An Idea of the Cost of Living in Beijing

I’ve been in China over a couple weeks now (and still only know about five words in Chinese – oops) and thought now would be as good a time as any to give a little rundown on getting setup in Beijing and what life costs here.

• Apartment – I mentioned in a previous post that my apartment is costing 2,200RMB per month which is about $315 USD. Not bad at all especially since my budget was closer to $500 per month. For the cheaper price I have a flatmate but it’s actually pretty good because I can pick his brain about Beijing and he’s always up for a night out. I met him randomly in a bar but most people find their places on the That’s BJ website. There are places for stupidly cheap prices if you’re willing to share, live out of town and rent an older place. My apartment is pretty swish and is located right on the edge of the Central Business District so is relatively central. I had to pay three months plus a deposit up front which is a bit of a shocker but pretty common here I think. Oh and we both hate to clean so we’ve got a cleaner for 30RMB a go, twice a week. She even does the dishes!
• Phone – I already talked about my phone too but it cost 500RMB (about $70) including a SIM card. It was the cheapest, nastiest one they had on display and I didn’t attempt to bargain so I’m sure someone who’s a bit more savvy could have gotten it for less. Calls and texts seem pretty cheap and my pay as you go top ups last a long time.
• Transport – I’ve been taking taxis pretty much everywhere because the subway stop closest to me is about a 30 minute walk away. There’s a new line under construction that I’m hoping will be done in June, like they say. That’s just around the corner so hopefully that’ll increase my use of public transport. Taxi fares are really cheap though. I was in one for about 30 minutes the other day to go from my house to the complete opposite side of town and that only cost about $10. That’s the minimum fare for a five minute cab ride in London! Subway prices are hard to resist at only 2RMB per ride to anywhere. Buses are about a quarter of that price but I haven’t worked them out yet and they’re usually scary busy.
• Internet – The internet was always running in the place I moved into so I’m not sure if there are setup fees for new customers. To top it up for another five months cost 600RMB and my flatmate agreed to pay half. So for about $40 I’m covered for five months.
• Gym – I joined a Bally Total Fitness near my house for 1500RMB for three months (500 per month). I got them down from 1800RMB. I guess that’s around the same price as I’d pay in London and I think it’s meant to be a pretty fancy one. I think the more months you buy the cheaper the per month rate goes and I’m told you should always bargain.
• Food – I keep getting tempted by the Western food store next to my gym and keep buying expensive things like cheese. I haven’t really gotten into a steady routine yet so it’s hard to know what I spend on food monthly. It’s a lot more than it could/should be though especially since I keep ordering from an Italian place that delivers. Tasty but at about $10 a meal it adds up.
• Partying – I’m back into my old habits of late, boozy nights but am trying to exercise a bit of self control and keep it to two or three nights out a week. There are lots of fun places to go here and having a sociable housemate makes it tough. Beers can be bought for insanely cheap at the shop in my apartment. Only 2.50RMB (30 cents!) for a big bottle so drinking at home is cheap. Heading out, beer costs about 15RMB for a small bottle which is still reasonable. Taking cabs everywhere, eating out and drinking too much adds up though and if you’re the sociable type then factor this into your budget. But overall things are still affordable and you can have a meal, drinks and a taxi for around 200RMB (under $30). In London return cab fare alone would cost twice as much as that.

Assuming I spend 200RMB per month on phone top ups then my base costs including the phone, gym, apartment, cleaner and internet come to 3080RMB or about $440 USD. Assuming I keep my taxi rides, Western food and party time under control then I see no reason not to be able to live on $1000 per month which is what I was hoping for. Of course my ultimate goal is to spend less that I’m making each month so that gives me plenty of wiggle room if I decide I want to go a bit nuts with the spending now and then.