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Published: December 4th 2009
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High price apartments Beijing goes a long way since the Mao time of the blue Mao’s outfit. The greatest changes are in the last 5 to 10 years. No matter in the air quality, housing, mass transit, people’s behavior or cleaner toilets has been improved a great amount. However, as a world class city there are still works to be done.
Cost of living is relatively low in Beijing, but if you work here and try to live a comfortably life is not that easy. According to a local newspaper the recent college graduate monthly salary is in the highest of 7,817 rmb to the lowest of 1,101 rmb, with the media of 2,407rmb ( less than US$ 400 ). As you can see the majority is in the lower end. The normal work week is 40 hours and five days week. Most company expected your work more hours without compensations. If family income is less than 697 rmb ( about US$ 100 ) per month average per person considered as poor and can apply for government aid. I saw adv. for sale clerk started about 900 rmb.
Jobs are getting tougher since more and more college graduates each year. On the
contrary of the North America, female are harder to got a job offer than male. There are 1,040,000 taking this years national civil services examine, 114,000 are from Beijing. The acceptance rate is 1.5%.
In high rise apartment monthly average run about 2,500 rmb for a one bedroom. Fancy two bedrooms can run 6-9,000rmb or more. If you live alone the whole paycheck will go to the housing even the income taxes are very little here. Construction techniques still need a lot of improvement. Same as uniform side walks and steps. You have to be very careful while you walk in Beijing or other parts of China.
Food is fairly cheap especially you go to the average local place for local food. Any western foods bear the western price, but you save the tips and taxes. If you go to the western style super markets, the prices are similar to the North American prices. Some vegetable and fruit prices even higher than North American. It appears the Beijinger do not eat much vegetable, the selection is very limited and not fresh. Products are greater selection, more fresh and more than half the price in the morning markets. Morning
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Housing prices markets only appears in the older areas and close by noon. It is difficult for the working class to shop.
No tips system working fine here, as most Asian countries. People doing their job seriously. I received better services here than Chinese restaurants in American. If I get on the taxi on the wrong side of the street . The driver will tell me to get out get another one across the street to save money for turning around. However the system may be ruin by the generous tourists.
Gasoline price is similar to the North American but still too many cars in Beijing. The way they drive here I do not think the car will last too long, but there are still many expansive imported name plates. Traffic jams every where, parking is horrible, and crossing the street is a live or dies challenge and watch your toe. Beijing has a fairly efficient mass transit system and inexpensive taxi ride. I do not understand why they need a car. I have three different cars at home, one for each occasion. I do not miss them a bit in Beijing.
Chinese like premium name brands, it appears
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Housing price people in Beijing are not as status crazy as Hong Kong or Shanghai. I have been on the subways hundred of times and hardly see any premium name brands. In Hong Kong and Shanghai is everywhere, especially HK. There is less of a uniform fashion like HK or Japan; when one wear/carry it everyone else does the same.
Smoking and spitting ( mostly men ) are still a big problem here even after the Olympic. There are many smokers. They smoke inside the restaurants, in the elevators, in the restrooms, walking , and no consideration of any person near by. There are no-smoking signs in the restaurants no one play any attention to it. The subway system is very high security so it is the only smoke free and splitting environment. I heard there will be some smoking laws, just wait and see. It all depends the Chinese government want to enforce it or not. People splitting everywhere even on the restaurant floor, especially in the average local area.
Iphone cost from 5,000rmb to 9,000rmb here without wi-fi capacity. All men and some women like to scream at their cell phone in the public area. If they are
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look like something we know next to you in the subway or restaurant is bad news. Most people like to play with their cell phone in the subway or bus, texting, gaming or movie. Most electronic items and international brands merchandise cost more than North American. Micro wave oven is very high price here, may be is not a popular appliance. Foreign brands computer and cars are made locally, quality is not as good as the international vision.
There is a gender gap between men and women in appearance and behavior. Women generally present themselves fairly well mannered and neat while the men are in the sloppy side with an attitude. May be that is why the divorce rate is so high 25%+ and so many singles. There is an unbalanced ratio of men and women in China with men in the majority. However there is ample supply of single women in Beijing looking for right men.
People are generally nice and helpful in Beijing but they are not chat with strangers often, even the local. When you ended up no sale with a vendor they are still very nice about it. They will give you a funny look or walk away without
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Beijing special chest nut, make a cut in each easy to open but too dry to eat say anything in HK. The city is fairly safe and I never heard of any pick pocket or robbery, except some careless tourist victim. Give seats to the elderly in the subway and bus is very common, especially in the bus. Teenage will give the middle aged, the middle aged will give to the senior, and the senior will give to the more senior one. Sometimes I see the same seat change a few times.
Beijing citizen by birth or granted by your employer enjoy many privileges. Out of towner is out of luck while there are many out of towners. So they look for an employer can grant that privilege. I heard you can get one citizen ID in the black market for 6,000rmb. That why I am going home, haha.
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ralph lew
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SO WHEN ARE YOU HEADING BACK HOME? DID YOU MAKE ANY IMPROVEMENT ON YOUR VERBAL CONVERSATION IN CHINESE?