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[Mar]

Hello! I am possibly moving to Hefei come the new year. I have a few questions regarding living costs. My salary would be an average 8000RMB + Housing allowance of about 2,000RMB.

Is this a pretty average salary for an English teacher? Also, if I can get a rough idea of monthly spending of some of the members here, that would be awesome.

Are you guys able to save up some money every month or do you live comfortably but arent able to save much?

Thanks in advance.

[x0vash0x]

>Is this a pretty average salary for an English teacher?

Yeah. Pretty typical.

>Also, if I can get a rough idea of monthly spending of some of the members here, that would be awesome.

That varies wildly. I know people who spend 2,000RMB on food in a month and others who spend a few hundred RMB. You can easily live comfortably and save a decent amount, but realise you won't be going out very often (i.e. going to bars/clubs/eating out).

The way I like to look at it is this: if you want to live a western/foreign life style in Hefei you can, but it will eat a sizeable portion of your salary. If you want to save money you can but it means living frugally and not going out so much. Just like any other place, really.

I like the app http://www.appnihao.com I know Hills and Aussie Mike will push their App Hefei Connect, but it's not nearly as polished compared to App Ni Hao. I would also suggest downloading WeChat and getting added to the Hefei group though. That's a very good resource.

[bao luo]

I made this cost of living guide a few years ago. It's still fairly accurate I think.

http://hefeiexpat.com/forum/living-here/real-present-livibg-costsfood-costs-in-august-2012/msg8965/#msg8965

[x0vash0x]

I made this cost of living guide a few years ago. It's still fairly accurate I think.

http://hefeiexpat.com/forum/living-here/real-present-livibg-costsfood-costs-in-august-2012/msg8965/#msg8965

I agree that it's pretty accurate. I would place special emphasis on:

Startup costs
My advice: Don't come over skint. It will magnify any little annoyances you have (which there inevitably are living in a country as different as China). I suggest at least US$1000 in reserve.

You probably won't get paid for a month until after you arrive [assuming everything goes okay setting up a bank account and the finance department, which it usually does, but you never know]. You might be able to get a half month's salary if you negotiate it before you come, and definitely something to ask your employer.

!!Be careful though, they might consider this a 'loan' and deduct it from your first month's official pay.!!

But regardless, I would be prepared to spend a few hundred USD your first few weeks here on miscellaneous crap like that startup guide says. A LOT of people come to China thinking their school will have everything setup for them which is often far from the case. So yeah... Just, keep that in mind. 

[Mar]

Thanks for all the advice so far. I used to teach in Thailand for about 5 years and from what you guys are saying my spending lifestyle will be pretty much the same as it was over there. I've gotten used to not spending money on Western items. You guys have definitely put my mind to rest a bit more. I'm also making sure that I will have a reserve amount of money that I bring over with me.

Regarding housing, do most of you guys live nearby your schools or are there specific neighborhoods in Hefei you favor above others?

[x0vash0x]

There's really not one neighborhood that's preferred over the other. The newest big development is Binhu which is in the south of the city and there's not a whole lot there...yet. But, unless you're working at Hefei No. 1 High School, you'll probably be living towards the city, so you wouldn't have to worry about that.

Most people live near their schools and make due with what is around. You'll have all your daily conveniences (grocery store, convenience shop, generic mall, so on...)  within a 15 minute bus/taxi/bike ride radius of where your school/apartment is. Going more than 20 or 30 minutes to get somewhere is considered a long time in Hefei and usually means you're going to the outskirts of the city or are getting caught in traffic. For example, I live 'far' from my school (about 20-25KM) and it takes me about 20-30minutes to commute with light traffic. However, during rush hour, my commute easily shoots up to an 1 hour.

To give you another idea, it's about a 45 Minutes bus ride from the city center bus stop to the last stop which is in Binhu (the outskirts of Hefei), to give you an idea about what a 'long bus ride' would mean here. But then again, it can take two hours or more during heavy rush hour.

Basically, avoid traveling during rush hour, and getting around Hefei is about a 20-30 minute ride to wherever you need to go.

There are a few 'hip' areas where people go to eat/drink/chill but if you live there it's just by coincidence, not really because those places are 'the place foreigners live'. It just so happens that your school has an apartment there.