living expenses

Hello I am looking at a job offer in shenzhen and i wonder if someone can share some info in living expenses.

housing, groceries, transport.

I will be working at the airport so I wonder which area is good to look for a place to live.

Thanks

living expenses

Taxis are cheap (flag fall is Rmb12.5), food is cheap (not a lot of Western food, but you can head to Hong Kong for that), groceries are cheap, and housing is pretty cheap too. Not sure about airport areas, but it%26#39;s fairly close to Shekou, an area where lots of foreigners live (there%26#39;s more Western restaurants and bars out there). Shekou is about a 40 minute cab ride to central Shenzhen, and it%26#39;s probably only about 15 minutes to the airport (I%26#39;m guessing there, but it%26#39;s an educated guess). Shekou is a bit pricier than central SZ (catering to all the foreigners, I guess), but it%26#39;s still a lot cheaper than Hong Kong.

Compared to the UK (which I assume is where you are now) Shenzhen is practically FREE! Hong Kong is more pricey, more like New York City prices. Check out these websites for more info on Shenzhen:

http://www.geoexpat.com/forum/forum29.html

http://www.shenzhenparty.com/

living expenses

Thanks for your info I will have a look a the web sites.

Cheeers

Hello again I wonder if you could also help me to figure out, how much you pay for utilities. Like hydro, gas, A/C. etc.

What about taxes??

I appreciate your help.

Wador

Taxes are a tricky one, especially with the changing regulations. The government has just required that all foreigners file tax returns by April 2007. See this site: http://www.szds.gov.cn/en/filing3.asp#03

For detailed tax advice, you should probably talk to a professional. I understand that income taxes are pretty high here (someone recently told me 45% - not sure how accurate that is).

I don%26#39;t know if the tax rate varies depending on income. I do know that they have recently raised the tax-free threshold for foreigners to about 4000 and some employers file dummy returns so very few English teachers pay any income tax at all. Over that 4000 the tax rate I pay is about 15%. I looked at some real estate windows in Shekou last Sunday and the rentals there were double what I pay in Zhuhai for similar sized apartments - around 4000-5000 for 2 bdr %26amp; about 80sqm. However Shekou would be a great place to live if you have a foreign income and want to live a western life-style - lots of bars, outdoor cafes %26amp; wetsern restaurants, plus English menus in the Chinese restaurants.

In a Chinese restaurant you can expect to pay about 30 RMB person for a meal (50 if it is a very upmarket place and you drink lots of beer). On the street expect to pay 2-5 RMB for breakfast snacks.

I can%26#39;t help you with groceries as I don%26#39;t know how ';western'; you want to live. I know I pay in RMB what I used to pay in $$ but I eat Chinese most of the time.

Thanks very much for the info I appreciate the input

I will probably have to go there for an interview before I actually move so that will give me a chance to see.