Information about living in Xian China

A reader sent me some good questions the other day and I wanted to pass them and my answers on to anyone who could use this information. If you have any questions about Xian, feel free to write me.

Enjoy this day,

Matt

1- Is there any kind of nursery school? In which language (English, French, Chinese)? At what age? At what cost? We have a one-year-old boy and we might stay in China until he’s 4 or 5.

There are a couple of school options for you. We send our kids to a small community center where they have classes 3 times a week in Chinese. It’s VERY affordable depending on how much your child goes it costs anywhere from 1800RMB to 3000RMB a semester ($265USD - $450USD). Our girls started when they were 2 1/2 , going twice a week.

There’s also an International School here where many foreigners send their children, it’s just quite a bit more expensive (I wanna say it’s like $10,000USD a semester).

2- Is it easy to get a nanny/maid to take care of the house and children? Does she have to sleep at home or is it possible not to have her sleep at home? How much does it cost?

Yes, it is very easy to hire a nanny to watch kids, cook and clean your house. And no, they DO NOT have to live with you. In fact, most do not live with the people who’ve hired them. It’s also very cheap to hire this kind of help. It’s changing a little bit right now, but you can find help for between 10RMB and 15RMB an hour ($1.50 to $2.30 an hour).

3- Are there some activities for little children: parks, other activities?

Yes. We have 3 kids (5 year old, 3 year old and a 8 month old) and we’re foster caring a Chinese orphan (she’s 3 ½) and there’s a lot to do with them. Not only do most of the apartment complexes have playgrounds, but also most of the grocery stores have bigger indoor playgrounds. Cleanliness can be an issue with some of these options.

4- Is it easy and cheap to buy some usual objects necessary for kids (childcare like strollers, car seats, …, clothes, furniture)?

I think it’s relatively cheap. For example we bought a stroller for around $75USD a couple years ago and it’s worked out well for us (and I’m sure there are cheaper options). There are plenty of children’s stores to get these kind of things at. Finding good clothes isn’t always easy. Before you come you should check out a website called taobao.com, it’s an online Chinese store that ships all over China. It’s very reasonably priced and a big selection. It’s in Chinese, but if you use Google Chrome it will translate it for you.

5- Do you both take Chinese lessons? If yes, how and what does it cost?

Yes. Both my wife and I go to school. I go to a private Chinese school and it costs me around $1300USD a semester for 6 hours a week of one-on-one. You can go to a local college to study Chinese for cheaper than that, but it demands more hours. My wife has a tutor -which is helpful for her and her schedule- and that costs 30RMB an hour (around $4USD). Having even survival Chinese can make life here so much more convenient and I would recommend getting even a little if you can.

6- Are there many foreigners living in Xian

Yes and no. For example, in Beijing you will see foreigners pretty often, maybe every time you leave your home. Here in Xian that’s not the case. You could be out all day and not once see another foreigner. But at the same time if you live in a nicer community and apartment complex, there’s a better chance of foreigners living around you. Also, there is a good ex=pat community here. Once you’re plugged in you will find many people to build friendships with.

7- Do I need a car for me to move around the city? Or is it easy to move with buses, subway, little cabs?

You can absolutely live life here without a car. I don’t know any foreigner families here who have a car and all of us use exactly what you mentioned, buses, taxis, bikes, even walking can get you to most of your errand locations. I personally would rather skip the hassle and instead use the public transportation.

Thanks again for the great questions, keep them coming.

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Information on Living in Xian China

How are you doing today? I had the privilege of having a reader of this blog write me a few questions about moving/living in Xian, China and I felt that it would be good to post the questions and answers. I love to help, it’s one of the reasons I blog. So feel free to write me questions about China, Xian, Teaching English or anything you think I may be able to help you with. Here are the questions and answers;

I have an asthmatic 7 year old and was wondering if China would be a viable choice for us and particularly Xi'an?
Living in China you can definitely tell a difference in the air quality compared to living in America. I have American friends who have lived in China for 7 years and according to them the air quality in Xian has VASTLY improved over that time and I suspect it will continue to improve. Currently though, like I said, the air quality is not that great and is something to consider when moving here.

I suspect Xi'an would be a large industrial city, yes?
Xian is a large industrial city with around 8 million inhabitants and a lot of the commerce being manufacturing. (Side note: this isn’t the case with every Chinese city, for example, Shanghai is a large city, but its commerce isn’t in production and the air quality is better there, in my opinion)

I read your info regarding cost of living and am pleasantly surprised to learn that it appears much cheaper than Beijing.
That is true! One great thing about living in Xian is that it is incredibly cheap compared to other large Chinese cities. (You can read my previous article on cost of living in Xian by clicking here)

Also what does one do to get back and forth from the airport? Taxi? Is there reliable transportation like busses or subway?
There is a bus that goes from downtown Xian to the airport and is very convenient. There are also taxis that will take you anywhere in the city. (I should note that the airport is about 45 minutes to an hour outside of Xian). To get around town you have the option of taxis or busses and both are SUPER cheap and very reliable (granted you know where you’re going and how to properly pronounce its name). Xian is currently building a subway system and within the next couple years there will be at least one line open. They are also building a brand new massive airport.

What could one expect regarding international schools cost and quality wise? In Beijing they seemed to run about 20-25 thousand USD per year!
I don’t know much about the international schools. My children are both younger right now, but my wife and I are also probably going to go the route of homeschooling. This is in part to how expensive it can be to send your kids to the international schools. I want to say that it’s either $10,000 a semester or a year. Sorry, that isn’t very helpful. If I get more info I will post it.

Thanks Andy for your questions! And if anyone has more questions, please feel free to ask me, I love to help!

Enjoy this day,
Matt

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Cost of living in Xian China

Recently a reader wrote me because she’s going to be moving here to Xian and asked some questions about the cost of living and what not. Well this made my day, because I had written this info before, but realized it would be good to post it here. I hope this gives a clear picture to anyone moving to Xian and to you at home wanting to know more about life in China. Enjoy!

I should note that all prices are in US dollars ($), but I also add the Chinese currency of RMB… if you’re in to that.

Monthly Expenses

Average Monthly rent - $150-$440 (1000 - 3000 RMB) Obviously depending on size and location you have some difference, but this is the general price range for apartments here.

Electricity - This is about $60 (400 RMB) a month, but obviously it’s different depending on how much you use and what not.

Gas - $15 (100 RMB) every month (or so), this is your gas for heating your water and your gas stove.

Water, Garbage removal, Elevator fees and Guard fees - Are all included in one monthly fee which is about $50 (300 RMB) a month

Drinking water - $15 (100 RMB) a month is what you can expect to pay for your drinkable water. It’s set up like the Culligan water system, where you have a dispenser and when your water runs out you call the company and they deliver a new bottle of water to you.

Monthly cell phone fees - In China you don’t sign a contract with your cell phone company to use your minutes, it’s all pay as you go… This is about $15 (100 RMB) a month, but can be more depending on how much you use your phone.

Internet - This is can also be pay as you go (or a standard monthly fee), depending on how much you download and what not. But $20 a month seems to be a pretty standard amount to spend.

Taxis - For me to go to 90% of the places I normally travel to in Xian I can expect to spend on average $1-$4 (6-24 RMB) that includes the downtown area.

Buses - If you ride the bus it’s about $.12-$.25 (1-2 RMB) to go anywhere on that particular bus route. There are TONS of bus routes and you can get to a lot of places using the buses, it’s just crowded, uncomfortable and you need to make sure no one steals from you. Besides that its great!

Basic Chinese meal - noodles or rice is as basic as you get (and very good) and they come in at about $1 (6 RMB) per meal. NOT BAD!

4-5 dishes and rice - When we eat as a family and have people over we order about this much and it’s usually about $7 (50 RMB).

Nice Chinese meal for two - To go out and eat Beijing Roast Duck (SO GOOD!!!!) it’s about $15 (100 RMB)

Eating Western fastfood - To give you an idea it’s about $3 (21 RMB) for Big Mac meal (no refills on soda however… sad face)

Eating Western Pizza - This is important for anyone who loves pizza to know. So for a large pepperoni pizza you will spend somewhere between $11-$17 (Papa John’s is the most expensive)

Average total fees I counted about $500 (averaging the apartment) a month. But that doesn't include food and transportation (only because that is totally different for each situation, but I left the prices above for you to add up and include), this total also doesn't include some things that you need to consider that aren't part of your monthly expenses, which are located below.

Non monthly expenses to know about

Deposit on your apartment - It should also be noted that (at least here in Xian) you need to put a deposit on your apartment down of a month or two’s rent (I can’t remember now what it is).

Real estate agent fee - Also to be noted is that when you get an apartment through a real estate agent you need to pay a month’s rent as your fee for them helping you. Most of the time (unless you know someone wanting to rent a home) you need to go through an agent to get an apartment here.

Heating - During the summer months in most cases you need to pay for your heaters to come on. It’s all regulated by a company and you can’t turn it on and off as you wish (in most cases). It can be pretty spendy coming in at about $400 (2700 RMB), but depends on the size of your apartment.

Cell phone - You get what you pay for and you can find pretty much anything here. You need be careful of fakes so trust who or where you’re buying from, but you can expect to spend $30-$1500 (200-10,000 RMB). And yes you can buy ridiculously expensive $1500 phones here.

Visas - This also needs to be mentioned as it can be spendy (especially for a family) to get new visas every year. I won't put the price because it changes so much and you will need to find the price when you decide to come. If you're moving here as a family you should know that only your spouse needs to either work or study for them to get a visa, then you can and your kids can get temporary resident visas. This means that both spouses don't need to be enrolled in college and/or both working. Just a side note for all you families.

Enjoy this day,
Matt

P.S. Please email me or leave a comment here if you have further questions I can help you with!

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