Salary with 13,000 RMB

Hi Waynelcy!

Welcome to Expat.com.

I hope that other members will help you soon.

Harmonie.

Hello Harmonie,

Thanks for the warm welcome.

I hope someone can give me some comments soon.

Hi,
13,000 isn't bad, but not great either. How many hours a week? If its full time, its not enough, especially if you are not given a living stipend that will cover all or most f your rent. As a rule, you can assume the closer you get to the center of Beijing, he more expensive your rent will be. There's so much to do in Beijing, don't bother wasting money on movies!

Hi,

That should be similar to the normal worker there which is 8 hours per day but I haven't confirmed with the employer.

I saw an article here expatarrivals.com/china/beijing/cost-of-living-in-beijing, it said that the intermediate (or good/acceptable) pay is around 15,000 RMB, but the article was 2 years ago. So I wondering what the people think about that?

Thanks!

13,000 is reasonable if you're going to be here for a short amount of time (1 year), but if you're here longer term and are wanting to save money, pay for health insurance, travel, it's probably a bit low.

I actually just wrote a long post about the cost of living in Beijing here: Cost of Living in Beijing, June 2011
That will probably give you a better idea of what to accept.

Hi Matt,

Your blog post is really helpful. Apparently the most expensive expense there is the accommodation. The fact is I think I will rather spend more for accommodation and stay in a single unit apartment.

What I'd surveyed so far indicates that the decent apartment should cost at least 5,000RMB/month, that is really painful for people earn 10k/month :S

Cost of living here is steep.  Surprised me quite a bit, but I compare it to U.S. prices. Even items manufactured in China are roughly 2-3 times more expensive (besides being lower quality).  Anything service oriented is much cheaper, and of course if you can live off Chinese food it can be cheap as well... but you get what you pay for.

Here is some info you may find helpful. You can live pretty cheap without being a martyr and still have foreign stuff.
interactiveexpat.blogspot.com/2011/06/beijing-apartment-prices.html

13,000 is OK, the average salary in beijing is 5000/month, but that's also because a lot of low income people live here. the salary is depends on what kind of job you get, if you working in IT or finance, it's not a good salary.

Are you kidding?? I eat out most nights and take taxis everywhere and party lots, bought a gym membership, taken night courses, often go on excursions out of the city, saved enough money to travel (just came back from a three week vacation in Europe) and I earn less then that! You can easily get a nice flat by yourself for 4000 RMB near the center of town!

Of course I'm not splurging cash left right and center but I most definitely have not been counting pennies.

What on earth is everyone spending all their money on?!?!

I am, however, talking from a standpoint of a young single person living alone who does not need to look after children (if you exclude my pets).

If you have a partner or children to look after and you are making 13,000RMB for yourself AND them, then no that is not enough.

Listen,
For a comfortable single unit apartment, I can't see anything under 5000Rmb,thats almost half of your salary,then utilities about 1500Rmb, transportation varies,and food, I guess you might have around 3000 remaining after all, if you budget right and track the narrow path. Thats tight yow, bargain for at least 16000Rmb if you want to live comfortable while doing some savings.

Waynelcy wrote:

Hello,

I was offered a job in Beijing and the pay is 13,000RMB/month.

Here are my concerns before I accept the offer:

1. What is the decent accommodation cost for an apartment located in the central of Beijing for? Preferably for a single person stay.
2. How much is the cost for a standard morning/lunch/dinner meal?
2. What is the average monthly expenses if you occasionally seek for entertainment like going for a movie once a week?
3. How much do you think you can save per month if you are local people getting that salary?

Please feel free to give me comments and feedbacks.

Thanks!

1. There are no accommodation in central Beijing with your pay package.
2. Depends on your preference. Locals Breakfast is around RMB10~15 could be cheaper but doubt you could swallow.
3. Movies ranges from RMB40~200 depends on cinemas and shows you are watching. Different time has different price too.
4. You cannot base your savings on local because you cannot live like local. Its more than eating and living like local. If you work out your staying and food less the entertainment because of all the online shows you could watch for free. The rest will be yours to save. Give and take some for subways and daily essentials.

Hi
If the housing is paid and education of child is paid for is 16000 RMB after tax a good salary for 3 people?
If I do not depend on local food items can I save money? If roughly how much in a year?