Cost of living in Nanning

[civic94]

I am a american born chinese, I want to travel to china, live there for a few years, learn where my parents are from, and the culture.

I want to live in nanning, I want to know about the cost of living there.

1. is it cheaper than zhengzhou, or chongqing? or, is it a expensive city?

2. what is the major industries/businesses there, such as factories, universities, food, etc. I want to know everything about it.

3. is it hard to find a teaching job there (I have a BA degree from america)

my parents are from the guangxi provence, from a village. I know i will get bored really quick if i lived there, on top of that they did not have a house there, so my only option is living in a city that is close to it, which is nanning. I speak cantonese fluently, and know about 20-30% mandarin in normal talking, but i;m trying to learn as much as i can.

[gato]

What was your BA in?

[civic94]

its in education. i just think its a great time to do so, its hard for me to get a job here with all the layoffs and no experience. besides, i want to see and experience china

[danb]

Nanning is a 2nd or 3rd tier city. It is not along the coast. In general that will make it less expensive than living in Beijing or Shanghai. But the pay also may less also. Seems to have a fair amount of universities. If you want to find some info on Nanning try a couple of things. Google Nanning, Google Youtube and Nanning. Google Flicker and Nanning You can also set up for google alerts on Nanning. That way you will see new stories about Nanning. It might help you get a glimpse of life in Nanning, Have you every been to China? How far away from your parents hometown is Nanning? Any relatives living there now that you can visit? I believe Nanning is been developed as a transportation hub for the surrounding asian countries. There are several forums with ties to Nanning. But they are for western men who have Chinese wives from Nanning. Those sites will give you some insight in living in that area. After following all that googling you should a better idea about that area. Good Luck and have fun. Danb

[civic94]

I dont have relatives in china, my parents left 30 years ago, so did all my uncles/aunts on both sides. I have been to china when I was 10, but thats a long time ago, I dont have any memory of it since im 27.

also, is nanning super modernized where there are tons of construction of skyscrapers like the other chinese cities?

Is nanning one of those cities in china where there are tons of migrant workers looking for jobs?

also.. is there a huge gap between rich and poor there?

and.. most of the population there, whats the percentage that speaks cantonese and mandarin?

I watched youtube on most of the issues, from good to bad. I just want to experience it. I'm so bored of america, want a change of scenery, and learn where my roots are..

[yialanliu]

Good luck moving here. Definitely doable, but I'd start with a lower goal of visiting prior to just deciding to move to China especially since you are an ABC and not someone who has frequently came back. China's changed since 17 years ago.

I consider Nanning to be super modernized due to its location. It is in Southwest China which has its own issues but within that region, it has a great sky line for a city of its wealth.

However, I wouldn't consider Nanning rich. Guilin has a lot more money in that sense.

Like all cities in China, there's a ton of migrant workers. Just very few are looking jobs. The thing is China has a huge worker shortage if anything right now.

With regards to rich and poor, from what I saw, it seemed to be typical for Chinese cities. A pretty significant gap but then again, it's like that all over China and nothing was too alarming.

No idea about prevalence of Cantonese since I don't speak it and was able to use mandarin fine when I visited.

[civic94]

Worker shortage? I thought it was the opposite, with the world financial meltdown, I thought many cities closed down factories in china. also, with chinas population i thought there will be tons of people looking for jobs. I dont know, maybe I watched the Foxconn (apple) in shenzhen on nightline and some others, seeing tons of people lined up for jobs.

I still have a cople of questions-

1. how much in yuan per month on average would it costs to rent a private room with shared bathroom and kitchen, that is not nasty (such as stinky bathroom on the ground)? and is this cheap compared to other cities there?

2. money. which banks in the us can I deposit money in, and I can get money out in china? I dont want to bring a wad of cash on me or hold american credit cards while shopping at a street market . from what i am guessing, HSBC would do?

[yialanliu]

Yea, there's definitely a worker shortage if anything for migrant workers. Foxconn is definitely still hiring and not firing. That's one of the reason why they have invested so much on robots because the pay is so high now since the supply is not as plentiful as the past. Another reason for this is just due to demographics, the one child policy has greatly reduced the number of people in their teens and early 20s.

No idea about rentals so can't comment there.

I use Bank of America from the US side as you get free ATM withdrawals from China Construction Bank (one of the major 4). China Construction bank is also more plentiful than HSBC but HSBC would work also.

Very few places take American credit cards. Typically 4+ star hotels only and even fewer restaurants. Unionpay is the way to go if you want a credit card, although it really is just a debit card and that is accepted in most places.

[civic94]

yanyanliu, for bank of america and using construction bank in china, does china construction bank charge a fee when you use the atm?

I'm asking this because I have used bank of america in the past, when I used it on a US bank atm, I got charged like 2 dollars per transaction on bank of america, and on top of that, US bank also charged 2 bucks. so I spent 4 dollars total to use the atm.

[jkhsu]

I use Bank of America from the US side as you get free ATM withdrawals from China Construction Bank (one of the major 4). China Construction bank is also more plentiful than HSBC but HSBC would work also

I agree with yialanliu that you should get a Bank of America account so that you can withdraw money from any China Construction bank ATM. China Construction bank has a branch/ATMs in Nanning. However, HSBC does not. Keep in mind that if you do make any money, you can't deposit the money into your US HSBC account. You'll need a Chinese bank account. ICBC seems like the popular one to use among expats.

[civic94]

I'm going to repost what I have asked... kind of want to know the answer-

for bank of america and using construction bank in china, does china construction bank charge a fee when you use the atm?

I'm asking this because I have used bank of america in the past, when I used it on a US bank atm, I got charged like 2 dollars per transaction on bank of america, and on top of that, US bank also charged 2 bucks. so I spent 4 dollars total to use the atm.

[jkhsu]

for bank of america and using construction bank in china, does china construction bank charge a fee when you use the atm?

I don't think so but you should call BofA just to make sure.

[icebear]

for bank of america and using construction bank in china, does china construction bank charge a fee when you use the atm?

No. There is cross ownership among these banks so their clients enjoy costless withdrawals in the US and China so long as they use one of these two types of ATMs.

Keep in mind that it won't really matter. I used my (small, local) bank account from the US during my time in China. I was taking out probably 4,000 RMB per month; that's 2 withdrawals. Ok the money does add up but I'm just letting you know that you probably won't be withdrawing enough for the ATM penalties to add up to anything massive.

[civic94]

Ok the money does add up but I'm just letting you know that you probably won't be withdrawing enough for the ATM penalties to add up to anything massive.

I was asking that because I once had US bank and I was living in philadelphia. WAWA has free atm, and my friends told me so. So I just got into the hang of it and just used it anytime I wanted for a month. then the bill came, and each transaction was 2 or 3 dollars, charged by US bank. I used WAWA like 40 times in the month, which came out to a pretty good sum. yes, when I as in philly, I was scared of getting robbed so thats why I only have cash when I need it.

as for china, I also dont want to carry too much cash on my hand. even if its a safe place, I was raised up this way because I have been robbed quite a few times.

[icebear]

In China the maximum withdrawal (at least in 2006-2009) was typically 2000-2500 RMB, which is around 300-400 USD. If you pull that out once or twice a month and then keep it at home you'll both save on transaction fees and avoid carrying a lot of money with me. At least that was my solution (I wasn't interested in opening a BoA account).

[jkhsu]

I also dont want to carry too much cash on my hand.

Carrying a thousand or more RMB is very normal in China. You'll definitely want to open a Chinese bank account there and get a debit card. BTW, an HSBC US account is not a Chinese bank account. Don't even bother trying to open an HSBC China account. I think you need like 100k RMB deposit or something.

[danb]

Civic94, Hello. Nanning is modern but perhaps not as modern as Beijing ,Shanghai or Hong Kong. Over the past 10-12 years they have gone from bicycle to mopeds to scooter to cars. They are staritng to put in a subway system. Nanning is a bit laid back. Or at least for the amount that I have been exposed to. There are some western stores such as 2 Walmarts a few Mcdonalds, and a lot more KFC. They have brazilian style buffet meat houses, Japanese restaurants and many other style eateries. Fancy to Plain. There is a night market near the older Walmart. There are some malls with a bit expensive stores but there are also a lot of stores for the locals.

There are alot of Bank of China ATMs and also a fair amount of China Construction Banks. There was a business banking relation between CCB and B of A. a few years ago. At that time you suppose to be able to use the CCB atm for free if you used you B of A ATM card. I tired that. They charged me. It took some time but when I came back I was eventually able to get B of A to rescind those charges. That was about 3 years ago. I am not sure what the policy currently is . I did find this notice on the B of A site:

"The non-Bank of America ATM fees do not apply at some ATMs located outside the United States. You will not pay a transaction fee when you use ATMs of our Global Alliance partner banks in the following countries:

• 
  Barclays (United Kingdom)
  
• 
  BNP Paribas (France)
  
• 
  China Construction Bank (China)
  
• 
  Deutsche Bank (Germany)
  
• 
  Santander Serfin (Mexico)
  
• 
  Scotiabank (Canada)
  
• 
  Westpac (Australia and New Zealand)"
  

I would recommend talking to an Bank rep. at a local B of A. Like others have mentioned I would try to set up a local Bank account. The bank of my choice would either be with CCB or The Bank of China or possibly the HSBC. JKHSU mentioned that there aren't any ATM's of their bank in Nanning but I seem to recall reading on other forums that some members like that particular. Sorry but I dont know the full stories.

Mandarin is the official language and will be probably spoke at most places. It will probably be the perferred choice by the younger people. The locals also use a variety of local dialects of Cantonese I think. I don't know a lick of Cantonese except for "sic fan" and "fa choi" " Fa Choi" .

There is another website done by a Nanning local. I will try to find his site. It should give you a helpful prespective of Nanning. DanB

[danb]

Hello again, Here is the link to the website that I mentioned before: http://www.nanninghere.com/ It is ran by a guy by the Bruce. Lots of info on his site. At time it seems like that the interesting stuff is scatter here and there. Sometimes I just stumble accross it.

It is interesting to note that there is a Mosque in Nanning. Which would suggest an Islamic influnce. I don't know much about Islam in China. Perhaps they are of the Hui minority group. ( I remember that this silly American was riding a taxi thru Kumming City and I noticed that there seem to be several blocks of a middle eastern like community in the middle of that city). I found some interesting info about Islam in China. There are also several Christian churches in Nanning, In Nanning you will see the Zhuang Nationality peddling their goods. Also there is a Sichuan restaurant that sevres tea out of teapots with long long sprouts. Nanning can be an very interesting place to visit. It is the capital of Guangxi province. It probably would be a good base to learn about your Chinese heritage. The reason that I asked if you had any relatives still living in China is because I thought it would be a very personal way to get in touch with your Chinese's roots. There are many local cultures with China. i hope you enjoy searching for yours. Danb

[jkhsu]

The bank of my choice would either be with CCB or The Bank of China or possibly the HSBC. JKHSU mentioned that there aren't any ATM's of their bank in Nanning but I seem to recall reading on other forums that some members like that particular. Sorry but I dont know the full stories.

Again, I posted a link to HSBC showing that there were no ATMs or branches in Nanning. If you don't believe it, then call them. Even if they happen to have one or two, it's still not worth the hassle. If you don't want to carry a lot of cash all the time, this is what you'll need to do.

1. Open a B of A account in the US and deposit enough money in there for you to use in China.

2. When you get to China, immediately open a Chinese bank account and get a debit card. China Construction Bank might be a good option because you can deposit the cash that you take out of your B of A account immediately.

3. Go to a China Construction Bank ATM / branch and withdraw (the money from your B of A account) the maximum allowed for the day.

4. Immediately take the money and deposit it into your China Construction Bank account. If you don't have a China Construction Bank account, you'll have to carry a lot of cash on your way to your Chinese bank ATM / branch.

5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 as often as you need to replenish your debit card.

In my mind, this is by far the easiest and cheapest way to replenish your debit card. Alternatively, you can also have any US bank wire money to your Chinese bank account as long as you have your account and swift number. But there is a wire fee and it's not immediate.

If you have an existing HSBC account (most people have their Internet banking account), keep your account and take your ATM card with you to China. It will be especially useful in Hong Kong (if you happen to visit there) where there are tons of HSBC ATMs/branches, but they have plenty of ATM/branches in Shanghai, Beijing, etc.

I actually have an HSBC US account and not B of A. When I was in Shanghai, I basically did steps 3 & 4 to replenish my debit card by getting money out of an HSBC ATM and depositing it into my Chinese bank acount (not HSBC). Yes, I had to often walk / take a taxi (never the bus or subway) with a wad of cash in my pocket going from HSBC to my Chinese bank branch/ATM.

I also tried to open an HSBC China account and realized that they charged a fee for not keeping a very high minimum balance. Take a look. Again, even if you don't mind the fees, there is really no justification for opening an HSBC China account. Now, if Nanning had as many HSBC ATMs/branches as Shanghai, then I'd just suggest you skip the B of A account and do what I did.

[icebear]

I actually have an HSBC US account and not B of A. When I was in Shanghai, I basically did steps 3 & 4 to replenish my debit card by getting money out of an HSBC ATM and depositing it into my Chinese bank acount (not HSBC). Yes, I had to often walk / take a taxi (never the bus or subway) with a wad of cash in my pocket going from HSBC to my Chinese bank branch/ATM.

jkhsu - Using your US HSBC card at China HSBC machines is there any fee? Either an ATM fee, or money conversion (USD to RMB)?