Shenzhen cost of living

August 12, 2009 7:32 AM

Shenzhen, China cost of living questions.

I have been doing research on the possibility of accepting a job offer in Shenzhen, China and I am being asked by my potential employer what I think a fair salary would be for a college graduate in the architecture field.

I have read plenty of expat/travel forums on living expenses (people claim it to be a rather expensive city) in SZ but they are not very detailed, nor are they in agreement with each other. I read that for a furnished 2 bedroom place in a nice part of town can run from 1800 to 8000 rmb a month. By comparison to my current expenses in the USA this site makes SZ seem somewhat cheap. I've read that 15,000 rmb a month is a perfectly adequate, if not a good wage for a nice place and some decent pocket money. In another forum people agree that 30,000 rmb a month is a fairly good wage.

I need to come back to him with a number that can cover a 1 bedroom furnished apartment in an undoubtedly nice part of town, $400 USD per month in loans, taxes, transportation, health care, living expenses, and entertainment, plus a fair amount of money for personal savings. This is an entry level position and I don't want to be unreasonably high and by no means am I going to leave everything here for a salary that is not going to give me at least the basics of a comfortable lifestyle. Comfortable = Adequately accommodating basic living needs in a nice safe area, basic food, basic entertainment, money to save and money to spend for a 25 year old guy. You know, a good 'entry level' position salary. For comparison sake: I would expect a salary of $44,000 in Boston or $39,000 in Cincinnati to cover my expenses/financial goals/personal needs... so what would be a comparable salary in Shenzhen?

posted by comatose to work & money (4 comments total)

Start out at 35ish and be willing to go down to around 20 if you have to. That is high for an expat, but you are living in an upscale part of China, and you are actually being sought after for a skill rather than just being (presumably) white and fluent in English.

35 would go a LONG way there, and you really dont need to be spending more than 2-3k a month on rent, 8k is for a very nice western style apt. which kind of defeats the point of being there. I was making 12 and felt rich over there, it did not translate to my bank account back here though.

(I have lived and worked in China but never in Shenzhen, I have had to deal with this in other cities though, and you can get a lot from a little there if you are willing to make your expectations for a good life more in line with the locals.)
posted by BobbyDigital at 8:15 AM on August 12

30-35k/month rmb is MAKING BANK in China, esp for the position you're describing.

When I lived in Beijing last year, all of my roommates were young expat architects (mid-20s) working for big-name int'l firms. An intern at say Alsop or MAD would start off at 2k. Entry-level was less than 10k/month -- *rmb* -- and they lived very comfortably making that much. A promotion after ~6-8 months could bump you up to 15k. 2 years --> 25k, max.

Our apartment was awesome, in a "local"-type complex in the center of Beijing, newly renovated with a balcony for each of us. It was only about 2200/person for 3 people. You could find nice places for even cheaper (~1500). IMHO it would be crazy to get a super-upscale place targeted specifically at Westerners (usually with fancy names like Seasons Park). They are no more immune to poor quality construction and corner-cutting than any other new building. Anything higher than 3500 for 1 person is a ripoff.

Transportation in Beijing: 2kuai for the subway, 4mao for the bus, 10kuai base cost for a cab. Food: You will probably spend <7>
The comparison isn't exact, but SZ can't be much more expensive than Beijing in the run-up to the Olympics. China is still cheap cheap cheap. I would say be bold and ask for 30k, since it sounds like you're being sought after and you somehow stand out from the enormous pool of young foreign architects in China willing to work for far less. But don't be surprised if that gets halved by a very astonished employer. (35k rmb/month = 60k USD/year, which is even more than what you'd be making in Boston. Something is very weird if your China salary is higher than your comparable US salary.)

No matter what you make, I recommend you budget less than 5k/month for actual living expenses & having fun at night/weekends. As for the rest: 1. save, 2. TRAVEL, as much as you can :)

Good luck!
posted by amillionbillion at 11:32 AM on August 12

Sorry, this part got cut off --

Food: You will probably spend less than 70/day on all 3 meals if you eat out on a workday -- and this is a reasonable budget, no scrimping. For perspective, consider that young Chinese doctors make 3k - 5k rmb a month.
posted by amillionbillion at 11:34 AM on August 12

I lived in Shenzhen for about three years, you're welcome to ask me any questions about it that you like. Shenzhen is not a great tourist city, but it has an interesting vibe and a very energetic feel to it.

First, check out shenzhenparty.com, it's the best website about the city for expats. You'll be able to see lots of places for rent with pics and prices to compare.

I only paid rent for one year while living there, but at the time it was 3200 rmb for a place in the very center of the downtown area (next to diwang daxia) in a somewhat outdated, but fully furnished two bedroom apartment with beautiful views. Going up to 5000rmb per month should get you something very nice in a good part of town (though you may need to be in the western part of town, Shekou, where prices might be different).

You'll probably want to find something that's near the subway, since traffic in SZ is horrible, just horrible. That'll up your price a good bit (I could have had something much nicer for 3200 if it weren't less than 100 yards from a subway entrance), but is worth it.

As far as other expenses go, I used to live on as little as 4000 rmb (aside from rent and utlilities), which was enough to easily afford to go out for dinner and drinks very frequently, take taxis home, but assorted junk, and then save up for occasional vacations. When I was in the 10-15k (aside from rent and utilities) money piled up no matter how wastefully I lived.

I'd want at least 20k rmb/month, and try for 30k, since you have tangible skills that are not easily replaceable. Good luck!
posted by bluejayk at 1:12 PM on August 12