Per Diem, How much is enough?

[ama537621]

Here is what the company will pay for

 

Housing, including water, gas, electricity.

 

My Per Diem for India was 25 dollars a day, I will find out soon the amount for China, that works out to 155RMB a day, or 4650 RMB a month, give or take a little depending on the days in the month.

 

My location will be in

 

Zhangyan,Jinshan District,Shanghai

 

I know what Shenzhen would cost but have no idea of the prices in Shanghai.

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

Here is what the company will pay for

 

Housing, including water, gas, electricity.

 

My Per Diem for India was 25 dollars a day, I will find out soon the amount for China, that works out to 155RMB a day, or 4650 RMB a month, give or take a little depending on the days in the month.

 

My location will be in

 

Zhangyan,Jinshan District,Shanghai

 

I know what Shenzhen would cost but have no idea of the prices in Shanghai.

Sounds like an English teaching job. One can live on that amount in China without too much difficulty, but you're going to have to watch your budget very closely,.

[ama537621]

That is my Per Diem, not my Salary. I want to be able to save my entire salary to be debt free when I finish my contract and we return to the USA. It is good to know that the Per Diem will cover our of pocket expenses to increase our savings potential.

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

That is my Per Diem, not my Salary. I want to be able to save my entire salary to be debt free when I finish my contract and we return to the USA. It is good to know that the Per Diem will cover our of pocket expenses to increase our savings potential.

If you don't mind living on a school campus where everything you do is watched and monitored, then maybe it would work for you. I know quite a few English teachers in China, and most tolerate for a few months and then leave after one term.

[Fu Lai]

I have a contract job at a University and we live fine in their provided house but it is not on campus. No watching or monitoring etc. Y4650 is plenty to live well on if you don't pay rent. I pay utilities but not rent. Like I said my girl and I live good on a Y4000 budget.

[Randy W]

 

That is my Per Diem, not my Salary. I want to be able to save my entire salary to be debt free when I finish my contract and we return to the USA. It is good to know that the Per Diem will cover our of pocket expenses to increase our savings potential.

If you don't mind living on a school campus where everything you do is watched and monitored, then maybe it would work for you. I know quite a few English teachers in China, and most tolerate for a few months and then leave after one term.

 

Yeah, that "watching and monitoring" thing would seem to be a big stretch in my own experience. We lived on campus - if anybody was watching anything we did, they sure managed to keep it a secret.

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

 

 

That is my Per Diem, not my Salary. I want to be able to save my entire salary to be debt free when I finish my contract and we return to the USA. It is good to know that the Per Diem will cover our of pocket expenses to increase our savings potential.

If you don't mind living on a school campus where everything you do is watched and monitored, then maybe it would work for you. I know quite a few English teachers in China, and most tolerate for a few months and then leave after one term.

 

Yeah, that "watching and monitoring" thing would seem to be a big stretch in my own experience. We lived on campus - if anybody was watching anything we did, they sure managed to keep it a secret.

One lesson I have learned in China is there is more that goes on behind the scenes that what meets your eye. This is not our country, that is first. Second, we look different from everyone else. We do not blend in, so when you come, and when you go is noticed. Also, if you use the provided Internet at the school, everything is monitored and saved through their server. That is a government requirement, and is non-negotiable.

 

Every school campus is guarded, and has cameras. So whoever comes and goes, and whoever visits are watched and logged. Randy, you are married. Unless you've got girls visiting you on the side it may not really matter. The OP of this topic has mentioned that he will be provided off campus housing.

 

I really didn't think too much of these things until I began to learn just how much we as foreigners do is noticed and remembered. Who you're with, when you come, when you go, what you do. If privacy doesn't matter much, then it wouldn't be a concern.

Edited January 15, 2013 by JiangsuExpat (see edit history)

[Randy W]

 

 

 

If you don't mind living on a school campus where everything you do is watched and monitored, then maybe it would work for you. I know quite a few English teachers in China, and most tolerate for a few months and then leave after one term.

 

Yeah, that "watching and monitoring" thing would seem to be a big stretch in my own experience. We lived on campus - if anybody was watching anything we did, they sure managed to keep it a secret.

One lesson I have learned in China is there is more that goes on behind the scenes that what meets your eye. This is not our country, that is first. Second, we look different from everyone else. We do not blend in, so when you come, and when you go is noticed. Also, if you use the provided Internet at the school, everything is monitored and saved through their server. That is a government requirement, and is non-negotiable.

 

Every school campus is guarded, and has cameras. So whoever comes and goes, and whoever visits are watched and logged. Randy, you are married. Unless you've got girls visiting you on the side it may not really matter. The OP of this topic has mentioned that he will be provided off campus housing.

 

I really didn't think too much of these things until I began to learn just how much we as foreigners do is noticed and remembered. Who you're with, when you come, when you go, what you do. If privacy doesn't matter much, then it wouldn't be a concern.

 

Nope - I call that "China", not really having anything to do with being a teacher or being on campus.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Fu Lai]

One lesson I have learned in China is there is more that goes on behind the scenes that what meets your eye. This is not our country, that is first. Second, we look different from everyone else. We do not blend in, so when you come, and when you go is noticed. Also, if you use the provided Internet at the school, everything is monitored and saved through their server. That is a government requirement, and is non-negotiable.

 

Every school campus is guarded, and has cameras. So whoever comes and goes, and whoever visits are watched and logged. Randy, you are married. Unless you've got girls visiting you on the side it may not really matter. The OP of this topic has mentioned that he will be provided off campus housing.

 

I really didn't think too much of these things until I began to learn just how much we as foreigners do is noticed and remembered. Who you're with, when you come, when you go, what you do. If privacy doesn't matter much, then it wouldn't be a concern.

Yes, we foreigners are noticed. It is a given. But if you are just living your life within the law then no big deal. Where I came from in the USA there were cameras on every corner and everywhere else. Internet, telephones, and just about everything is monitored. So it is just a fact of life these days that we have little real privacy.

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

 

Nope - I call that "China", not really having anything to do with being a teacher or being on campus.

 

 

I disagree Randy. When you take a job as a teacher in China and live on campus, you are expected to conduct yourself according to all the spoken, written, and unspoken rules. Most schools do not allow overnight guests. I think you lived on campus for a while with your wife. However, there are many single Western men who are not married, and get into trouble by just having a little fun from time to time. Fun implies drinking, carrying on, and bringing girls home. if you're a straight arrow and shooter, then it won't really matter much about who sees and doesn't see.

Edited January 15, 2013 by JiangsuExpat (see edit history)

[Randy W]

 

 

Nope - I call that "China", not really having anything to do with being a teacher or being on campus.

 

 

I disagree Randy. When you take a job as a teacher in China and live on campus, you are expected to conduct yourself according to all the spoken, written, and unspoken rules. Most schools do not allow overnight guests. I think you lived on campus for a while with your wife. However, there are many single Western men who are not married, and get into trouble by just having a little fun from time to time. Fun implies drinking, carrying on, and bringing girls home. if you're a straight arrow and shooter, then it won't really matter much about who sees and doesn't see.

 

No agreement or disagreement is needed. We had two unmarried couples (foreign teachers) - one couple lived together, the other lived two floors apart. No one cared or gave it any thought at all.

 

We had single male teachers who had single female student(s) stay with them for a week at a time. No one batted an eyelash.

 

I always find it amazing when people "disagree" when there is nothing to disagree about.

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

 

No agreement or disagreement is needed. We had two unmarried couples (foreign teachers) - one couple lived together, the other lived two floors apart. No one cared or gave it any thought at all.

 

We had single male teachers who had single female student(s) stay with them for a week at a time. No one batted an eyelash.

 

I always find it amazing when people "disagree" when there is nothing to disagree about.

 

You're speaking about your school, and your experience at that school. It is not that to which I disagree. I have met dozens of Western teachers in China, most of whom have moved on or gone home. Some have stayed. Most all agreed in unison that living on campus was not a free thing, not fun, and if given the choice, none would do it. They did it because they were not provided a sufficient salary to choose an alternative.

 

Two of the single teachers I talked to were fired for having overnight guests. Another for disobeying some unwritten campus rule. She debated the ruling, but in the end she lost the debate and her job.

[Randy W]

 

 

Nope - I call that "China", not really having anything to do with being a teacher or being on campus.

 

 

I disagree Randy. When you take a job as a teacher in China and live on campus, you are expected to conduct yourself according to all the spoken, written, and unspoken rules. Most schools do not allow overnight guests. A sweeping generalization from the experiences of a few to "most schools in China" which may or may not hold true for a particular situation I think you lived on campus for a while with your wife. However, there are many single Western men who are not married, and get into trouble by just having a little fun from time to time. Fun implies drinking, carrying on, and bringing girls home. if you're a straight arrow and shooter, then it won't really matter much about who sees and doesn't see. Here it seems to me that we agree, whether you agree with that or not. Except for what you think of as "fun".

 

For me, living on campus was both free and fun, and I would recommend it to any teacher, single or married, coming to Yulin Normal University.

[griz326]

I found that while we are noticed, no one cares as long as you mind your Ps and Qs. Long term that may become more difficult as our differences have time to become annoyances. I sensed this in my last trip that was longer than previous trips and the residents of Lao Po's apartment complex became tired of seeing my big nose

[Fu Lai]

 

 

No agreement or disagreement is needed. We had two unmarried couples (foreign teachers) - one couple lived together, the other lived two floors apart. No one cared or gave it any thought at all.

 

We had single male teachers who had single female student(s) stay with them for a week at a time. No one batted an eyelash.

 

I always find it amazing when people "disagree" when there is nothing to disagree about.

 

You're speaking about your school, and your experience at that school. It is not that to which I disagree. I have met dozens of Western teachers in China, most of whom have moved on or gone home. Some have stayed. Most all agreed in unison that living on campus was not a free thing, not fun, and if given the choice, none would do it. They did it because they were not provided a sufficient salary to choose an alternative.

 

Two of the single teachers I talked to were fired for having overnight guests. Another for disobeying some unwritten campus rule. She debated the ruling, but in the end she lost the debate and her job.

I will agree that working as a university employee means you accept a code of conduct, whether it is in the USA or China... especially when you are a teacher. You are an extension of the university. I cannot imagine why the people you mention felt a lack of freedom. They accepted the role so that is that. As for teachers dating students, that is not accepted in the USA either. In China the teachers are held to a level of respect so if that is breached then I can imagine a job may be lost.