Accommodation allowance & duplication of benefits package.

I would be surprised if both your employer and your partner's employer collaborated  on providing your living arrangements. They typically do not. It is your responsibility. You must decide on your own and select which package would benefit your situation. Then negotiate accordingly.

If it is not in the contract, then you will not be awarded any benefits discussed. No matter what the person says. It's either in the contract or not.

Contracts are also easily broken. If your partner gets a job, but fails to obtain a Z-visa (maybe they lied, or there is some problem), the contact will be discarded and your partner will be forced to leave China. make sure that they are qualified to do the job as promised, and make sure that they have the supporting documentation. The employer might give you some leeway, but not the Chinese government. Work is tied to the visa. If you lose your Z-visa, it will be because of fraud and you might have a difficult time securing an alternative visa.

I don't mean to scare you, but... it has happened.

China is not a litigious nation. In the UK, a contract is the word carved in stone. Not so in China. It is a guideline subject to the whims of the employer.  You can arbitrate the terms, but always remember that Chinese courts and arbitration will always side with the Chinese. It does not side with who is right or who is wrong.

All that being stated, I am happy for you. The mere fact that you managed to secure (not one) but two positions in China is impressive.  You are not even married. That is double impressive. Thirdly, that you will both hold office positions is truly wonderful. Please consider yourself fortunate. This kind of thing typically does not happen often.

Just make sure that you have all the documents you need.  You need to take care of them NOW before you set foot in China.

Best Wishes!

Thanks for the reply, I was under the impression that reputable international schools would be happy to pay an accommodation allowance to any employees so that they can find suitable apartments. At least that is what I have read on various websites.

My office is in Fuyong, hers school is in Longgang, this means we need accommodation that is centrally located in somewhere like OCT, Houhai or Futian and we would therefore need in the region of 13,000RMB to rent an apartment.

I have been offered 9,000RMB but that will not cover the full cost, so we were hoping to use an accommodation allowance from her school to make up the difference.

The school is a very prestigious school in the UK so everything they do in regards to visas will be above board and legal and she is fully qualified to work there.

Thanks for the words of encouragement, we do indeed consider ourselves fortunate and hopefully this will all work out for us.

You are over estimating the cost of apartments in Shenzhen.

Your best best would be to get an apartment in BuJi. It is on the LongGong line. It will be centrally located between your and your partner's place of employment.  Plus the prices in BuJi are cheap.  You should be able to get a decent apartment for less that 3000 RMB/month.



BuJi is were the Longgang line (pink) meets with the Huanzhong line (red).

Good luck to both of you.

Sorry, she is in Longhua, not Longgang. My office is in Fuyong which is on line 11 past the airport, so quite some distance from the centre of the city. Only line 11 serves that area of the city and I don't wan't to be commuting for hours so it really leaves us with areas around Line 11 (Houhai, OCT etc).

Apartment costs where we are looking are at least 10,500 (OCT).  http://shenzhen.qfang.com/rent/100100739

Dude. I OWN a house in Nanshan that is ON the subway. We rent it out for 6000 RMB/month. It's 120 m2 with two bedrooms and it is ON the subway. 10K/month is insane! What does it have 300m2, and nine bedrooms? That pricing is for business office, not for residential homes.

When I lived in downtown Shenzhen, here were the rents that I paid in the areas of GuoMao, LouHu village and next to the Stock Market;



Next door to the Stock Market. 65m2 for 6500 RMB/month in 2011
Twin Cities building in GuaMao. 80m2 for 4000 RMB/month in 2013
Nearby Grand Theater. 55m2 for 3400 RMB/month in 2014



I would suggest you find a different gal to help you find an apartment.

I am considering a new  house in Zhuhai... Zhuhai is a tourist area and so is more expensive that SZ. Still, 10K is just outrageous. Does it include maid service, and all fees?



Granted that you are probably looking for a western equivalent,and don't want to go local.  However, price has nothing to do with much. You can get a apartment in OCT for as low as 500 RMB/month. No A/C, and no elevator. The point is that you should be able to find something reasonable.



I am stunned that you are even considering any rent over 6K in China.

What subway station is your apartment near? Line 11 is more expensive from what I have seen. I am using qfang to search for properties and the prices seem consistent across the website so I'm not sure why you think it's expensive? I've also used SZbetterhouse.com to compare prices.

http://www.szbetterhouse.com/en/show.as … p;big_id=9

Anything in Houhai of decent quality and size is a minimum of 9000RMB.
http://shenzhen.qfang.com/rent/100051285

We would like a decent bathroom, AC and elevator (not walking up ten floors). I don't want to be slumming it for years and years. That last picture is a VERY small apartment. We need a minimum of two bedrooms as one will be and office. We would also like the bathroom to be better than a hostel. This means we have to pay more.

I don't think the above properties are for business offices as these are all residential buildings. As i'm sure you know the prices for SZ propery have sky rocketed in the past few years so rent's have also increased.

Nearby grand theatre is now 6500 for 51sqm
shenzhen.qfang.com/rent/100089483

OK. I think that I see your problem. You are using the Western Internet to find an apartment.

In China, things are done by relationships. Sure there are many APPS and resources that you can use, but your best deals are found by using a local agent nearby. To find a local agent, you will need to ask one of your work colleagues to assist you.  This is China, so they will. They will go out with you and help you find an agent, and translate your needs with that agent.

In the meantime, when you arrive, stay in a cheap hostel. Learn the "lay of the land". Get a fell about locations and places. Then work with your colleague.

If you are still fixated in finding an Internet "bargain" then STOP USING WESTERN APPS.  (Anything multilingual is Western.) Go Chinese. I would suggest you use this APP;

Q房网

Download it from Baidu. (Just copy and paste in the dialog box). When I used the APP, I found many places at 1/3 to 1/2 the rates that you are looking at.

Now, you do not have to believe me. You can do what you want. However, ask any expat in China and they will pretty much agree with me. Use a local agent, and get help from a work colleague to assist you.

I'm not using a western app. The links I sent you were primarily from Qfang, which is the same as the app you suggested using: Q房网. I don't see how you found places that are half the price of the apartments I am looking at if you are using the same app or are you referring to when you were looking a few years ago?

We are staying in a hotel in Bao An when we arrive and I have visited SZ on business many times before so I know the areas we are hoping to find an apartment in.

I will be using one of the women from our office to help find an apartment and agent.

Thanks for the advice so far.