Home › Forums › Before Leaving for China + Visa Process › What are my starting expenses? How much cash should I bring to China?
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Money needed to move and start your life in China
First we want to make it clear that you will not need to pay any money at all to MEF English.
There will be visa related expenses that you will need to pay and for moving in general, it will be more comfortable if you have some money to do it.
Moving to China is definitely going to be a cheaper move than most people would pay to move to another city. There are going to be small fees for things like bedding, pillows, dishware, etc. for your apartment, and living expenses are comparatively low with most teachers eating every meal out and traveling most weekends and still having enough to line some of the halls with online Taobao purchases :).
You have two main starting notes:
A real estate fee, deposit, advanced payment and usually three months to be paid in advance and the salary payment timing in Asia.
The good news is that the rent is comparably cheap.
Apartment and Salary Timing in China
Here is an example of apartment expenses:
First 3 months rental ➕ deposit (1 month fee) ➕ agent fee (1 month fee)
3 Months in Advance
3 months is generally cheaper than many people pay for one month in their countries
Some teachers are lucky to avoid this payment and take over an apartment that was rented by another teacher
Some teachers also want to share (or come as a couple) in which case it would be half this amount..Apartment costs in each city are a little different but let’s say you pay 2000 RMB per month
This means they will want 1 month real estate fee + 3 months advanced payment = 8000 RMB (approximately $1,100 USD)Some will also have a deposit of one month, so in that case it would be 10,000 RMB.
MEF English offers teachers the option to receive 5000 RMB (as a flight reimbursement) on arrival which can be used to help you get started.
Salary Note:
The standard company payment system in China is monthly by the 15th of the month. This means that you will receive money for the first week of month-end training (if your training period is the last week of the month), by the 15th of the following month. If you start on the first of the month, it means that you would not receive your salary until the 15th of the following month, so it is good to have some money for this 6 week period. How much depends on the teacher and the area you are in. Some teachers could make it with 2000 RMB for this time, but most would want to have at least 5000 RMB for the 6 week period.
CASH
Check that your bank card works with the Chinese ATM machines. Most of them do.
We recommend bringing like 4000 to 6000 RMB. (If your plan is to buy a Chinese phone more than that).
Then if you need cash you can withdraw from the ATM.Note:
We have yet to have a teacher not able to get through the starting regardless of how much they brought and we are able to lend money as needed (this also means that you need to receive less later as you pay it back over a few months).
It is not the smartest thing to try to move to a new city, let alone a new country, without a penny but in the case that you are seriously short on funds, you would not be the first one. I am sure everyone will help to make this experience a reality for you.
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