shareswizard of 10years and still going strong

Cost of living in Shenzhen
Shenzhen is one of the most expensive cities to live in China, but still relatively cheap compared to most Western major cities.To give you an indication of how much things cost, I collected some prices. I'm sure prices will vary a bit depending on where you buy and which brand you buy, but this should give you a good indication. I rarely eat in Western restaurants and have adopted a Chinese eating pattern. If you enjoy Western restaurants, you obviously will spend more. Living costs are relatively most expensive, house prices came down in 2008, but have risen a lot again and buying a house in a good location in Shenzhen is expensive.


The areas near the border with HongKong (traditionally Futian and Luohu, but now also increasingly Nanshan) are a bit more expensive to live. Living in the center also has other benefits, for example closer to library, more shopping malls, more restaurants etc. Bao'an is currently fast expanding and when the subway finishes in 2011, Bao'an will be more convenient to live as well. Whenever you go to Bao'an (where the airport is) you definitely feel that it's further away from the center: less high buildings, broader roads, less people.


Compared to the Netherlands, Shenzhen is still much cheaper to live. Especially eating in restaurants in much cheaper. House prices had gone up a lot and were approaching Dutch levels, but have since dropped off quite a lot; since the start of 2009 they are rising again. Never trust prices you see advertised online, but come here and look around. Because house prices dropped so much, it's now easy to find a place to rent. Also realize that 100m2 is already quite big in China and it should cost below 5000Y/month. (I sometimes see advertisements targeted at foreigners asking ridiculous prices -be warned and just look around and bargain).



According to Mercer's 2009 survey of living costs Shenzhen is now 22nd on the list of most expensive cities in the world for expats! Mercer's Cost of Living survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.

1. Tokyo - Japan


2. Osaka - Japan

3. Moscow - Russia

4. Geneva - Switzerland

5. Hong Kong

8. New York


9. Beijing

12. Shanghai

16. London


22. Shenzhen

23. Guangzhou



This is my personal, unscientific, list of daily items. Just use common sense in China and live like a Chinese, then you will see that the cost of living is not so high.

Food/Drink
Price (Yuan)
milk, small paper cup 2.90
white bun supermarket 1.8
half sliced bread 5
apples (per kg)
7
water (1.5 liter)
2.5
lettuce (0.5 kg)
1
rice (0.5 kg)
2
pork (0.5 kg)
12
spareribs (0.5 kg)
18
bag of nuts
5-20


Daily usage
big bottle soap 20-30
t-shirt, men 20-50
shirt, men
40-200



Restaurant
dinner, 2 person 30-120
lunch, 2 person 25-50
chinese fast-food order (incl. delivery)
10-20
some dishes

fish 20-100
vegetable 10-30
meat 20-50
rice/bowl 1-2


Living/work
rent house, 50m2
2.000Y/month * see note below

rent house, 100+m2, good location 8.000Y/month
buy house (normally 70-150m2) 7-25K RMB/m2
utility (electricity, water, management)
200/month
internet 2MB ADSL
1440Y/year
native english teacher, fulltime
10.000+Y/month *see note below

taxi 5 km (start 12.5)
20
bus/subway 2-5/trip



Also take a look at the Chinese supermarkt folder I scanned, this will give you an even better idea of the things you can buy and for what prices.

* note about apartment renting costs July 2009:

Just like salaries, the prices for renting an apartment vary hugely. You can go from 1500RMB/month for a cheap community, where normal Chinese people live to extremely luxurious which are twenty times as much ! Also be aware that the English-language classifieds are usually not the cheapest. Best option is just to look around while you are in the city and go to some Chinese real estate companies. Prices have dropped a lot in 2008, but have been rising since the start of 2009 again. Some examples of expensive apartments on offer at ShenzhenParty :

Location Size (m2)
Description price RMB /month
Futian CBD 109
3 bedrooms (one master bedroom), 2 bathes, 1 large living room & 1 dining room 8.500
Futian Honey Lake 200 3 bedrooms, 1 study room, 1 living room, 1 dining room, 1 kitchen, 1 balcony. 30.000
Futian, near to Co-co park 151 3 bedrooms ,and 2 bathrooom, fully furnished and equiped 12.000
Futian Che Gong Miao Metro Station 116
2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 study room, 1 living room, 1 dining room, 1 kitchen 8.000
Luohu center,beside Diwang mansion 63 1 livingroom,1 big bedroom,1 kitchen,1 washroom 5.500
Luohu KingGlory plaza 42 2.000
Nanshan Coastal rose garden 127 3 bedrooms 2 bath 5.900
Nanshan/Shekou Sea Taste Garden 78 2 bdrooms, 1 bath , 1 nice kitchen , 2balcony , 1 living rooms 3.800

As you can see, 2000 is about the minimum you pay in reasonable locations. You can go lower by looking around in the city. It's easy to spend over 8000RMB/month for big apartments.



*note about salaries foreign teachers:

The State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs has updated the salary guidelines for a foreign expert or teacher in July 2009. Salaries start at 3,000 to 4,100 yuan per month for bachelor degreed teachers in underdeveloped western areas to as high as 12,000 to 15,000 per month for full professors in first-tier east coastal cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou. Although these salary guidelines are more realistic than the previous recommendations, they are still lower than what a foreign teacher should expect