Cost of Living in Chengdu

[SS]

I thought my chart, posted above, was pretty detailed, but no, it is everything I spent that month, total of all categories including utilities, grocery/household, entertainment, clothes, personal care, transportation, and coffee. My share of the rent, in case anyone is interested, is another thousand a month.

[Chris Ziich]

Oops. I didn’t see the chart before. Thanks for sharing!

[LouieG]

Hi there, LouieG here coming in peace with my first post!

I’ll be arriving in Chengdu in early February this year as part of Enfly Education’s teaching scheme. I’m currently down to receive 4,000 per month (accommodation is paid for) and was just wondering what sort of wage this is in Chengdu, how far will it get me, what sort of lifestyle would it afford.

Many thanks in advance!

Louie

[Chris Ziich]

You’ll be able to live comfortably, but not lavishly. Based off of 10 months of budget data that I have, and off the top of my head here are average prices for things:

• Beer (at a bar) 30
• Cocktail 40
• Cheap Chinese meals 15
• Cheap Foreign meals, Medium priced Chinese meals 65
• Expensive meals 120
• Mobile service 4G data 100/month
• Groceries 10/meal (not including utilities)
• High Speed Internet 160/month

That wage is below average for full time teaching in Chengdu, which I’m guessing should actually be about double that. You’ll be able to get 5 drinks every weekend and eat out a lot at mostly cheaper options, but saving money might be difficult if you plan on being social or plan on doing much recreation. Take advantage of cheap public transportation (bus, public bike, metro,) and stay off taxis and you’ll be able to stretch your yuan a bit further. I imagine you’ll do a fair bit of shopping when you first arrive to settle in, look to buy used, as foreigners are frequently leaving and getting rid of household items like appliances, dishes and cutlery in bulk.

[Charlie]

Just coming back to this now but since the beginning of the year I have gotten back onto tracking expenses. Good job keeping up with this practice for 10 months Chris. I have recently started cooking a lot of meals at home and am amazed with how much less I’m spending, coming from about 100 rmb a day in food costs alone.

When I have a month of data I will follow your example and share my data here.

[LongWang]

I guess your due to come next month?

4000 is a bit of a piss take really. The average teaching salary in Chengdu these days must be over 10,000. However, with that being said, if you don’t drink in nice bars (upwards of 40rmb a drink, cocktails 50+) and stick to eating local food (I personally would rather go hungry) then you should scrape by on about 3000-3500.

Being blunt, I couldn’t live here on 4000rmb a month.

[Author]

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