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Hi everybody, I’m new here, nice to meet all of you.
I’ve received an offer for working in Chengdu, I’m very happy with this opportunity, but I also hesitate before replying because I worry what happen if my income is not enough for living here.
So I have some questions and would you please give me some information?
1. How much is average salary of an white-collar worker?
2. If I don’t have to pay for accommodation, what is the minimum amount of money I need for the other basic living necessities?
3. Are there many people speaking English in Chengdu? Is it difficult for me to live and work here if I don’t know Cantonese?
I really wish to be friend with some Chengdu residents. Please don’t hesitate to contact me, and wish you guys all the best.
Hi,
The questions you ask are difficult to answer because the amount of money you need to live comfortably will greatly vary depending on who you are, how well you can navigate the city, and what level of comfort you are comfortable with. Some people spend 20k rmb per month living in Chengdu, others live on 5k.
I will try to answer though:
- Average salary of white-collar workers: for locals, something in the range of around 3k rmb. For expats, starting salary for a full-time job is 2-3x that amount.
- Not including rent, I think around 5k is a reasonable amount to be spending on living expenses if you are an expat here.
- There are not that many English speakers here. You will want to learn Mandarin. Not Cantonese, they do not speak that language here.
Where are you from, and what industry do you work in?
Thank you very much for your information, Charlie.
Now I’m living in Vietnam, the life here is very pleasant.
If I move to China, in the initial time, I have to pay for a rent rate, which is approximately 700 USD, so I’ve got only ~ 2 000 rmb remaining for all other expenses.
I’m a kind of person who love staying at home and reading books. In the first six months I don’t need much travels or entertainments. But with 2k rmb/month I suppose it is still hard to live on.
However, I love to meet new friends and talking with other people, so language maybe the huge obstacle for me.
You’ve lived in Chengdu for ten years, you know so much things about the life and people. I really want to make friend with you and other Chengdu people, can you suggest me some ways to find and contact with them (who can speak English)?
Is it safe if I post my private information like Gmail, Wechat or Skype in here?
Hi, I am from Hong Kong also planning to live in chengdu in the future. I speak English, mandarin and also Cantonese. But may I ask how could you find a job offer from chengdu? Internet? and may I ask what is the field of yr job going to be in there? hope we can share information here.
Hello Danfok,
I’d glad to share my information with you, I work in accounting field, this company advertised the position on the internet, they need an accountant staff who can speak English and Vietnamese, and I’m very lucky.
But the initial cost for living in chengdu quite concerns me because my current financial is not very good. I can’t measure how much money I’ll have to prepare for the relocation and the expense in the first 1-2 months.
It’s great if we can keep contact in the future, you can reach me at my WeChat ID: hoanglien3190
Hi sweet, thank you so much for your information.
I’ve sent you a message, but if you’ll cannot receive it, I’m sorry because I’m fairly IT illiterate 🙁
I just want to say after I read your sharing I’m very happy with this opportunity and I’ll try my best to make it real as soon as possible
Thank you very much for your information, Charlie. Now I’m living in Vietnam, the life here is very pleasant. If I move to China, in the initial time, I have to pay for a rent rate, which is approximately 700 USD, so I’ve got only ~ 2 000 rmb remaining for all other expenses. I’m a kind of person who love staying at home and reading books. In the first six months I don’t need much travels or entertainments. But with 2k rmb/month I suppose it is still hard to live on. However, I love to meet new friends and talking with other people, so language maybe the huge obstacle for me. You’ve lived in Chengdu for ten years, you know so much things about the life and people. I really want to make friend with you and other Chengdu people, can you suggest me some ways to find and contact with them (who can speak English)? Is it safe if I post my private information like Gmail, Wechat or Skype in here?
You can live on 2k a month, but it is not easy. It will require knowledge of the local landscape and perhaps some language skills as well. It depends on how resourceful you are.
This forum is a good way to meet people. Otherwise check out international places in Chengdu, there are dozens of them on Chengdu Places. Just visit the places that interest you.
I have to pay for a rent rate, which is approximately 700 USD, so I’ve got only ~ 2 000 rmb remaining for all other expenses.
Do you mean the initial cost before you start to receive salary? That would be extremely tight, if you just moved here it’s more than likely your first month would be much more expensive than future months (lots of initial expenses you need to buy..basic necessities to settle in). If you mean you need to pay ~700USD for rent, and the salary remainder would be ~2000rmb, I’d suggest you find a much cheaper apartment or even consider looking for a roommate, because that’s on the high side for an entry level apartment in Chengdu, depending what area of course but, pretty much any area, you can find a much cheaper apartment (if that is per month). If that’s a 3month initial payment+deposit, then it’s cheap.
I would not recommend anyone to move to Chengdu with 2000/month for living expenses beyond accommodation, that’s almost poverty level for anyone who isn’t living with their parents or without other benefits some companies provide (like food/other stuff)..
Thank you Charlie and Rick,
Actually, I will receive a relocation fee from my company which is about 9k rmb, but I just can get the money with the first salary (after 1 month working and after submit all the required invoices). Therefore, if I rent the hotel which is $700 on the first month, my company will compensate this cost after. My problem now is I haven’t had enough money to move and live the first month in China. In the worse case, maybe I will borrow my parents or the bank.
The wages and benefits I was offered is very good, it’s not only 2k rmb/month and I suppose I can live well on it. After the first month, once I’m familiar to the roads and traffic, I will find a cheaper apartment, maybe my new colleagues will introduce me somewhere.
I haven’t had a detail plan for this relocation yet, but I’ve contacted many friendly people who instructed me so much about living in China and I’m really appreciated this.
Why are you stuck to the $700 hotel? There are cheaper alternatives out there even if it’s short term.
Good Day to all forumers,
I’m new here, just found this forum after few days searching an info about Chengdu. Thanks to Hoanglien for rising up questions above. I believe we are in same boat here, being offered a job to work in Chengdu and have few things up on mind. Not to forget, thanks to other forumers who also provide a very useful information for an expats who will working in Chengdu.
So here are my question:
1) Accommodation. A studio apartment with a rent cost around 2000-3000rmb is consider cheap or expensive? This is my plan A on my 1st month in Chengdu. Plan B is looking for a room to rent, I will be working here more than a year and Plan B is definitely my choice.
2) Groceries. What are the cost for this per month? By the way, I’m a kind of person who cook at home. Need an advise on the cost here.
3) Entertainment. Err, I don’t drink. Might go watch movies marathon on weekend or get to know surrounding on my 1st month.
4) Transportation & access. My working place at Tianfu Road. What choices do I have? and what are the cost? It’s a subjective question here due to it depend on where I live. Please advise few situation.
All feedback and suggestion are really appreciated.
Hi Han,
here’s my two cents:
1) Obviously this also depends on the location, but generally for (non high-level) expats I believe 2000/month to be on the cheaper side, 3k/mo mediocre, and 4k+ expensive for a 1BR apartment. If you want to cut costs, roommates are a good solution.
2) Hard to say, we don’t know how much you eat, what you like buying, and how much crave you’ll have for import goods. If you live SOLELY off vegetables, rice and chicken, it could be ridiculously cheap. Think 30RMB/day for groceries. But probably you’ll want variety and a now and then treat. So maybe double that? There’s many ways to cut costs if you need to (shopping at markets vs Carrefour vs Taobao etc).
And then there’s things like toothpaste and washing powder and toilet paper and whatnot. Honestly, impossible to figure out. We don’t know how much you like your 4-layer paper! 🙂
3) I kinda got bored writing this post. My apologies, lol. Actually, this question has been asked at least 10 times before with lots of answers from many different people. Try the search!
By the way Charlie, it might be a bit of a boring task but it could be very useful to write an article on these kind of questions, or build some sort of FAQ around it with a collection of the best answers around on the forum. Could be a popular page for newbies. And if you update if every X years, it would be interesting to see how it evolves over time.
hey…guys
IMHO, living and working in CD is not that complicated, take it easy.
So don
t making any perfect plan, things changing every seconds. Im also work in Tianfu Road, around third tianfu street station metro line 1Hi everybody, long time no see.
Thank you all for caring about my queries.
Now I’m preparing required documents to apply for a z visa. And to whom it may concern, I’ve found a topic which is really helpful about this issue:
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