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Dear all,
I am Henry and Im so glad I found this resourceful and lively forum. Great info except for 1 rather disturbing topic about someone hunting down a chinese doctor. I am keen to come to Chengdu and give it a shot at an exciting job offer, really not sure what to expect though. Is the cost of living expensive? Can I survice comfortably with RMB18000.00 a month? Plan to save the rest of my salary for my family ( my main purpose to relocate for a better offer). How much does a car and apartment ( 1 bed room) cost near the 3rd ring road? Preferably with gym fascilities and nicely furnished.
Are the expats living there friendly ?
Hope some of you guys can help me with some info.
Thanks.
Kind regards,
Henry
Actually I am keen on a used car ideally german brands. Hope they are not too expensive as compared to the US.
Thanks
Hi Henry,
If you’re new to Chengdu I would strongly recommend against driving here. It’s extremely stressful since people drive like maniacs and the traffic is horrible. You can live comfortably on 18k per month and take a taxi wherever you need to go. The cost and availability of a 1-bedroom apartment will vary wildly depending on where it’s located – inside 3rd ring road is basically the entire city. You can find likely find an apartment in whatever area you like, prices will range from 1,500 rmb to ten times that amount.
With that kind of salary you can live very comfortably for sure.
Most people who adjust to the Chinese lifestyle can start to live comfortable from 6000 to 8000 net spending a month. Or even lessWith that I mean, If you sometimes have a cheaper 10-20 rmb lunch/dinner or cook by your self then 6000 should be enough. If you need to eat pizza and a 200 rmb bottle of wine each day, you would need more then 6000 net spending a month.
Dear Charlie and J.slemmer,
Thank you so much for the reassurance and advice. I was worried as I had the impression Chengdu is an expat area and would be as expensive as Shanghai. With RMB/Yuan 18000.00 do you think I could bring my wife and kids over? Worry that education in private or international schools might cost a bomb. I am budgetting myself to 18000 yuan as would like to save the rest to pay off my mortgages at home fast.
I can live with minimal as I dont drink or gamble nor fancy expensive branded stuffs and I can enjoy a meal with just plain rice and eggs. got it through my tough childhood and university life.
Just in case I need a car for weekend drive, is it expensive? How much would private schooling cost or are there any alternatives for good education for my 4 and 7 years old daughter. Home schooling is not an option for me as my wife would not be a good teacher.
Thanks again for all your replies. Sincerely appreciate it.
I would be working at Wan Xiang North Road, so need to find a place nearby so I can cycle or walk to work daily. Not sure where this part of Chengdu is. Is it a nice area? Expensive?
Chengdu is much cheaper than Shanghai. I think you can bring your wife and kids over and not have an issue if you are able to manage a budget. You say you can sustain on rice and eggs so I doubt you will have a problem.
I’m not familiar with Wan Xiang North road…
Hi Henry,
Looks like you’ll be working within close distance of Tongzilin. Lots of Expat accomodation in Chengdu is found around this area. As a general idea, a lot of what you will need to spend your time can be found between Hi-Tech Zone (the subway stop just outside of the 3rd Ring Road) and Sichuan Gymnasium (the subway stop at the 1st Ring Road).
Europe City, Master, Utopia and Emerald are all really close by and you should be able to get a nice 1 bed for around 3-4000 in one of these more western-facing complexes.
For accomodation, this site is decent – http://www.modernfamily.cn/en/rentals.php?cate=101,131
More expensive than if you use local chinese sites, but they helped me when I arrived and were very good.
Wow thanks so much scratchy,
U have provided great info. Really appreciate it. Will look into these few apartments. They do come with free gym and pool facilities right like elsewhere in d world? Is it normal for MNC not to provide accommodation for expats in China? I don’t even have housing allowances 🙁
But after heavy consideration from advices here, I have decided to scale down my personal allowances to RMB 12k a month and see what happens since I decided to come alone for first 1-2 years.
Thanks again guys. Really appreciate for your great advices and help. Means alot to me since im coming to a foreign land like an alien 🙁
Btw Charlie, I must say you are doing a great job in this forum. Perfect 🙂 Keep up your good work. Really helps so many people like me coming to Chengdu (not sure where) for first time. Thanks Charlie.
@Henry RE: Car
Don’t listen to all the naysayers, driving in Chengdu really isn’t that bad. I’ve been driving here for almost a decade. You can look at used vehicles on sc2car.com (sichuan second hand vehicles), use a translator plug-in or whatever if you need, and easily pick-up/register a car in your name. You’ll also need a license, though.. or, at least, “should” get one.
Hi Rick,
Thanks for the great insight into cars. I had a look at the website but of course can’t understand much. The figure for the price eg. 15 or 30 I assume is 150,000.00 and 300,000.00 respectively right? If so then wow cars in Chengdu is really expensive even for used cars. At least I got a rough idea now of what I will be getting into. Thanks again Rick.
Appreaciate it.
Car prices here are insane for foreign brand cars. One alternative if you don’t care about “face” is rebranded models, but these are often about 10 years old. For example, you can get 2nd hand rebranded Mitsubishi (Pajero) and Isuzu workhorses very cheap. It’s decade old tech but they run OK and are cheap and easy to repair. About 5 years ago I rented a Pajero Io 4WD, and bashed it around the Kangding neighborhood (all without a Chinese license!). It was great fun and these things can be had for about 20,000 kuai (mine had about 70k on the speedo). Gotta say tho, driving here is generally more hassle than it’s worth…..
Btw Charlie, I must say you are doing a great job in this forum.
Thank you, I’m glad that it’s helped you adjust to Chengdu 🙂
Don’t listen to all the naysayers, driving in Chengdu really isn’t that bad. I’ve been driving here for almost a decade. You can look at used vehicles on sc2car.com (sichuan second hand vehicles), use a translator plug-in or whatever if you need, and easily pick-up/register a car in your name. You’ll also need a license, though.. or, at least, “should” get one.
Really? What’s the penalty for driving without a Chinese license? That sounds very risky.
The figure for the price eg. 15 or 30 I assume is 150,000.00 and 300,000.00 respectively right? If so then wow cars in Chengdu is really expensive even for used cars. At least I got a rough idea now of what I will be getting into. Thanks again Rick.
You’re probably seeing the character 万, which means 10,000. So yes, 15万 is 150,000. Unless you get a no-name Chinese brand, cars are expensive here because they aren’t just cars. To the vast majority of Chinese people they are a symbol of success and come at a premium.
At least rent a car and get a feeling for what it’s like before purchasing a car. To me, driving in Chengdu is the worst thing on earth. Okay, Beijing and probably Mumbai are probably worse. But driving amidst people who drive in the wrong lane and on sidewalks, don’t use turn signals, and are constantly honking is infuriating.
Hi Charlie, Yeah will try driving around before deciding. Hope I don’t kill too many people on the busy roads while im at it. By the way just out of curiosity, how much would a brand new Mercedes C class cost? Not that I am buying but just for price comparison only. Do they have rebadge german cars that is cheaper?
Thank again.
@Charlie “Beijing and probably Mumbai are probably worse.”
Cairo. I’ve never seen anything like Egypt, I did not see a single car that wasn’t dented all over, and people even put these giant pads along the sides of their cars to help prevent further damage.. coming directly from China to Egypt I was *floored* by how crazy the driving is there, and that’s saying a lot!
By the way just out of curiosity, how much would a brand new Mercedes C class cost? Not that I am buying but just for price comparison only. Do they have rebadge german cars that is cheaper?
I’m not sure of the exact price, but expect it to cost twice as much as in the West. That’s a good starting place. Some luxury cars cost 4x as much here.
Cairo. I’ve never seen anything like Egypt, I did not see a single car that wasn’t dented all over, and people even put these giant pads along the sides of their cars to help prevent further damage.. coming directly from China to Egypt I was *floored* by how crazy the driving is there, and that’s saying a lot!
That is interesting to hear. The only crazier place I’ve seen is Saigon, Vietnam. There aren’t as many cars there but there are about a million people driving completely free of any orderly system.
Just googled this, here’s a video which describes the concept pretty well for anyone who hasn’t been there:
@Charlie
That video is great.. it looks almost organic in the way they kinda weave and adjust naturally and in groups/streams..By the way just out of curiosity, how much would a brand new Mercedes C class cost?
I bought a second hand C-class Mercedes from the 4S garage last year and it cost me 220,000rmb. Had about 38,000km on the clock and around 3-4 years old. Hope that gives you an idea.
OMG RMB 220000 for a pre owned c -class is quite expensive. Now I really have to think through properly before deciding on a car. Will try to make do without one in the begining.
Lol I hope traffic in chengdu is no where near that like the video. I won’t be able to go through that without running over anyone..lol
Thanks guys. I think I know exactly now what to expect in chengdu from this forum. Thanks again.
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