Is 10K RMB enough - married with no kids

Hi Maheshwarm, welcome to Expat-blog!

Concerning the accommodation, i suggest you to have a look at this article :  Accommodation in China, there are information and useful links that i am sure will help you to find an accommodation.

You may also view other threads on the Shanghai forum to have an idea about life in Shanghai.

I wish you good luck and hope other members will be able to advise you.
All the best,
Christine

10K RMB is small wages. The apartment I stay in which is in an apartment block with 10000 other Chinese workers in the Pudong area costs 7K a month

Thank you for reply and information.

Looking at sugesstions it seems its not a good salary and it would be difficult to manage.

I am not sure if this will help, but i am not planning to stay in Downtown. I am planning to rent a flat little bit far. If that helps..

I assume you mean 10K per month after tax? I dont know what the tax is on that - maybe 1K ?

For 4K you can rent 100-120 sq M outside downtown no problem. you can rent for lower, say 3K, if you look around with a local Chinese agent. 1K will cover your utility bills unless very cold or very hot when you need aircon or heat. so for 4-5K accom + utilities is sorted. Transport is cheap if you use bus / metro. It may only cost you and your wife 300 -500 per month. Can be less if you are beside where you work. You can also get an electric bike cheap (eg. 2K rmb).
Food is cheap in Shanghai if you shop in local markets and local supermarkets. 3K will cover food for both of you and you can eat out a few times in cheap places (eg. hotpot)for 80 rmb for the pair of you (unless you are fussy about what you want).
A couple can live on 10K in shanghai no problem if they do not mind having no extra money beyond rent and food. Unless your wife is prepared for a life of having no nice things until you get promoted, then you need a second salary asap. Most women I have ever met would not put up with a life on 10K per month. Don't even consider having children on that salary. Then you will go from breaking even to poor overnight.

Good luck.

@shagm1.

Thanks a lot for the information. That means basic expenses are going to be around 8 to 9K per month....That means, 10K is not a good salary for a decent life there.

hi, 10K is consider rather good for the local. If you rent a room, you can get rental for about 1K to 2K a month.
If you rent a 2 bedroom place, can range from 4K to 20K.

Income tax is rather high here, it's around 10% to 20%. Shanghai is rather expansive and a bowl of noodle can cost around rmb20 to rmb50. A typical macdonald meal will cost around rmb 30. You can live cheaply or very expensive here.

hi.actually 5K is enough to live in Min Hang District.the living fee in this area is much cheaper than other district.you can rent a house like 1.3k per month with 1bed room and 1living room and its easy to get it in that area.also the food fee will only cost you 70rmb per day for ur couple.1K for your monthly shoping.so 2100+1300+1000 and 600rmbfor the bills.but the life is really like regular chinese life here. just for surviving.

Thanks leon_philippine for the detailed info. This is the information i was looking for.