Cost of Living in Shanghai, China

Wait, "low level expat"? I think a "low level foreigner", aka somebody who just shows up without any real skill / no Chinese, and starts looking for a job, if you can find a job at all, would probably be at about 5kRMB. On the other hand, I have a friend who fits that description. He was a cook in Canada, and wound up finding a job in a western restaurant for 10kRMB / mo. If you have a skill that's useful in Shanghai (even if your only skill is English as a first language and a white face), or if you have a degree and can speak at least a little Chinese, should be pretty easy to get a job between 10k and 20kRMB / mo. Somebody with true international "expat" experience, in a senior professional or management role, etc, should be pretty easy to get 20-50k/mo. I made between 100kRMB and 125kRMB/mo for about 7 years when I was there running a small factory for a European investor.

@Anonymous
Hongqiao/Gubei Area is kind of a place for foreigners now. No wonder it's expensive. My suggestion is that you ask local friends for help. It's not difficult to rent an apartment in lower price in other districts. Maybe 10k is enough, I think.

There are a lot of supermarkets with very low price, such as Auchan, Lotus, etc. They all have plenty parking area and good shopping environment.

Is shanghai a good city for a middle class indian like me who lives in delhi

Hi
I am 3.5 years experienced IT professional
I want to know how much remuneration I should get in Shanghai OR how much would be average expenditure in Yuan?

Please update more. I understand that some shops where expats buy are more expensive than cheap supermarkets.

i was looking and its said that a us dollar is about one cent to one yinn and if thats true its insane seven us dollars is one months rent and you all pay seven yin a liter of gas thats seven us cents and were paying almost four dolars a gallon that would be close to 32 cents of us money over there for a gallon so our government is ripping us off

If you're an English teacher and want to make big bucks, teach in Saudi Arabia. Yeah, I know you won't have a life there, but it pays better on average than ESL gigs in ANY other country, overall. It's big money/zero lifestyle. A trade off. Saudi's surrounding Arab neighbors make considerably less, on average. Of course there's always an odd exception to every general rule. The 16,000 RMB Wall Street English is 13,500 or so after taxes. So don't forget taxes. Some employers only tax base salary and the accommodations/other perks are not taxed. Others, like Wall street, give you handsome gross salary, but after taxes, it's considerably less. I know because I briefly applied at Wall Street English, and they quoted me 13-tousand and something after taxes. At that point I disregarded them, and later got hired by a company which only taxxed my base salary, which wasn't that high, but my cost of living allowance and acommodation allowance (which almost doubled the salary) weren't taxed, so I net more than I would have netted at Wall Street. By the way Saudi is tax free. Except for Intl schools, you won't be earning huge money, but even the marginal to moderate salaries are more than enough to eat, party and sight-see. If you trying to pay off a mortgage, pay back a student loan, or sock away vast amounts of money, go to Saudi Arabia. Accommodations/transportation is either free, or a handsome allowance paid, food and electronics are cheap. You'll save 95% or more of your income. But if you just want to exist in a normal fashion from payday to payday, CHina or Taiwan is fine. I've worked in all three places.

Hi.. Joanne here n would be settling down in shanghai. I'm going there with my 4 kids. Hubby got posted there by his current company to Jingan area. I m a certified english teacher in an international school here in malaysia. Few questions I would like to ask.
1. Which part of shanghai is good to stay n where can we get cheaper apartment rental? Fully furnished.
2. Any homeschooling support group?
3. Is there any church we can attend?

Hope to hear from all of you.

Dear Masoud,
Its hard to say. As far as I know, if you were a native English speaker with a decent degree, you can earn around 100yuan-300yuan/hour (around 18$-50$/hour) as a private teacher.

International teachers who are certified can make similar pay to what they made in their home countries. This means that they are able to live quite a high level of life in Shanghai. International schools will pay for housing, some-transportation and some-utilities. These are very different positions than English teachers. International schools have to remain competitive and the cost of tuition are high. The resources available in a large, established IS are extensive. I would highly recommend looking into IS schools if you are a certified teacher in your home country.

for a low level expat, the minimum salary is 5k RMB

Andrew,
I've been told a salary for the Director of a school in Shanghai would only be in the region of RMB 35,000 max - you're being unrealistic. Teachers don't go into the international teaching business as a business - rewards are not in the monetary area!

Would suggest Andrew that you lower your expectations of Salary if you would like to teach Englush in China. Having said that costs of living vary greatly across China so you will find that other places are not anywhere near as expensive as Australia. Having said that I don't know what part of Australia you are from. I found Brisbane to have very low living costs when I lived their but I have heard other areas are more expensive.

Hi
Can any one help me out about current cost of living in china - shanghai area.
For 12+ Yrs oe exp IT professional , what Yuan we can expect to live a luxurious life in china.