Wall, so the seller had me dead-to-rights. And he did carry it up there, so there was some honest transportation costs for him...

4. Liquor: Imported will cost more then you would like, but its not really much of a markup from the ??? -> RMB. Bottle of $20(CND) Australian Wine? 90-110 RMB ( seeing as Australia is the closest major wine producer, its is often the most available). Whiskey and other hards get a slightly larger increase, but not much.
The killer here is the Chinese version is 1/5 the cost... It is probably crap, no matter what product were are talking about, but its much cheaper. This makes the imports even more of a luxury item, and tends to tack of a few more RMB, since the locals don't buy it often or at all and the stores know you will pay for a taste of home.

You might be in luck with rum, as it is used in a lot of mixed drinks at bars, and thus more is imported, and thus slightly less markup. Just take the cost at home of the items you want, and convert to RMB, add 5-10RMB more, that will probably be your price.

No idea about what your school would think, but drinking is "Manly", so is smoking. Not doing either means your are probably gay or something. Honest, that is how they think about it for men. Just don't do either while working and you are good.

5. Not a smoker, but a pack of the standard "gift" cancer-sticks is 55RMB in my place of work. These are the ones people have on the tables at banquets, to show their guests how successful they are. I know my boss smokes cheaper ones day to day, but he always takes the rest of the gift when he leaves. I take mine to, and gift them to my neighbors who help me out from time to time.

6. Don't believe anything any Chinese person tells you. Chances are they don't really know, but don't want to lose face, or they are trying to get you to do something to benefit them. Add in translation errors, you cant really on what you are told. Just know you are going to regret listening/believing what you were told, and ask yourself if you are ok with being misled or fooled?

Get a translator you can trust, and still checkup on them. English and Chinese have plenty of room for errors. Express appreciation for help you get, small gifts really help the first time. After that, I feel they are not necessary every time.

Nothing is impossible here, you just have to keep looking for somebody who will take the time to help or figure out how to do what you want. Every-bodies natural reaction is, "its not worth my time"/"what is in it for me?" Bribery never hurts. Yelling works to, but be prepared to get the same back, very few Chinese people back-down after being berated just once.

[cheesepie]

A big thanks to all of your for the advice/assistance. I do apologize if the initial tone of my post may be condescending.

As for wiring money to a home bank account, can I except 200 RMB on fees as a high number? (I had poor initial estimates as I was falsely assuming it would be close to 500 rmb in fees).

And I never thought Chunghwa was an expensive cigarette brand. I actually got packs for free as gifts from mostly navy personnel who travel a lot.

I just look forward to only working 40 hours a week versus over 60 hours! To clarify, I have 16-20 teaching hours but I will want at least one hour per class for lesson preparation to ensure I do my job.

I wish all of you the best!

[MisterButtkins]

[cheesepie]

[nickpellatt]