Hi Rudy,
Here are some details based on my life here in Hefei
1. 3 bedroom apartment will cost you at least RMB1,700 (because I still have to pay community fee, maintenance fee, etc) depending on location.
2. Electricity will be RMB300-500 but will go up during summer and winter months.
3. Water is negligible.
4. Gas is RMB100 per month or less.
5. Unlimited internet + tel line + cellphone is RMB129 per month (my plan).
6. Food will depend on you but we (me and my wife) usually spend at least RMB1000 per month.
7. For transportation, bus is readily available for RMB1-2 per time and taxi flag down is RMB6. My place is around 6 km away from my company, I pay 10RMB for a taxi.
8. For recreation, we have bars if you like nightlife or dancing. We have gardens, lakes and parks if you love nature. We have theatre if you love stage play. We have movie houses (in english according to Mike) if you love movies or you can download via torrent and just watch in your home. We have KTV if you love singing. We have gym (but cost a furtune) if you love to work-out. We have tennis and badminton courts if you love sports.
9. For church, I haven't found an open one. I saw one near Walking Street (along Suzhu Lu) but is always closed.
10. For money remittance, we have Western Union and China Post with reasonable service charge.
11. We have doctors with only 1 0r 2 can speak english.
12. We were able to find a dentist who can speak english but you have to book ahead since he is always flying Beijing-Hefei.
13. We can access our hometown TV channels through satelilte. Just ask your chinese friends when you are here already or maybe just send me a message.
Please ask if there are more things that you need to know. I hope with my info, you are now moving to Hefei.
See you around!
juncay
