Top 10 most expensive Chinese cities to live in

[david_dawei]

 

 

In Fushun, her pay was (is) 2400 RMB a month. Rent for a studio apartment is 500 RMB. So anything worth living in is closer to 1000 RMB.

Buying basic meat like ribs for a meal is an easy 100 RMB. In the US, you could buy ribs for a month or more on that. The same problem with clothes... Relatively speaking, they get much less buying power from what I have seen. And if your living off 30 RMB a month, then your living much more village style instead of socially with family and friends as you will eventually need to pay a lot more for eating out as a group... or your living off everyone else when you go out...

 

I guess it is knowing where to shop and eat.

 

30RMB a day:

Breakfast: 3.5 Reganmian and tea -streetfood

Lunch at work: 1.5 Baozi and tea; 3.5 Noodle Veggie and Pork soup; 3 jiaozi

Supper at home: 4 Three vegetables; 3 Meat; 2 Tofu; ...tea and rice

5 Smokes

3 Beer

 

There is definitely truth in knowing where to shop and eat... My wife would go from Fushun to Shenyang to buy anything of worth and quality; she wasn't about to buy something which needs replacing anytime soon. So while I do agree as Tsap's is saying, that those in cities like Fushun tend not to spend so much on extravagance, they will look for quality and that can cost more; but if it last 10 years (ie: purse) then they feel they have gotten a good deal.

 

Is that 3 RMB for a single beer? What brand? I could hardly find a decent beer at a decent price in all my trips to China.

 

One worry about the street food is that while it is cheap, many worry that they cut corners and add stuff to the food to stretch it out so they make more money.

 

An interesting observation my wife had was that she never really understood money till she came to the US. Although an accountant and thrifty, her meaning was that money doesn't last in china. The percentage of monthly income spent went fast. But to keep perspective, she was a single mom paying her child through school. Those that know, know they are paying at every grade level. And if you want your child to excel, you pay for tutors and certain schools.

[Fu Lai]

... Is that 3 RMB for a single beer? What brand? I could hardly find a decent beer at a decent price in all my trips to China.

 

One worry about the street food is that while it is cheap, many worry that they cut corners and add stuff to the food to stretch it out so they make more money...

 

3RMB is for your basic cheap beer, 500ml. Snow or other brands, some are 2RMB. They will even deliver a 12 case to your door, 20 or 30RMB. Tastier beer is more, when you visit I'll take you across the street where they have many good beers. I get my girl to okay a streetfood place before I'll go there but really, reganmian is basically only noodles with sesame sauce and spices... a staple food in Wuhan. I live near an elementary school and a University so my street has a long row of streetfood that caters to the lunch crowd. Delicious.

[Randy W]

That fits your local beers pretty well - low alcohol content, a mild flavor and sized about right for a meal. Seems like they're very similar - just sold in different bottles. The one around here is LiQ. I'll buy the Harbin, Hainan, etc. over Tsingtao, Pearl, or Snow anytime. Saving up my money for a weekly Mönschoff with my pizza (at ¥35 a bottle).