Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bobbyhanlon]

ridiculously general question.. but i lived in seoul for a while and know it very well, and now i'm going to be spending 4 months in shanghai. can anyone who has lived there give some 'i wish someone had told me that'-type lowdown on living there please? i mean stuff like places to go, scams, ripoffs and other bad stuff in general to avoid, whether or not there's an 'itaewon' style area and if its worth bothering with, how to live well without spending stacks of cash, etc..
thank you very much

[jajdude]

I haven't been there, but heard good things..

You might like this site: http://ispyshanghai.com/

[itaewonguy]

I go to shanghai often on business..
its a great city! but you need to be smart about not getting ripped off..
ALWAYS negociate prices..
dont be afriad to walk away from one place and look around.. be ruthless when negociating..

hawkers are everywhere.. they will approach you anywhere to sell you a rolex or what ever! dont be fooled! if you really want knock off brands go to the market and shop around for the best price..

the foreign area is EXPENSIVE! shanghai is expensive when you roll in foreign circles.. check out the internet and read up on it..
it all depends on what you want... its an amazing city!
for 100 bucks you can be treated like a king if you know what I mean!
the chinese are also MUCH more open to foreigners than koreans..
but remember like any foreign country be careful and behave yourself!

[D.D.]

In a small town I spent 4500 rmb a month in Shanghai I spent 30000 rmb some months.
Depends on what you do but you can end up spending 100 on a drink if you like good places.

You can also live cheaply in Shanghai by hanging out in Chinese like areas. You can still eat cheap Bbq and noodles.

But western stuff is expensive. After a few months I got sick of the pace and traffic. I also thought a lot of shark like people are attracted to Shanghai.

[weatherman]

[Kuros]

I was there from May-July. I do not have any specific advice, but here's a convenient service they have called sherpa, which delivers food from over 150 restaurants to your apartment.

I highly recommend going down to Hengshan Lu (衡山路）which is in the gorgeous French Concession. There's a subway stop nearby. Its not as pricey as most places in Shanghai, and this is where a lot of the foreigners hang out.

My advice would be to live on the side of Shanghai you work on. If you work in Puxi, live there, if you work in Pudong, live there. The subway network is quite extensive and not a bad design, if a little crowded.

Shopping is going to be quite rough. I found getting the groceries I wanted less convenient than in Beijing. You might find monthly or semi-weekly trips to Carrefour to be necessary for supplies, and its definitely indespensible for equiping your new apartment.

[Paji eh Wong]

[freeridden]

Shanghai is a really dirty city. The streets are dirty. The air is horrible. There are tons of 20 year old Chinese girls hanging on old 70 year old foreigners. Shanghai is money in its purest form. Good luck.

[itaewonguy]

[orosee]

[Swiss James]

[itaewonguy]

Hey Itaewonguy- you're still on Dave's? How many keyboards must you have you worn the "!" and "?" keys out on by now??!?!?!?!

[/quote]

hahahahah YO swiss, damn I wondered what happened to you....
so you over in Shagghai cool...

Ive gone through my fair share of keyboards hahahahahah

[tomwaits]

3 years old my info may not be up-to-date but I suspect still true. Yes there is an "Itaewan style" , a bar street where places sell liquor by the bottle and girls will hang on your arm getting you to spend spend spend.

There is also the uppity expat area which is pricey--- pay 6 US dollars for a pint of Carlsberg not including tip. Meals Western prices or more.

Most of the scams will be on the walking street near the space tower. Exciting the first visit but gets old quick IMO.

One other area I like is near Fudan Uni where there are a lot of Korean places if that interests you.

Some teachers were making good coin doing 2-3 jobs. Dont take a 5000 kuai job or you will feel pretty poor.

[travel zen]

Shanghai should be fun if you make it so.

Id stay away from the hookers and the pretty scam girls teasing you though

[amanda114]

What is the saving potential (on average) in Shanghai if your accomodation, health insurance and plane ticket is all paid for?
Has anyone heard of a company called EF English First?

Thanks

Amanda