Contract flying in China

[PiratePilot]

FYI-

List of the most expensive cities for expatriates below, 8 of the top 25 are in China and Japan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_cities_for_expatriate_employees

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-...-city-for-expat-housing-byblos-bank-says.html

 

[LegacyDriver]

Not calling you a liar, Pirate, by any means. Just shocked at the numbers. Wasn't that high when I was thinking of going over there (so I was told any way). Then again, the dollar has lost half its value since 2000 or so hasn't it? Ouch.

 

[macdu]

Living in the middle of China in my very comfortable 1 year old, 2 bedroom, 2 bath furnished apartment. It converts to about $515 a month. I pay all utilities and the management fee. That adds about maybe $30 to $40 a month.
Just like anywhere else in the world it's all location location location. If you are going to live in the coastal Chinese cities or HK, or ZBAA it's going to cost a lot more.

 

[LegacyDriver]

Living in the middle of China in my very comfortable 1 year old, 2 bedroom, 2 bath furnished apartment. It converts to about $515 a month. I pay all utilities and the management fee. That adds about maybe $30 to $40 a month.
Just like anywhere else in the world it's all location location location. If you are going to live in the coastal Chinese cities or HK, or ZBAA it's going to cost a lot more.

That's what I was told to expect. In my book, $600 a month is cheap. I'm in a one horse town here and it costs me more than that for a 2BR/1B.

 

[Hugh Johnson]

Not calling you a liar, Pirate, by any means. Just shocked at the numbers. Wasn't that high when I was thinking of going over there (so I was told any way). Then again, the dollar has lost half its value since 2000 or so hasn't it? Ouch.

So you based your answer on information you collected 10 years ago?

 

[LegacyDriver]

No, two years ago--and it fits exactly with what Macdu said above.

 

[gulfstream2345]

China

Macau, Hong Kong and Shanghi are pretty high. In Macau I paid 2000/mo for a pretty nice place but that was all that was nice. Most of China is dirty compared to the Western world. Spitting on the sidewalk and blowing your nose on to the sidewalk are normal practices. Chinese and most Orientals do not respect "space" like westerners do. Cutting in line is normal. All can be charged with DWO (Driving While Oriental). Make sure your contract clearly defines income taxes and who will pay them. Overall, the pay and benefits were OK but the living conditions offset that. I feel much more comfortable in the US of A.

 

[Hugh Johnson]

Macau, Hong Kong and Shanghi are pretty high. In Macau I paid 2000/mo for a pretty nice place but that was all that was nice. Most of China is dirty compared to the Western world. Spitting on the sidewalk and blowing your nose on to the sidewalk are normal practices. Chinese and most Orientals do not respect "space" like westerners do. Cutting in line is normal. All can be charged with DWO (Driving While Oriental). Make sure your contract clearly defines income taxes and who will pay them. Overall, the pay and benefits were OK but the living conditions offset that. I feel much more comfortable in the US of A.

DWO, Nice racist reply.

 

[LegacyDriver]

Easy there, Small J. He's talking about culture not race.