[Adri]

Hi everyone!!! I'm moving to Shanghai next year, during june. I was wondering how much money should I need to pay the rent, to live in general. In my new job they are offering me 23 922.9 RMB, would that be enough to afford all the payments, food, rent etc?
And I've got another question right now I'm learning mandarin, but was wondering if it would be better to learn cantonese, since I'll moving to shanghai. Hope someone can answer me. see you

[Bobbybo]

Living as Expatriate and going out every night it's going to cost you a lot of money in Shanghai.
Food is a bit cheaper than HK, but it still depend where you go to eat. I can easily eat lunch with CNY10.00, but I go where locals go.
For the rent it depends on location, size and kind of building.
Taxis are cheap and Subway system is quite good.
In Shanghai, like all PRC, the official language is Mandarin (or Putonghua). But Shanghainese is widely spoken, although not necessary to learn.

[Hokuto]

Learning Mandarin is your best bet -- pretty much everyone speaks it, and you'll be able to learn what little Shanghainese is necessary to get by (numbers, mainly) from those who don't. Cantonese really isn't all that useful here unless you'll be dealing with a lot of HK business people, but even then Mandarin is the lingua franca (lingua sina?).

Rent et al depends on where you'll be living and what you like. I've only lived 2BR, 60-80sqm places that are 2500-3500RMB/month, all a bit out of the way (25 mins by train to work, though I 'm right on the light rail line). You can find those prices for those closer to the major commercial areas, though certainly not in the fancier complexes. Still, your salary should more than cover the rent in a nicer complex (if you know where you'll be, I can quote you general prices in the area), food, etc.

[alanlm143]

Originally Posted by Hokuto

Learning Mandarin is your best bet -- pretty much everyone speaks it, and you'll be able to learn what little Shanghainese is necessary to get by (numbers, mainly) from those who don't. Cantonese really isn't all that useful here unless you'll be dealing with a lot of HK business people, but even then Mandarin is the lingua franca (lingua sina?).

Rent et al depends on where you'll be living and what you like. I've only lived 2BR, 60-80sqm places that are 2500-3500RMB/month, all a bit out of the way (25 mins by train to work, though I 'm right on the light rail line). You can find those prices for those closer to the major commercial areas, though certainly not in the fancier complexes. Still, your salary should more than cover the rent in a nicer complex (if you know where you'll be, I can quote you general prices in the area), food, etc.

hi Hokuto, I am moving to Shanghai next month. The info that you have given to Adri sounds useful. I am looking for a place to stay 2BR ~60m2.
My budget is around RMB3k per month. I heard that HongQiao is a pretty nice place to stay. (I am coming with Two dogs), not sure whether it will be a problem or not.

Can you recommend me a good neigbourhood to stay?

Thanks.

[Hokuto]

Hongqiao/Gubei is a nice place, but it's quite far out and too expensive for my taste. How big are you dogs? Where will you be working/studying? Would you rather be close to a subway (three lines), the light rail (two lines), or buses convenient to them? Do you want to live in a high rise or a walk up?

[Hokuto]

Hm, too late to edit my original reply, so I'll reply again!

In your (alanlm143) case, I definitely would not recommend Hongqiao/Gubei. It and Pudong are on opposite sides of the city.

You may be able to find dog-friendly spots in Pudong, but don't expect to ever be able to walk your dog in a park -- it's generally forbidden. When we were caring for a dog earlier this year, we'd walk her around the complex (her favorite -- especially the grassy area) and along the sidewalks of the street (her least favorite -- terrified of cars and motorcycles). From what I've seen of others with dogs, this is generally how things are done.