Middle Kingdom LifePerspectives on Living & Teaching in China

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Will My Salary Be Enough to Live Comfortably On?

Is my salary for teaching English in China enough to live on comfortably?

The most accurate answer to this question truly depends on how you personally define “comfortable” and the type of lifestyle you had maintained back home. Imagine yourself asking both a truck driver from South Carolina and a successful trial attorney from New York City “How much do I need to earn in order to live comfortably in the United States?” Obviously, you are going to receive two very different answers to this question, and both are entirely correct depending on what you had grown accustomed to in your country of origin.

Taking into account the generally lower socioeconomic status of the majority of foreign teachers in China prior to relocation, the general consensus seems to be that 4,000 to 4,500 RMB per month is manageable IF you do not have ongoing debts to satisfy back home (e.g., school loans and credit cards) and you are comfortable living in a relatively simple fashion (meaning you are satisfied eating at small, family-owned restaurants and don’t have the need for many Western electronic devices and “Western groceries”). Some teachers do manage to save up to one-third of their salaries per month by living frugally, but keep in mind that Western manufactured technology, e.g., cell phones, computers, reliable Western-made DVD players, etc., tend to cost as much in China as they do back home.

In terms of income viability, what it all boils down to is how willing and able you are to live as if you were Chinese. Foreigners who make regular trips to the Western grocery store for “luxury items” such as Cheddar and Blue Cheese, bacon, Equal (artificial sweetener), olives, heavy cream, and spices, etc., will be parting with no less than 1,000 yuan per month for that privilege. Those who cannot tolerate eating cheap Chinese food at small family-run restaurants two to three times a day, every single day of their lives and seek refuge inside of these all-you-can-eat lunch and dinner buffets at 4- and 5-star hotels will spend anywhere from 58 to 225 RMB per meal for that “culinary respite.”

Do the math: if you spend an average of only 50 yuan per day on food and beverage (and that’s cutting it very tight unless you are willing to eat very simply or cook at home most of the time) that comes to a total of 1500 yuan per month, or one-third of your monthly salary at 4,500 yuan, just for food (and now ask yourself, what percentage of your monthly income did you spend on food back home?). If you are into the bar scene and make that a regular ritual, you can easily add an additional 500 per month to the budget (and that is extremely conservative). Cigarette smokers can add an additional 200 to 800 per month depending on brand and, of course, how much they smoke. If you have to pay for your own utilities (and most do), as well as Internet and other utility costs (household and drinking water) you can easily add a minimum of another 500 to the monthly total. If you need monthly maintenance medications for hypertension or diabetes, add in another 300 to 500 per month to that figure as well and even those who are frugal with their cell phone usage seem to spend no less than another 100 yuan per month (usually much more). One older teacher we know, who runs his three air conditioners around the clock during the summer months in order to remain comfortable, hands back no less than one-third (1200 to 1500 yuan) of his salary to the building management every month for that “luxury.”

In 1985, the average per capita income of a Chinese citizen was $293 USD per year: Today, it is well over $2500 (or approximately 1500 RMB per month) and it is not unusual for recent college graduates to report monthly starting salaries of 3,000 yuan (even outside the three major international cities). In 2008, China’s rate of inflation hit an 11-year high as consumer prices rose 8.7% from the previous year with food prices contributing 23.3% to that increase (Bradsher, 2008)—yet, the salaries of foreign English teachers have remained remarkably static over a period of many years.

You can query 1000 foreign teachers already in China about whether your salary will be enough to live on comfortably but, in the end, only you can answer that for yourself based on the realistic information that’s been provided above. My conclusion, based on the experiences of dozens upon dozens of teachers I have interviewed, is that foreigners who led “middle-class” lives in their native Western countries will find themselves living paycheck-to-paycheck on a salary of 4,000 to 5,000 yuan per month and, on several occasions, will have to go into their personal savings from home to subsidize their existence if anything unexpected occurs (or if they need or elect to make a purchase above normal living expenses)—unless they are willing to make significant changes in lifestyle. Although many Chinese do manage to save enough money to eventually buy an apartment and a car on salaries of 3500 to 5000 per month, keep in mind that they live very frugally and will typically spend no more than 15 to 20 yuan per day on food (by cooking and eating at home and subsisting on a diet mostly comprising rice, vegetables and a minimal amount of meat or fish). Teachers who moonlight at other schools during the week (and many do) are doing so because they need the extra money as a safety net (or to travel with) and not because they can’t get enough of oral English teaching. In fact, one public university in Guangzhou that once offerred me a position at 4500 yuan per month not only advised me that I could moonlight, but literally informed me that I should expect to as, by their own admission, a salary of 4500 is insufficient for maintaining a comfortable “Western” existence in that city (and this was back in 2004).

If your primary purpose in teaching English is to save money and you have a real degree with teaching experience, you would be well advised to abandon China as your primary destination and consider South Korea or, even better, the Middle East instead. Those with teaching degrees and certifications and considerable experience can easily earn $2,000 to $3,000 U.S. per month in South Korea, and perhaps two to three times as much as that in the Middle East (although not everyone can acclimate to life in a Muslim country). It has also been reported that salaries in Taiwan are significantly higher than those in mainland China, but the cost of living is also higher, housing tends not to be included in the remuneration package, and there are more opportunities to spend your salary there as well.

Posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 and is filed under China Teaching. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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