Livng Costs in Beijing (after rent)

[travoholic]

Hello,

I'm looking for some first hand advice from anyone who's lived (or is living) in Beijing about the month to month cost of living. I know roughly what rent will be and have an amount set aside for it so I'm looking for costs not including rent.

I'm not really after a breakdown of how much each thing is, just a rough estimate of the minimum amount I'd need to live after rent. So stuff like food (assuming I cook my own meals and shop at supermarkets), transport (assuming I don't take cabs and buy a monthly pass... I expect I'll be living in the uni area in the NW I think), internet connection, and a monthly gym membership.

I guess I'm trying to find a minimum amount I'll need per month and will go from there. I expect I'll spend money going out drinking but that's more tricky to estimate so I'll look for info on that later. So if I could get estimates for what I've mentioned (food, transport, internet and gym) that would be great.

Thanks for any help!

Kirsty

[bijian]

Travel($580 one way)+tuition($~1500/semester)+other stuff for about 1/2 month (including food, bike, medical checkup, etc.) have totaled ~$2500 for me, but I'm not a big spender by any means.Have been in Beijing at uni area for 2-3 weeks now.

By the way room & board has been around 5600 rmb /6 months /double room at uni but that's not included in the $2500 mentioned above.

[cdn_in_bj]

I recall you had asked about this earlier. Here are some more datapoints:

Internet (ADSL, includes phone service) - $20

Gym - $20

Cellphone airtime - $10-40 (depending on use, factor 0.25 RMB/minute for incoming calls, 20 RMB/month for 1000 free incoming minutes, 0.15 RMB for sending a domestic SMS)

Groceries - $50-100 (this depends on how much of a meat eater you are and if you're able to adapt your cooking to use local ingredients)

Treat yourself to a nice meal out twice a week - $100-150

Transport (bus or subway) - $5-25 (0.40 RMB per bus ride, 3 RMB per subway ride)

Using these amounts, we get $205-355/month. Don't forget to factor in some unexpected costs, as well as money for travelling.

As for going out, budget the same amount as you would in the US.

[travoholic]

Thanks for your replies. I guess I'm just trying to establish whether it'll be possible to live on $1000/US per month and by those numbers it looks possible, of course depending on how much I splurge on rent.

I'll have money set aside for other stuff like travel, school and emergencies but just want to go into this with some rough basic living cost estimates so I know what to expect.

Thanks again,

Kirsty