Cost of Living in Dalian - My methodology on calcuating estimated cost

Just another addition to the information on the cost of living in China.  I wrote an article a couple of years ago, and have recently updated it, about the cost of living in Wuhan.  A lot of the info is pretty relevant to other areas of China. You can check it out at The Cost of Living in China

Thanks mate for the wondferful link .

Few facts that came as a surprise for me

(considering 182 cm height and 95kg weight):: "If you are a large man or woman, you may have problems finding clothing to fit. If you are small in stature, it is a shopper's paradise."

Travelling by bus:: "The buses are very crowded at rush hour and sometimes you need to board by the back door, which will be free if that occurs."

Mobile accessibility :: "Make sure you buy a SIM card plan which allows you to dial and receive calls from other cities, AND it works when you actually go to other cities"

I will prefer pubilc transport:: "For several thousand RMB, it is possible to obtain a completely legal driving license for car or motorcycle without taking any test, etc"

seriously, a very good article to read and store the points in mind. thank you for the tips and will suggest everyone to read the article posted by chincanuck above!

Hi Dipendra, and welcome to Dalian

Couple of pointers that may help you - I'm putting together some of the questions you had from one of the other threads.

Rent - near the software park ( near Shuma Square), you'd be able to rent a half decent 2BHK for 3500Y in the Yida New international city. Most houses in China come pre furnished. You cannot bring in any furniture/electronics  without bearing extremely high costs for customs. If your work place is near the Software park, PM me and I can give you the number of an agent who speaks respectable English and has helped many Indians find apartments

Food - Indian style rice will not be available - we use Thai rice which costs about 60Y/ 5 kg. getting you shipping done will help. make sure that the agent pays for any "fees" *cough*cough* that are paid to customs to ease the process. usually,  you cannot bring too much food and limits are based on what the customs officer feels like

Dal and spices - bring some basics - you cant stock up for a year. I recommend that you buy stuff on taobao.com - you'll need to get help from a Chinese colleague to buy stuff. You will get most things, but it will be expensive. As an indicator expect to pay about 50Y for about 2 kg of dal and about 70Y for 5kg of Pilsbury atta. However Rajma and Mung Dal are both  easily available here in all big department stores and are no problem. Jeera(cumin) is also readily available as are pepper and for some weird reason, saunf. As Diya mentioned, Sunny stores in Zhongshang, near Shangri-la can stock some basics, but call them ahead before you go there to buy.



Vegetables - basics will be available at places like Walmar, carrefour etc, but cheaper and fresher options can be had at the local markets .. and no, you dont need to know chinese to buy!
for example for a family of 2+1 baby, 4-5 days supply of fruits and veggies cost us around 30-40Y


Meat - Not sure of this as we are veggie, but I suppose that the same principles as the vegetables hold

Eating out - we are vegetarian and do have a problem. We've found a buddhist place called 'Loving Hut" near software park. A meal for two usually comes to about 40-45Y . expect to pay 3 times that for a meal for two at Pizza hut or the " Italian restaurants". AS mentioned in the other thread by Diya, Abashi Curry in Zhongshan is decent. But you'll tire of it pretty soon. Another option is the restaurant at the Howard Johnson, ask Negi-ji who is the chef there and he could help give customized stuff.


Transport : I would not recommend the buses, until you are actually on the ground and know where you want to go and what bus numbers you need. For taxis as a rule of thumb, for every 10km expect a fare of 25-30Y, with minimum fare of being 9Y

Clothes: Remember to bring everything you can. Its pretty hard to find Indian sized clothes here. epecially shoes and jackets. I have not had much success in China. Also, the winter is pretty harsh here. If you are going to be here from November to March do bring good jackets and remember to layer up. It will be worth your while in buying good quality thermals, jackets, fleeces that you'll be using outside the house. Indoors will be fine and if the heating is good in your house, you should be able to walk around with normal summer-time clothes

Medicines: This is a no-brainer- remember to stock up until  you can get more supplies from back home. For medicines for a pre-existing condition - heart,BP etc, get stuff from home. Also get basics like aspirin, basic antibiotics, cough medicine, stuff for stomach bugs. And do not forget to carry a doctor' prescription with you - you don't want to be stopped at the airport unnecessarily


Other basics - there is no need to carry shampoo, soap, toothbrush, razors- easily available here and recognisable as international brands are here. However, if you are accustomed to using deodorant talcum powder and hair gel, it might be best if you get a small stock from India

Communications -

Telephone :Bring your phone from india, then go to any grocery store, point to your sim card and say " Wo yao SIM kaaa" and you'll be set with a pre-paid SIM. I recommend China Mobile as it is GSM. To call India, buy telephone IP-Card. I can post a pic of this later. Its pretty expensive to call India. I recommend that you and your family get very very familiar with Skype as  you'll be using it a lot

Internet: usually comes with a landline, make sure to ask your landlord to install as you will run from pillar to post if you have to do it on your own. It will cost about 1200Y / year for a 2Mbps line and is pretty good. Also a lot of websites are blocked  here. If you need access to the domains you mentioned on your other post, you will need a good paid (Vee)(P){N}. PM me and I can give you the name of the service I use. Same thing goes for FaceTube access


Entertainment/News : pretty much everything is blocked in china refer above on how to access.  however, indian news website ndtv etc work as does entertainment like Sony which you can stream. Dont bank on watching a lot of TV. Nothing is available and satellite TV is expensive (about 2000Y/year). You get a lot of DVDs on the streets for as little as 5Y sometimes. 


Electronics - other than you phone/ipad/laptop get everything here. No point in hauling  stuff like mixers and tv where the cost of transportation in and out of china+duties will be more expensive than buying here

Kitchen stuff - get a pressure cooker if you want to cook dal etc. Electric rice cookers can be bought here and are pretty good. Utensils, everyhting is available, but get a few basics so you can survive for the first week or so till you get a good handle of the place and know where you can buy everything else



I hope this is useful to you! I wish I had known some of this info before I moved to Dalian - life would have been a little simpler for me

I wish you all the very best in  your move!!!

[Source: Personal experience in moveing to Dalian in the past 2 months]

Hi crokusbogus ,
Thank you for providing the details. This is one great help for me! It's my luck to find such a great forum and importantly helpful people here to provide every possible details !

Thank you. I will do update on this thread about the things I have prepared and forwarded to my packers and movers to check with custom's clearance .

have just been routed to this thread as i am now looking at possible jobs in Dalian.

Thanks all for the info..it was truly educational!! il defo be referring to this thread if i end up in Dalian!!