Indian couple moving to Shanghai. Very confused.

Hello,

Saw your post and thought I share my experience as I just moved to Shanghai with my wife 3 days ago. 

First, the salary that you are getting is about twice of what you made.  There is expensive and there is conservative living.  I found this site that can give you a sense of what it costs to live in any city.
numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

Second, I just started my job search and it seems the need for Chinese (Mandarin) is a huge requirement.  I guess, unless you already have a position with your company, it could be a challenge finding a new career for your wife.  I would set the expectation that it will take a bit for her to find a job but not impossible.

Third, as I am hunting for housing, I have had friends provide me with a website (http://zu.sh.fang.com/)  It is in Chinese but it gives you some idea of what housing would cost.  Again, every individual has their preferences.

Best of luck in your search.  Hope my limited experience is of assistance to you.

Evald

For cost of living try www.numbeo.com

For expat living and challenges that people face in Shanghai you need to have some apps to make your life easier.

Food - bon app
Moving - shanghai metro maps
Lifestyle and expat tips - Relochina
meeting new people - meet up

If you need any more help let me know.
arrived in Shanghai 2012 november so have had some time to learn the ways how people walk and act.

Visa is the hardest thing to get, but if you have done it then you are already on right path

Visa is almost done. Will move in next month. Looking forward to it.

Also forgot to add chinese app - chinaskill
of course wechat and alipay.


well the list could carry on longer ...

Shanghai ( China) is expensive because of the premium you have to pay to imported goods, schooling, health care, and decent accommodation.
Imagine your wife is getting pregnant and your company is paying for a basic or cheap health coverage and after a quick market research you will find out that you are going to fork out 50k to 100k  and regarding schooling: from 100k/ year, decent apartment downtown15k+/month and so on..
All in all I think  the package is enough for a young couple.
BatW, There are many global HR firm with current salary survey where you can gauge your package based in position, skillset, experience , company size and so on.
Good luck with your move!

Thanks for the reply. Well the organisation is going to bear expenses towards schooling up to 200k/year but I guess that's too far ahead in future. We ll be moving in next month and see where it goes.

Thanks for the reply. I have looked upon various comparison sites as suggested . Well my compensation will only be a little more when compared to Delhi considering taxes (Not twice as you mentioned)  but we are deciding to move anyway for the experience. Looking forward to it.

Enjoy - and goodluck!

First of all congratulations on your new move in career. There are highs and lows in cost comparatively depending on the location you choose to live. Yes, shanghai is bit expensive city, but the package you mentioned is good I believe. And once you localize, you will find it's really good place to be. As advised my co mates in group, some basic apps needs to be handy as beginner. Good luck.

hi himanshupandey3182,
    if you are a banker, you can earn a lot in shanghai.
    from my learning, 600-700k is a basic package for these guys specialized in capital.
   
    good luck in shanghai.