I so want to be an expat! My parents saved up lots of money too since we lived in Indonesia. My dad was being paid in USD and our home, car, tuition, etc was paid for by the company. We basically spent barely any money on food!
Hey Chris’ family were also relocated to Indonesia when he was younger, same situation – what a coincidence!:)
I know you’ve mentioned that before! Do you know where in Indonesia?
jakarta 🙂
I so want to be an expat! My parents saved up lots of money too since we lived in Indonesia. My dad was being paid in USD and our home, car, tuition, etc was paid for by the company. We basically spent barely any money on food!
Hey Chris’ family were also relocated to Indonesia when he was younger, same situation – what a coincidence!:)
I know you’ve mentioned that before! Do you know where in Indonesia?
jakarta 🙂
that’s awesome – same here, with HK tax so low compared to Oz, I’m saving a lot more! speaking of which, I’m off to Shanghai tomorrow – your reviews totally came in handy!
Yeah HK is fab, i love it there! Have fun in Shanghai 🙂
that’s awesome – same here, with HK tax so low compared to Oz, I’m saving a lot more! speaking of which, I’m off to Shanghai tomorrow – your reviews totally came in handy!
Yeah HK is fab, i love it there! Have fun in Shanghai 🙂
Sounds like a plan, we’re moving over tomorrow! ROFL.
Hehe, we’re gonna bitch and moan once we move out of Shanghai though, and feel so much poorer!
Sounds like a plan, we’re moving over tomorrow! ROFL.
Hehe, we’re gonna bitch and moan once we move out of Shanghai though, and feel so much poorer!
How are the taxes over there?
My husband’s salary is too attractive for him to leave atm (plus the thought of someone else living in our beautiful home makes me want to cry) but Aussie taxes are starting to really, really hurt!
Taxes are not good but our companies give us a lot of relief so it’s way better than in AU – I agree, the tax rate is paaaainful there!
We thought our salaries were good too but they were both increased when we moved over – so I wouln’t worry too much about him 🙂
Too bad his is an Aussie company. =( Oh well, might keep our eyes peeled for something good … Microsoft/eBay looking for any superstar triple threats (project manager/developer/software architect)? 😉
Before we bought our apartment I used to constantly check the bank balance too. I’d coo over and virtually pat my little nest egg.
There’s a lot of software development moving into both Beijing and Shanghai … I wouldn’t rule it out.
Hmm intriguing! But what do you do if, say, something breaks and you need to call about the warranty? Is there someone who translates or do you have to stumble through the language barrier?
The more I think about it the more attractive it is. In all honesty if the right job and the right salary came along he’d probably jump at it, just for the adventure. But there are plenty of competent Chinese developers/architects and I imagine it’s a lot harder if you can’t transfer within the same multinational company. =(
How are the taxes over there?
My husband’s salary is too attractive for him to leave atm (plus the thought of someone else living in our beautiful home makes me want to cry) but Aussie taxes are starting to really, really hurt!
Taxes are not good but our companies give us a lot of relief so it’s way better than in AU – I agree, the tax rate is paaaainful there!
We thought our salaries were good too but they were both increased when we moved over – so I wouln’t worry too much about him 🙂
Too bad his is an Aussie company. =( Oh well, might keep our eyes peeled for something good … Microsoft/eBay looking for any superstar triple threats (project manager/developer/software architect)? 😉
Before we bought our apartment I used to constantly check the bank balance too. I’d coo over and virtually pat my little nest egg.
There’s a lot of software development moving into both Beijing and Shanghai … I wouldn’t rule it out.
Hmm intriguing! But what do you do if, say, something breaks and you need to call about the warranty? Is there someone who translates or do you have to stumble through the language barrier?
The more I think about it the more attractive it is. In all honesty if the right job and the right salary came along he’d probably jump at it, just for the adventure. But there are plenty of competent Chinese developers/architects and I imagine it’s a lot harder if you can’t transfer within the same multinational company. =(
I get obsessed with watching my bank account too, you are totally not alone! I get particularly flummoxed when my increase in saving doesn’t accelerate even though realistically, I can’t expect to always save at increasing amounts.
YES me toO!! For some ridiculous reason I expect/want to save MORE than the prev month, which isn’t always realistic. And I check my bank account at least once a day just to look at the money. I’m a weirdo 😛
Well you are a weirdo with company then 😛
I can totally relate. I’m pretty thrifty to begin with, but moving to China has been amazing for savings. The most I have paid for a cab ride was when I was lost one day with the cabbie driving for 45min around Beijing; it came out to barely $10… in the States the stupid counter STARTS at $10!!
It’s brilliant hey, but man we’re gonna be bitchin’ once we move out of China… haha
Wow! $4-5K savings a month is pretty darn impressive!! If only money didn’t seem to slip through my pockets like water,… 😛
Haha cos shopping is awesome.. i wish i had access to all the brands I love back when I was in AU!
I really like seeing money grow in my bank account…. it’s kinda become like an obsession for me now
Ohhh I’m like that too!!! 😀
At least I’m not that only crazy one, heh!!
Oh my god I am jealous of what your salary must be if you are saving that much each month!
Nah it’s not that impressive, just a combo of the payrise, exchange rate, and great tax relief that we got 🙂 And of course the biggest thing – the cost of living here!
fab to be saving SO much!!
Yeah it makes it all worth it, heh!
Wow… that sounds awesome! And Microsoft *does* have offices in Shanghai. I wonder how hard it is to relocate from Redmond to Shanghai.
That sounds very tempting though. If only Shanghai wasn’t so far… :S
Not sure if you already know, but Chris works in Microsoft Shanghai.. both of us were interns in Microsoft Australia as well 😛
OHH! That’s really cool, cause I was an intern in Microsoft Redmond! Will be starting FT this summer 😀
Hm, so it looks possible then, though probably not right away 😛 By the way, did you already speak Mandarin before you relocated to Shanghai?
Congrats! MSFT is great 🙂
I spoke minimal and Chris speaks none, but it’s no prob
Congrats on the new role! If you want to look me up, I’d be happy to have a chat.
Thanks Chris! 😀 I look forward to it too.
Saving money is always a good thing! I thought the cost of living would be really high there but it great your thinking about the future.
BTW: When I get into the grad school of my choice I might have come and live a semester over there!
Cost of living CAN be high here if you don’t know where to go or if you only wanna eat expensive western food etc. But once you know where to go, it’s great 🙂
Wow, I wish I save that much! The cost of living is definitely higher than Shanghai. ERP alone hits 9 bucks during peak hour..when I’m late for work. 🙁 You make me want to move to Shanghai! And, they say..the next upcoming financial hub is “Shangkong” – Shanghai + Hong Kong, thanks to recent developments by the Chinese government.
Arghh that ERP is crazy! I do love transportation here, it’s so cheap 😛
It’s all planned nicely for u guys.. you sure make living in shanghai sound very attractive!
It’s a lovely place, we’re still finding it fun! 😛
I get obsessed with watching my bank account too, you are totally not alone! I get particularly flummoxed when my increase in saving doesn’t accelerate even though realistically, I can’t expect to always save at increasing amounts.
YES me toO!! For some ridiculous reason I expect/want to save MORE than the prev month, which isn’t always realistic. And I check my bank account at least once a day just to look at the money. I’m a weirdo 😛
Well you are a weirdo with company then 😛
you should invest your savings! Then it will grow even more 🙂
We’d like to do that, but it’s tough to whilst in Shanghai and our money is in the bank here!
Investing in property always seems to be a good way to grow money, especially if you are investing in the right property (with the right property manager – very important) and you have the money for it! 🙂
haha! that’s an awesome selling point you have there. ;p
Hehe it’s a good place to live for making savings 😛
I can totally relate. I’m pretty thrifty to begin with, but moving to China has been amazing for savings. The most I have paid for a cab ride was when I was lost one day with the cabbie driving for 45min around Beijing; it came out to barely $10… in the States the stupid counter STARTS at $10!!
It’s brilliant hey, but man we’re gonna be bitchin’ once we move out of China… haha
Wow! $4-5K savings a month is pretty darn impressive!! If only money didn’t seem to slip through my pockets like water,… 😛
Haha cos shopping is awesome.. i wish i had access to all the brands I love back when I was in AU!
I really like seeing money grow in my bank account…. it’s kinda become like an obsession for me now
Ohhh I’m like that too!!! 😀
At least I’m not that only crazy one, heh!!
Oh my god I am jealous of what your salary must be if you are saving that much each month!
Nah it’s not that impressive, just a combo of the payrise, exchange rate, and great tax relief that we got 🙂 And of course the biggest thing – the cost of living here!
fab to be saving SO much!!
Yeah it makes it all worth it, heh!
Wow… that sounds awesome! And Microsoft *does* have offices in Shanghai. I wonder how hard it is to relocate from Redmond to Shanghai.
That sounds very tempting though. If only Shanghai wasn’t so far… :S
Not sure if you already know, but Chris works in Microsoft Shanghai.. both of us were interns in Microsoft Australia as well 😛
OHH! That’s really cool, cause I was an intern in Microsoft Redmond! Will be starting FT this summer 😀
Hm, so it looks possible then, though probably not right away 😛 By the way, did you already speak Mandarin before you relocated to Shanghai?
Congrats! MSFT is great 🙂
I spoke minimal and Chris speaks none, but it’s no prob
Congrats on the new role! If you want to look me up, I’d be happy to have a chat.
Thanks Chris! 😀 I look forward to it too.
Saving money is always a good thing! I thought the cost of living would be really high there but it great your thinking about the future.
BTW: When I get into the grad school of my choice I might have come and live a semester over there!
Cost of living CAN be high here if you don’t know where to go or if you only wanna eat expensive western food etc. But once you know where to go, it’s great 🙂
Wow, I wish I save that much! The cost of living is definitely higher than Shanghai. ERP alone hits 9 bucks during peak hour..when I’m late for work. 🙁 You make me want to move to Shanghai! And, they say..the next upcoming financial hub is “Shangkong” – Shanghai + Hong Kong, thanks to recent developments by the Chinese government.
Arghh that ERP is crazy! I do love transportation here, it’s so cheap 😛
It’s all planned nicely for u guys.. you sure make living in shanghai sound very attractive!
It’s a lovely place, we’re still finding it fun! 😛
you should invest your savings! Then it will grow even more 🙂
We’d like to do that, but it’s tough to whilst in Shanghai and our money is in the bank here!
Investing in property always seems to be a good way to grow money, especially if you are investing in the right property (with the right property manager – very important) and you have the money for it! 🙂
haha! that’s an awesome selling point you have there. ;p
Hehe it’s a good place to live for making savings 😛
I so want to be an expat! My parents saved up lots of money too since we lived in Indonesia. My dad was being paid in USD and our home, car, tuition, etc was paid for by the company. We basically spent barely any money on food!
Hey Chris’ family were also relocated to Indonesia when he was younger, same situation – what a coincidence!:)
I know you’ve mentioned that before! Do you know where in Indonesia?
jakarta 🙂
I so want to be an expat! My parents saved up lots of money too since we lived in Indonesia. My dad was being paid in USD and our home, car, tuition, etc was paid for by the company. We basically spent barely any money on food!
Hey Chris’ family were also relocated to Indonesia when he was younger, same situation – what a coincidence!:)
I know you’ve mentioned that before! Do you know where in Indonesia?
jakarta 🙂
that’s awesome – same here, with HK tax so low compared to Oz, I’m saving a lot more! speaking of which, I’m off to Shanghai tomorrow – your reviews totally came in handy!
Yeah HK is fab, i love it there! Have fun in Shanghai 🙂
that’s awesome – same here, with HK tax so low compared to Oz, I’m saving a lot more! speaking of which, I’m off to Shanghai tomorrow – your reviews totally came in handy!
Yeah HK is fab, i love it there! Have fun in Shanghai 🙂
Sounds like a plan, we’re moving over tomorrow! ROFL.
Hehe, we’re gonna bitch and moan once we move out of Shanghai though, and feel so much poorer!
Sounds like a plan, we’re moving over tomorrow! ROFL.
Hehe, we’re gonna bitch and moan once we move out of Shanghai though, and feel so much poorer!
How are the taxes over there?
My husband’s salary is too attractive for him to leave atm (plus the thought of someone else living in our beautiful home makes me want to cry) but Aussie taxes are starting to really, really hurt!
Taxes are not good but our companies give us a lot of relief so it’s way better than in AU – I agree, the tax rate is paaaainful there!
We thought our salaries were good too but they were both increased when we moved over – so I wouln’t worry too much about him 🙂
Too bad his is an Aussie company. =( Oh well, might keep our eyes peeled for something good … Microsoft/eBay looking for any superstar triple threats (project manager/developer/software architect)? 😉
Before we bought our apartment I used to constantly check the bank balance too. I’d coo over and virtually pat my little nest egg.
There’s a lot of software development moving into both Beijing and Shanghai … I wouldn’t rule it out.
Hmm intriguing! But what do you do if, say, something breaks and you need to call about the warranty? Is there someone who translates or do you have to stumble through the language barrier?
The more I think about it the more attractive it is. In all honesty if the right job and the right salary came along he’d probably jump at it, just for the adventure. But there are plenty of competent Chinese developers/architects and I imagine it’s a lot harder if you can’t transfer within the same multinational company. =(
How are the taxes over there?
My husband’s salary is too attractive for him to leave atm (plus the thought of someone else living in our beautiful home makes me want to cry) but Aussie taxes are starting to really, really hurt!
Taxes are not good but our companies give us a lot of relief so it’s way better than in AU – I agree, the tax rate is paaaainful there!
We thought our salaries were good too but they were both increased when we moved over – so I wouln’t worry too much about him 🙂
Too bad his is an Aussie company. =( Oh well, might keep our eyes peeled for something good … Microsoft/eBay looking for any superstar triple threats (project manager/developer/software architect)? 😉
Before we bought our apartment I used to constantly check the bank balance too. I’d coo over and virtually pat my little nest egg.
There’s a lot of software development moving into both Beijing and Shanghai … I wouldn’t rule it out.
Hmm intriguing! But what do you do if, say, something breaks and you need to call about the warranty? Is there someone who translates or do you have to stumble through the language barrier?
The more I think about it the more attractive it is. In all honesty if the right job and the right salary came along he’d probably jump at it, just for the adventure. But there are plenty of competent Chinese developers/architects and I imagine it’s a lot harder if you can’t transfer within the same multinational company. =(
I get obsessed with watching my bank account too, you are totally not alone! I get particularly flummoxed when my increase in saving doesn’t accelerate even though realistically, I can’t expect to always save at increasing amounts.
YES me toO!! For some ridiculous reason I expect/want to save MORE than the prev month, which isn’t always realistic. And I check my bank account at least once a day just to look at the money. I’m a weirdo 😛
Well you are a weirdo with company then 😛
I can totally relate. I’m pretty thrifty to begin with, but moving to China has been amazing for savings. The most I have paid for a cab ride was when I was lost one day with the cabbie driving for 45min around Beijing; it came out to barely $10… in the States the stupid counter STARTS at $10!!
It’s brilliant hey, but man we’re gonna be bitchin’ once we move out of China… haha
Wow! $4-5K savings a month is pretty darn impressive!! If only money didn’t seem to slip through my pockets like water,… 😛
Haha cos shopping is awesome.. i wish i had access to all the brands I love back when I was in AU!
I really like seeing money grow in my bank account…. it’s kinda become like an obsession for me now
Ohhh I’m like that too!!! 😀
At least I’m not that only crazy one, heh!!
Oh my god I am jealous of what your salary must be if you are saving that much each month!
Nah it’s not that impressive, just a combo of the payrise, exchange rate, and great tax relief that we got 🙂 And of course the biggest thing – the cost of living here!
fab to be saving SO much!!
Yeah it makes it all worth it, heh!
Wow… that sounds awesome! And Microsoft *does* have offices in Shanghai. I wonder how hard it is to relocate from Redmond to Shanghai.
That sounds very tempting though. If only Shanghai wasn’t so far… :S
Not sure if you already know, but Chris works in Microsoft Shanghai.. both of us were interns in Microsoft Australia as well 😛
OHH! That’s really cool, cause I was an intern in Microsoft Redmond! Will be starting FT this summer 😀
Hm, so it looks possible then, though probably not right away 😛 By the way, did you already speak Mandarin before you relocated to Shanghai?
Congrats! MSFT is great 🙂
I spoke minimal and Chris speaks none, but it’s no prob
Congrats on the new role! If you want to look me up, I’d be happy to have a chat.
Thanks Chris! 😀 I look forward to it too.
Saving money is always a good thing! I thought the cost of living would be really high there but it great your thinking about the future.
BTW: When I get into the grad school of my choice I might have come and live a semester over there!
Cost of living CAN be high here if you don’t know where to go or if you only wanna eat expensive western food etc. But once you know where to go, it’s great 🙂
Wow, I wish I save that much! The cost of living is definitely higher than Shanghai. ERP alone hits 9 bucks during peak hour..when I’m late for work. 🙁 You make me want to move to Shanghai! And, they say..the next upcoming financial hub is “Shangkong” – Shanghai + Hong Kong, thanks to recent developments by the Chinese government.
Arghh that ERP is crazy! I do love transportation here, it’s so cheap 😛
It’s all planned nicely for u guys.. you sure make living in shanghai sound very attractive!
It’s a lovely place, we’re still finding it fun! 😛
I get obsessed with watching my bank account too, you are totally not alone! I get particularly flummoxed when my increase in saving doesn’t accelerate even though realistically, I can’t expect to always save at increasing amounts.
YES me toO!! For some ridiculous reason I expect/want to save MORE than the prev month, which isn’t always realistic. And I check my bank account at least once a day just to look at the money. I’m a weirdo 😛
Well you are a weirdo with company then 😛
you should invest your savings! Then it will grow even more 🙂
We’d like to do that, but it’s tough to whilst in Shanghai and our money is in the bank here!
Investing in property always seems to be a good way to grow money, especially if you are investing in the right property (with the right property manager – very important) and you have the money for it! 🙂
haha! that’s an awesome selling point you have there. ;p
Hehe it’s a good place to live for making savings 😛
I can totally relate. I’m pretty thrifty to begin with, but moving to China has been amazing for savings. The most I have paid for a cab ride was when I was lost one day with the cabbie driving for 45min around Beijing; it came out to barely $10… in the States the stupid counter STARTS at $10!!
It’s brilliant hey, but man we’re gonna be bitchin’ once we move out of China… haha
Wow! $4-5K savings a month is pretty darn impressive!! If only money didn’t seem to slip through my pockets like water,… 😛
Haha cos shopping is awesome.. i wish i had access to all the brands I love back when I was in AU!
I really like seeing money grow in my bank account…. it’s kinda become like an obsession for me now
Ohhh I’m like that too!!! 😀
At least I’m not that only crazy one, heh!!
Oh my god I am jealous of what your salary must be if you are saving that much each month!
Nah it’s not that impressive, just a combo of the payrise, exchange rate, and great tax relief that we got 🙂 And of course the biggest thing – the cost of living here!
fab to be saving SO much!!
Yeah it makes it all worth it, heh!
Wow… that sounds awesome! And Microsoft *does* have offices in Shanghai. I wonder how hard it is to relocate from Redmond to Shanghai.
That sounds very tempting though. If only Shanghai wasn’t so far… :S
Not sure if you already know, but Chris works in Microsoft Shanghai.. both of us were interns in Microsoft Australia as well 😛
OHH! That’s really cool, cause I was an intern in Microsoft Redmond! Will be starting FT this summer 😀
Hm, so it looks possible then, though probably not right away 😛 By the way, did you already speak Mandarin before you relocated to Shanghai?
Congrats! MSFT is great 🙂
I spoke minimal and Chris speaks none, but it’s no prob
Congrats on the new role! If you want to look me up, I’d be happy to have a chat.
Thanks Chris! 😀 I look forward to it too.
Saving money is always a good thing! I thought the cost of living would be really high there but it great your thinking about the future.
BTW: When I get into the grad school of my choice I might have come and live a semester over there!
Cost of living CAN be high here if you don’t know where to go or if you only wanna eat expensive western food etc. But once you know where to go, it’s great 🙂
Wow, I wish I save that much! The cost of living is definitely higher than Shanghai. ERP alone hits 9 bucks during peak hour..when I’m late for work. 🙁 You make me want to move to Shanghai! And, they say..the next upcoming financial hub is “Shangkong” – Shanghai + Hong Kong, thanks to recent developments by the Chinese government.
Arghh that ERP is crazy! I do love transportation here, it’s so cheap 😛
It’s all planned nicely for u guys.. you sure make living in shanghai sound very attractive!
It’s a lovely place, we’re still finding it fun! 😛
you should invest your savings! Then it will grow even more 🙂
We’d like to do that, but it’s tough to whilst in Shanghai and our money is in the bank here!
Investing in property always seems to be a good way to grow money, especially if you are investing in the right property (with the right property manager – very important) and you have the money for it! 🙂
haha! that’s an awesome selling point you have there. ;p
Hehe it’s a good place to live for making savings 😛