Advantage: BIG salary and bonus

Disadvantage: Leave ur family & friends, lover. Alone and lonely. People there not so friendly and good with u also got purpose. Air polution and food poison. High expenses. Stress. Dangerous. If u are engineer, I afraid they ask u do alot of dangerous thing on the site. No insurance coverage from company if something happened.

Other living costs ain't that high, I'm assuming you are a Chinese and know how to get around. You are not white guy who can't speak/read Chinese and need to buy food at the imported section of Carrefour / go for coffee at Starbucks / etc.

I believe you'll be taking the subway and buses too.

Haha no I'm Malay and don't speak/read chinese I don't expect food to be a big problem unless the quality is really going to be bad. But I am preparing for the worst in terms of the pollution and air quality. Air filters seem to be the way to go in apartments but they're expensive...

Watch out for the tax. IIRC, foreigners who reside in China for more than 183 days are classified as tax residents and must pay tax on both their China-derived AND foreign-derived income. Do Google for the exact application if you have significant current income already in Malaysia etc. like dividends, rental etc. It could become taxable in China if you become a Chinese tax resident. Imagine the poetic justice if your Amanah Saham Bumiputra dividend is tax free in Malaysia but taxable in China.

Lol.    Then I suggest you get a crash course in speaking Mandarin, e.g. Pimsleur.

I'm going there next month.

Anyone there?

is it expensive to have a mistress there? fulltime, stay together.

seriously?mistress is not a job la...zzzz...
...
if you plan to go out during weekend,good luck and have fun squeeze yourself into public transport like a sardine in a can
if you have car,you will stuck in the jam,traffic in beijing is crazy
...

how much is your current pay in Malaysia? other than the housing allowance and base pay of 2k+ euros, no other perks?

You going for? Travel? Long term / short term work?



I'm about 1400 KM away (south), lol.

What I've learned so far:
- lots of people everywhere all the time <- Yep. Not sure about Beijing, but population of Shanghai can be considered as equivalent to Malaysia. And there are many other cities in China that are like that.
- good apartments are expensive <- Even small apartments are expensive!
- learning Mandarin is a good idea <- It is not only a good idea, it's imperative.
- traffic is bad <- and you won't get used to the driving style for at least 5 months. It's horrible, much worse than kiasu malaysians, but of course, not as bad as India. You'll probably get a huge shock, sitting in a cab for the first time/trying to cross the street. By the way it's left hand drive.
- subways are good and cheap, crowded during rush hours but reasonable otherwise <- they are always on time (based on personal experience). and expect Malaysian ones to be a miniature toy, as over there, there are many routes (well connected), and it could be very confusing for the first timer, since majority of words/people to ask are in Chinese.
- cost of living is about the same as KL
- food quality can be bad <- it's just like KL, there are plenty good food, and plenty bad food. Just that China's land area is larger so you have more travelling to do.
- air pollution is bad, get a good quality air filter for the apartment and 3M facemasks <- good quality standalone water filter too in addition to the fixed rocket filter that might already be provided by your landlord.
- cycling is an option but could be dangerous depending on where you go <- cycling is dangerous anywhere on Chinese roads, except in and around your own housing estate/apartment area.
- there is double taxation if staying more than 183 days
- power supply is 220V/50Hz similar to Malaysia but the plugs are similar to Japan/Europe <- not a worry. the normal extension plugs (rack) are widely available and can support Malaysian plugheads. You can also buy a small portable converter head (approx RM30) that would allow you to bring your laptop anywhere.

- mistresses are expensive <- mistresses are potentially detrimental to family life and career development, if they become cunning and demand ransom money from you to shut up. "Massage centres" would be a better and safer alternative, if you know what I mean, lol sorry if you're offended.