Moving to Guangzhou

It depends on what your requirements are. Cost of rental for apartments here differ in a wide range, depending on area, size and facilities.
If you want comfort, suggest you look at the Zhujiang New Town area. Apartments there are more expensive, but most of them are new and comfortable.
An apartment rental here usually means it's fully furnished, but do be careful of hidden costs like the 8% tax payable for any rental above RMB2k, management fees, utility bills, cable tv and internet. Also, do make things very clear about the fapiao/receipt that you will need if your company is paying for your expenses.
I found my apartment through this website - cn-houses.com - they understand your needs prior to recommending and they're pretty helpful in getting all the utilities set up.

Hope this helps!

Hello Marilyn, thanks for the information I will follow up on your suggestion for looking for accommodation

Regards

Hi!

ZhuJiang New Town will be a nice place, but I advice you TianHe district better.. just because a lot of ZhuJiang New Town is still under construction and there is dirt because of the working in progress. Will be a beautifull place, but like in 5 years from now.
I live in GZ with my wife and we are expecting our first kid, rent can be around 5000 RMB montly and for food you can add other 7000RMB, maybe more for you because of the 2 kids.. 10000...
I live near TianHe bei and The stadium, is well serviced, there are Western Restaurant and Western Supermarket, and different metro line.. where are you going to work?

For anything you want to ask don't hesitate to contact me.

Mauro

Hi L78Kiwi,

I was so excited to see that you are from Auckland!! I am from GZ, but I have been living here in Auckland for almost 10 years. If there is anything that I may be able to help, give me a call or text at 021 269 8892.

I agree with both Mauro and Marilyn that TianHe District is a nice and convenient area to live. I grew up in TianHe, ha .

Do you feed your two toddlers with milk? To be honest, I don't trust the milk powder or milk product made in China. Imported milk powder is common in GZ, but quite expensive. My friends have been sending milk powder from NZ back to GZ for their relatives. Hope this helps.   

Anyway, best of luck for your adventure in GZ.

definitely,there was something wrong with some kinds of milk powder or milk product made in China, but it doesn't mean that all of the chinese milk products are not trusted,it is like that if your finger is broken, you couldn't say your whole body is broken.
especially after the milk powder accident happened, the milk product industry was rectified throughly. so i don't think it is neccessary to worry about that so much!
to L78kiwi, if you are finding a best suburb district to live, i guess PANYU district is suitable for you. you can find some nice houses or apartments which are very reasonable in QIFU newtown of PANYU district. but it is  a little bit far from the downtown.

Hi L78Kiwi,

I am a NZer living in GZ. The comments about Zhu Jiang New Town are correct, it is a nice place, lots of coffee shops and good places to eat but also a lot of construction going on.

My suggestion will be to come here alone, find a serviced apartment around Tianhe, sign a short term contract and have a look around, make sure it is suitable for your family.

Let me know when you are here, it would be good to catch up with more Kiwi's

Cheers, Neil

Monthly rent: RMB2000-3000 or NZD400-600 for a regular furnished 2 bedroom house. In China, almost all the houses are in high buildings similar to apartments in your country. Also remember to rent a house near a subway station because traffice in Guangzhou is really bad. If you like to live by university, you can rent a house near Guangzhou university city where you can find almost all the universities in Guangzhou. But some places are not safe, e.g. the area near Guangzhou railway station. Where to rent the house also depends where you will work. As I said, traffic jam ... Don't live very far from your office unless you enjoy spending 2 hrs on the way every day. Some buildings have a big common gardens and responsible security guards; some don't. Try to rent the former. Usually they are safer especially for you foreigners. Anyway, if you company pay RMB10,000 for you every month, forget all what I said, just go to rent a villa. I know many foreign families who live in luxury in China. The Guangzhou subway map below for your careful research.

gzmtr.com/en/

Monthly food cost: RMB2000 or NZD400 for your family if you cook in the most time. Chinese fast food is usually for NZD1-2 for one person. McDonald is usually for NZD2-3 for one person. Some Guangzhou food is cheaper and more tasty but a lot of foreigners don't like it. You don't need worry buying food or eating because supermarkets and restaurants are everywhere.

How to find budget accommodation, cheap clothes and food restaurants in Guangzhou

You can forget the conventional hotel and stay with local family. They are inspected for comfort, security, easy access to city center and compatibility with foreign tourists. English is spoken by at least one family member and also equipped to handle emergencies or special needs. The rent is about 50RMB to 100 RMB per day depend on different house and how long you stay.

or you can choose special offer of some budget hotel, many website offer this kind of in formations such as living-in-china.com, ctrip.com, quar.com, etc. sometimes you can get three star hotel room or four star hotel room below 100 RMB per night.

If you want to find cheap clothes or other products, go to wholesale markets of specific product, compare with alibaba.com, made-in-china.com these B2B website or online shop, buying in wholesale market will let you feel more confidently. As you can

1. You Can Visit & verified many Suppliers at one place, and Compare the quality & price directly.
2. You Don't need minimum order, you can just buy stock and savings of up to 90%..
3. Wholesale markets always open everyday of the year
if you looking for garment, pls view below garment wholesale markets in Guangzhou.
uguide.org/wholesale-markets.asp?b=2&city=

In Guangzhou, Indian people tend to flock to different locations. Xiao Bei Road and the connecting western section of Huanshi Dong Road is their core locale, a convergence of office towers, lines of Islamic restaurants and residential blocks. Many people there are traders and the area is sometimes called the "Little India of Guangzhou". Indian food restaurants are located in many places; you can just Google it online to find it out.

Hello L78KIWI

L78AUSSIE here...LOL

I've got an nice 3 bedroom apartment in Taojin area, close to the Garden Hotel and Huanghuagang Park. Available in early march. Contact me if you are interested.

P.S. I'll give you a discount if you follow rugby league~