Is it cheaper to live in Shanghai than in Beijing?

[flyingdream]

I plan to go to Beijing to study and I was told that living there is expensive, especially the accomodation. Well, my teacher told me the price for accomodation (and food all-together) on a university campus. He doesn't seem to understand when I ask about living with host families and all(off-campus). But he clearly said that accomodation in Beijing is very expensive. I want to know if it is cheaper to live in Shanghai maybe? or same? Anything will do(on-campus or off-campus or host families etc..) If it is cheaper maybe i'll go there to study. Or move somewhere cheaper.

If anybody knows any cheaper accomodation in Beijing, let me know. Or if this topic was already discussed give me the link please.

P.S: By the way, the price my teacher mentioned for accomodation in Beijing is 100 yuan/day. And food about 40-50 yuan should be more than enough he said.

[anonymoose]

I think an important factor is where in the city you want to live. I'm not familiar with Beijing, but in Shanghai at least, the cost of housing can vary significantly with location. You should be able to rent a nice apartment in Shanghai for 100 RMB per day if you are not right in the centre of the city. In fact, you could probably get a reasonable place for significantly less than that. But if you want to be near to the centre of the city, then 100 RMB will not get you very much.

Also, the cost of living will very a lot depending on your lifestyle. If you take the bus and metro, eat local food, and so on, 50 RMB is plenty to cover daily expenditure. On the other hand, if you intend to go out clubbing every night paying 100 RMB for entrance and eating at high-end restaurants every meal, taking a taxi wherever you go, you could easily burn through 300 RMB or even more per day.

[gato]

Rent generally is more expensive in Shanghai than in Beijing (same with property prices). 100 yuan/day is considered to be moderate to high-end in Beijing, while it's considered to be moderate to low-end for Shanghai.

[zerolife]

yup as the other posters have said, you first need to figure out where in BJ you want to live and how you want to live.

Wudaokou (where a large number of the universities in BJ are) is very expensive, however there are enough dirt cheap places with exellent transportation all over the city. Just watch out that you aren't getting ripped off. If you are new to China I would strongly recommend to take the university accomodation. They are usually very competitive priced and at least for the Wudaokou area, they are cheaper than off-campus apartment

I've had friends in BJ who stayed for free with a Chinese host family in exchange for some English lessons but I'm not very sure how you can find such family.

[imron]

If you are new to China I would strongly recommend to take the university accomodation. They are usually very competitive priced and at least for the Wudaokou area, they are cheaper than off-campus apartment

Not always. Maybe prices have gone up dramatically since I was last there, but a few years ago I was paying 1500 RMB a month for a room off campus in Xiwangzhuang, several years before that I was paying 900 RMB a month to live off campus in Dongwangzhuang, both of which were cheaper than dorm accommodation. Sure, neither of those places were luxurious, but they were no worse than the dorm accommodation, plus I then had more space, my own room, kitchen, private bathroom etc.

Of course there are definitely more expensive places too, but it's still possible to find cheaper ones if you look hard enough.

To the OP: What do you consider expensive? Expensive is relative, and what your teacher thinks is expensive will be different to what you think is expensive, especially if your teacher is Chinese. RMB 100 a day = RMB 3,000 a month, which in Beijing will get you a very decent room in an apartment shared with one or two others.

[taylor04]

I can't speak for Beijing or Shanghai but the foreigner dorms were a ripoff in Hangzhou too

[flyingdream]

I know nothing about Beijing nor about the different areas there. My teacher comes from there and he said that the dorms there, for foreigners, are very expensive(rip-offs). Foreigners pay more than locals, for the accomodations. He gave a thought about the 100 yuan/day and said that for me it is very expensive.

After discussing with my parents and friends, they all said that 100yuan/day is expensive.

I'm looking for accomodation below 100 yuan/day. I have a limited budget unless I find a part-time job. But I read in another post that you can't get a job(pat-time or full-time) under a student visa.

Being away from the center of the city doesn't matter. I can live outside the city and move to the city when I have courses or for other purposes.

I looked for the address on the internet and it's located in Haidian District.

Living with a host families is an excellent idea but hard to find them.

Is it possible to stay in another university's dorm?

Edited March 16, 2010 at 09:08 AM by flyingdream

[abcdefg]

If you're on a tight budget, why not look more closely at smaller, less popular cities than either Beijing or Shanghai? You will get more bang for your buck.

[bottledpoetry]

I've lived in Wudaokou in Beijing for almost a year, and I've been living in Shanghai for over a year (in Jing'an, Changning and French Concession).

I haven't lived in university areas in Shanghai, but on the whole, I'd say housing in Beijing is definitely cheaper than in Shanghai, particularly if you're planning to live by yourself. It's much cheaper to live in a shared flat in both cities (I pay RMB2,500 for my current bedroom including utilities in Jing'an, and only paid RMB1,700 (no utilities though) in 2008-2009 for a bedroom that was a 15 minute walk to Tsinghua. You can get singles in Wudaokou for RMB2,000, whereas a decent studio in French Concession/Jing'an will set you back atleast RMB3,000 (less for Changning district) unless you stumble across a very nice deal. I've heard that housing in the university areas (in Shanghai) is cheaper than in the central districts though.

Huge price difference right? The cost of housing in Shanghai (and the cost of living) is much higher. In addition to rent, take into consideration that you pay more for ayis, transportation (metro, taxi and bus), dining out, basically doing anything fun in Shanghai costs money, which in my experience is less often the case in Beijing.

Btw, I think accommodation at RMB100 a day in Beijing is steep, esp. for dorm housing. When I was studying at Tsinghua, I paid around RMB80 for my own room on-campus, but ended up moving out after the first month. It was a terrible value. The walls were so thin , there was mold on the bathroom ceiling, annoying rules for visitors and curfew and no wardrobe space (a girl has got to have shoes). And these dorms were "new"! However, despite ghetto living conditions, you do get the dorm atmosphere which is invaluable in helping you make friends and ultimately stick with the program.

I think money is important, but it shouldn't be your first consideration. And I'd stand by that statement no matter what kind of economic situation you're in. Beijing and Shanghai are two TOTALLY different cities, totally not interchangeable, and your choice of location WILL profoundly impact your experience in China. Some people who love Beijing completely dislike Shanghai and vice versa. Though it may seem pragmatic now, saving RMB1000-2000 a month is not worth being miserable and also, though Shanghai costs more to live in, I'd say work here pays a little more too (even if you're just freelancing and tutoring English). You should read more about the benefits/challenges of living in each on this forum for a good primer and then decide on where you want to be based on well, where you want to be and not the cost. Whichever city you live in, if you do off-campus, always make sure that there is nothing shady about your housing contract and landlord as new arrivals to China make for easy-pickings.

[smithsonians]

If anybody knows any cheaper accomodation in Beijing, let me know. Or if this topic was already discussed give me the link please.

P.S: By the way, the price my teacher mentioned for accomodation in Beijing is 100 yuan/day. And food about 40-50 yuan should be more than enough he said.

i've been in beijing for almost a year and a day i jst spend 50 or less (weekend is an exception),the food here definitely not expensive and the accommodation as well.

for bus it only cost 0.40 RMB and subway 2 RMB no matter how far ure goin,and as for taxi the 1 tax is 10 RMB and 2 RMB more after 2 KM kinda,im not really sure about the taxi.

[abcdefg]

for bus it only cost 0.40 RMB

You must not ride the bus much.

[simonlaing]

For someone who lives in Nanjing but visits friends in BJ and SH a lot I think Shanghai is more expensive even +10-30%

These are averaged numbers from just my experience, Though I think in both places you can live like a peasant if you really need to. All these are more expensive than Nanjing BTW.

Nice Apartment averge cost in non expensive area

BJ SH

2400 3000

Metro ticket cost

BJ 2 yuan SH 3-6 yuan (though has come down)

Train to airport one way

BJ 35 SH 60 (and very cool)

La mian cheapest musilim noodles

BJ 8-10 SH 12-15

Cheapest beer cost in most bars (usually qingdao)

BJ 20 -35 Sh 30-50

Even Cab fare seemed more expensive in Shanghai, though that might due to having less highways than Beijing and being denser. Beijing may have higher energy bills in the winter, that is the only thing I think that could be more expensive...

What do others from their cities think of my comparison?

have fun,

Simon:)

P.S. I am moving to Shanghai soon for a job, and with the cost of living increase the jump in actual salary will be small.

[skylee]

Looks like everyone is moving to Shanghai. One of my ex-staff has just told me that she will be sent to Shanghai for the World Expo ...

[anonymoose]

Train to airport one way

BJ 35 SH 60 (and very cool)

La mian cheapest musilim noodles

BJ 8-10 SH 12-15

If you are talking about the Maglev, as far as I know, the ticket costs 50 yuan. But anyway, that is not the only option (or even the quickest necessarily) to the airport. There are buses that go to most major points troughout Shanghai, and the ticket usually costs around 20 yuan. Not only that, but metro line 2 is being extended to Hongqiao Airport and Pudong Airport, so when that's open, reaching either of these airports should be even more convenient and even cheaper.

As for the food, you need to know where to look. Near to where I live, there is a small restaurant that serves, amongst other things 盖浇饭. But the quality is good, the portion size is large (with unlimited rice), and most meat dishes cost 8 or 9 yuan. If you go for something vegetarian, you could even get that down to 6 or 7 yuan.

I agree with you about the other things though. The pick-up fee for taxis in Shanghai has recently gone up to 12 yuan.

Edited April 17, 2010 at 01:23 PM by anonymoose
Typo

[imron]

There are buses that go to most major points troughout Shanghai, and the ticket usually costs around 20 yuan.

In Beijing, the airport bus is only 16

[skylee]

盖交饭

What does that 交mean here?

[anonymoose]

What does that 交mean here?

Oh, I think it should be 盖浇饭. I've edited it in my post now.

[LFCLOUDS]

Don't go with University accommodation.

Friends of mine stayed in BLCU, there were stupid rules like someone above mentioned, I stayed in a much more comfortable apartment in Wudaokou for the same price as my friends in the dorms.

Life in general is cheaper in Beijing.

One thing worth noting is that people usually end up being either a Beijing-person or a Shanghai-person.

I can't think of anyone I know who loves both cities, and that goes double for the locals.

[abcdefg]

One thing worth noting is that people usually end up being either a Beijing-person or a Shanghai-person...I can't think of anyone I know who loves both cities...

And some people wind up not liking either place very much. I like smaller, less "international" cities.

[amandagmu]

I've been searching this forum.... do you guys have any links you could provide me with for housing in Beijing in the Wudaokou area? I'll be doing research at/near BSU and sitting through seminars at BeiDa and Qinghua on occasion. (Although I may end up closer to wherever good running/jogging places and the gym might be.... like running tracks, the Qinghua pool, and Nirvana gym.)

Anyhow, I have a stipend to pay for my rent, and I think it's enough to cover my rent for a one-bedroom place rather than room sharing. So... thoughts? Links? Or could you PM me reputable contacts/phone numbers? I'm advanced enough in Chinese I could handle someone who doesn't speak much English... but I also want someone who won't take advantage of me as a foreigner (or at least, doesn't scam foreigners). (For example when I lived in Taipei I went from rent at $500USD per month to $250USD per month after I discovered I was essentially being scammed and moved to a place where the landlord treated people a bit more fairly...)

Thanks for all tips in advance!

Amanda