Living Cheaply in Shanghai

I just read that Shanghai “won” the top spot on the list of Most Expensive Asian Cities for Expats.  I’m always a little suspicious of these rankings, as they are influenced by many dependent variables. 

Regardless, Shanghai is not a cheap city.  Rent in my small one-room apartment in Changning district costs me 3,700 RMB, about 600 USD (ouch).  A beer at a fancy bar can cost 8 bucks, liquor drinks even more.

But how much you’re spending probably depends on what kind of expat you are.  Those who come from Europe or the U.S. under the auspices of a robust company package may differ quite a bit from someone coming from, say, Southeast Asia to work in the sex industry. 

It’s easy for people to come to Shanghai and want the upper-class, high rolling, jet-setting expat lifestyle that accompanies the city so well, despite not having the job and salary to back it up.

I came to Shanghai on my own and started out as many do, learning Chinese.  Studying at a Chinese language school is a good way to enter the country because it gives you several things: 1) a student visa, 2) a network of people in similar situations, 3) Chinese language skills.  I figured I could build up from there, teaching English on the side for revenue.  But I was lured out each night by the city lights.  A nice dinner here, drinks at a bar here, and eventually I started to realize that I was spending a hefty chunk of my cash on going out. 

For the last six months I’ve been trying to optimize my spending.  For one month I tracked every yuan I spent, categorized it, and added it up.  I realized I spend just over 6,000 RMB per month.  Not bad.    

It turns out that a large chunk of my money is going towards food and drink.  This particular month I had to pay for a visa processing fee, so an extra 400 went to the Admin section.

There are plenty of ways to save money.  I go out less frequently and when I do, I choose places I know have good happy hours and/or are cheap, and do pre-gaming and BYOB (that $8 beer costs 50 cents at a supermarket) when necessary.  I could probably find cheaper rents in a different part of the city, and I optimized my cell phone plan.  I’m also moving into a more expensive place by myself (I like my privacy) and have found a new job that pays more (moving on up!). 

It’s worth noting that my average monthly expenses were only slightly less than the average salary in Shanghai (7,214 RMB according toChina Daily).  So if locals can still save money on that salary, I know I can too.