cost of living
Beijing 59th Most Expensive City to Live In
Since June, Beijing has dropped six places to become the 59th most expensive city for expats to live in worldwide, whereas Shanghai was ranked 42nd. Hurray for us?
According to the article, "the biannual survey compares over 400 prices across 160 products and services in an attempt to give a true representation of the cost of an expat lifestyle." Hong Kong was ranked the most expensive place to live among Chinese cities, at No. 22 worldwide.
Photo by doug.siefken via Flickr
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New social insurance laws could hit Beijing's international schools hard
More bad news from the school sticker shock department: brace yourself for increased costs from international schools next year as the effects of China's new social insurance laws for foreigners begins to take effect.
Most expats have already heard news of China's new social insurance laws that will now require foreigners to pay into the social security system, which covers medical insurance, retirement, unemployment insurance and the like. The net effect for this is an increased cost of hiring expats of an estimated 33% to 39% of an employee's base salary.
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Local schooling is getting pricey, too
A few weeks ago we pointed out how average tuition at international schools in Beijing has risen to the equivalent of over USD 35,000 a year. But don't think that it's just expat schooling that's getting pricier in China's burgeoning capital -- local parents are shelling out big time as well.
In what amounts to be an openly accepted (but officially frowned upon) custom, local parents are now paying up to RMB 87,000 (USD 13,600) in "entrance fees" to place their children in selective middle schools outside their local schooling district.
