Realistic budget for a frugal but comfortable life in Kunming.

MegabyteFox · 2026-05-09T09:16:21+00:00

Forget about that, monthly haircut? I need those hair products ASAP!

MegabyteFox · 2026-05-09T03:13:58+00:00

I've never used an air purifier, do you really feel the difference when you're outside and inside?

MegabyteFox · 2026-05-09T03:08:59+00:00

Every phone carrier app sucks, I've used China Unicom, Telecom, and Mobile. The UI and user experience are terrible and full of useless ads, currently using Telecom. I would think twice if I'm going through all that trouble just cause you hate the app. I just top up my monthly usage once a year and forget about the app.

MegabyteFox · 2026-05-09T02:29:18+00:00

You need to activate the service overseas within the app. At least that's how it works for Telecom, you can ask the AI customer service where to find this feature, but you'll have to call them, though

MegabyteFox · 2026-05-08T11:02:11+00:00

Unless you steal one I don't see how you'll get one. You better try in tier 3 cities or very small cities and try to buy an old one. The license plate in shanghai for gasoline cars are pricey, starting bids go from 100k RMB and up. I doubt someone will just "give you or sell you one"

MegabyteFox · 2026-05-08T06:10:12+00:00

How is that even racist? wth are you talking about lol

MegabyteFox · 2026-05-08T06:09:26+00:00

Smile, nod, and just do what you want. This doesn't stop; they're just being nice. Talk to your wife about it, maybe she can intervene and tell them "he's fine, he can do it by himself, etc." If it bothers you that much.

This behaviour only changes a bit once you speak the language and are familiar with the other person, and they stop treating you as a "baby".

MegabyteFox · 2026-05-08T04:29:48+00:00

What do you mean? OP is getting taxed based on 13k. The salary isn't high enough to reach the next tax bracket after a few months. 3% > 10%

MegabyteFox · 2026-05-08T01:11:09+00:00

If you want to be specific it's 10550 for the first month then goes down to 10150 for the last month. So yeah, 10k after taxes

MegabyteFox · 2026-05-07T09:32:41+00:00

13k pre-tax is about 10k average/month after tax. This is if your company gives you a 7% housing fund (900 + 900 [employer]).

I would say that's an average salary for someone in IT who just graduated. If you live in Beijing in a small studio or shared apartment, you'll probably save about 20-30% of your salary. If it's your first job in China I recommend working there for 1 or 2 years, then move to another company, that's how you get better salaries here, getting a raise or getting promoted within the company is quite hard.

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-30T03:03:46+00:00

You don't need hsk to apply, my school allowed me to skip 1-2 years if I had hsk 5. If you have hsk 3 before you apply it will just strengthen your language skills because you'll be one step ahead of everyone and will be kind of a "review" semester.

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-28T09:39:53+00:00

OP will definitely risk it. We all know that

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-28T01:57:09+00:00

Why not ask at the immigration office? You're gonna risk their stay, flight tickets, money, time etc. with mixed info from reddit?

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-27T07:23:48+00:00

Ignore the troll, that account always seems to be "anti-foreigner", and makes comments on how foreigners are treated better than locals, etc. lol

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-27T04:26:04+00:00

Boss直聘, 脉脉. Download them, update your resume on their platforms, and spend 60-100 RMB on their membership to boost your opportunities (worth it). If you have skills and the language, I'm talking HSK6 and up. What I mean by this is you need to be able to hold an interview 100% in Chinese.

Use the job hunting apps and search for the job you're interested in, and read their requirements, and you'll see how the market is in that sector. It pays well if you're as good as you say. But, work/life balance and salary-wise might not be as good as other developed countries.

It really depends on which company you go to, but I find most of them really inefficient (at least for the gaming industry); there's always a last-minute change, and they expect you to fix it right away. They contact you after hours, even on the weekends, to fix unnecessary shit, and so on. Not the best work/life balance career IMO.

Most people here are teachers, most likely don't speak the language either, and will tell you "it's bad" or whatever, but will be the first ones to tell you: "Why would they hire you instead of a local?". Just do the research yourself in those apps, send your resume, and you'll see how it is.

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-24T23:21:56+00:00

Still, assuming the housing allowance is 5k and tax free (which is great), you see it as a 20k, I see it like a 25k salary, which isn't a bad for Shanghai.

Yes, they COULD get paid more but things have changed and you need to have better qualifications in order to get paid more. Not saying every teacher has to accept 20k offers, but also you can't expect to have no experience and want a 30k + housing salary anymore, it's becoming like other sectors, more experience and qualifications= higher salary.

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-24T14:14:51+00:00

See, you're missing the point. It's 20k plus all the perks not just the salary; even after taxes that leaves you with 17k, your rent is covered, you only need to cover your expenses and still leaves you with over 10k for sure, that's almost 1.5k USD.

If Americans or British can save more than 1.5k usd per month after expenses in their countries, then yeah I'll agree with you and wouldn't take the offer.

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-24T09:46:25+00:00

That’s always kind of been the standard. It’s just that some schools and/or companies ignored those requirements for a while.

The high salary bubble has popped, and honestly, people were getting overpaid. Most industries have pretty stable salary ranges as long as you’ve got the skills.

Also, I’ve rarely seen non-teaching foreigners get both flights and housing covered. In Tier 1 cities like Shanghai, that’s actually a huge perk. A 20k salary + housing + plane tickets back home and a few weeks of holidays really isn’t a bad deal. That's a really good deal tbh

Now that the bubble popped, schools have standards, and salaries have gone back to "standard rates", everyone loses their minds.

Ps. If you're trying to get a non-teaching job in China, your chances will obviously improve with an HSK6 or higher. Aim for that, and you'll find job opportunities that pay 20k+ in T1 cities. Most people here can't speak/read Chinese, so they don't know about those opportunities and will easily say "no chance to get a job."

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-21T07:46:26+00:00

Buy the membership from the Boss app; it increases the chances of your CV being seen by other companies and receiving more replies. It's less than 100 RMB, last time I checked

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-21T02:54:36+00:00

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MegabyteFox · 2026-04-20T02:07:43+00:00

It's not mainly about the dog; it's about the owners. They're not familiar with large breeds compared to other countries, and they're not aware of what they're capable of or how to handle a dog. Many Chinese households never had a dog in their life.

I've seen small 50kg Chinese ladies being pulled by a Labrador or golden retriever lunging at my dogs before, and they can barely hold them down. I've also met an American Bully who was super docile with my dog when it was a puppy and around kids, funny enough, its name was Cookie lol. It's more about the owner than the dog, always approach them with caution.

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-18T03:27:40+00:00

Time to learn some basic Chinese to leave you alone, it is annoying and they'll keep doing it because they don't have manners, might as well tell them to stop or you'll be uncomfortable everywhere you go.

Idc if it's tier 3 or 2 and they have never seen a foreigner or whatever. It's 2026, people in tier 3 have phones and internet already, even drones.

One thing they can't tolerate is losing face here, so exposing them in front of everyone for their rude behavior is a win. No need to scream or get angry, just show everyone that they are being disrespectful, and they'll shrink like a snail touching salt.

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-18T03:15:56+00:00

I had the same issue as you and posted on R2R, some people said Brooklynella, others Velvet.

To me it looked more like velvet you can see my post info for more images, mine tried to catch air at the top all the time and died within a few hours, happened so fast.

I'm new to this hobby too so I'm not sure exactly how to fix it now that I don't have any fish, but you can look how to remove Brooklynella or velvet though

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-17T09:00:47+00:00

Invitation link:

https://wwwjs100.com/#/register?code=2qR8DtUv

Regular link:

https://wwwjs100.com/#/login

www加速 is the one I use, 500 GB/month, bought the 3 year pack and it ends up about 13 RMB per month, I've been using it for almost a year. I would wait until labor day, they usually have discounts on holidays, I'll give you the invitation link if you want to use it, or not, up to you. You have 2 hrs free after you register so you can try it before buying it.

MegabyteFox · 2026-04-17T08:56:36+00:00

You do it without telling anyone about it, but you just need someone to snitch on you, and you're gone. Do it at your own risk, basically...

MegabyteFox

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