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Comment by trevelyan | Hacker News Reader

Beijing, China

$500 to $1000 in rent, plus equivalent amount food and entertainment for a non-stressful lifestyle. You can pare down costs to perhaps $800/month by getting a room in a shared apartment and eating inexpensively. Add on $2500 annual expenses for visa, entry-exit expenses, etc.

Hiring programmers costs between $500 and $1500 per month depending on skills and experience. Without a legitimate Chinese business it can be hard to attract talent since you will not be able to pay social benefits, etc. Starting a legitimate business costs upwards of $30,000 in a one-time incorporation expense and pushes hiring costs to about $1500 per month per staffer.

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Beijing, China

I live off about $400 / month, with $220 in rent (I split a relatively centrally-located apartment with a Western-style bathroom with my girlfriend). Most of the rest of the money goes to ordering / eating out, at about $1.50 / meal, and taxis. Riding to near locations (less than 10 RMB taxi fare) on my electronic bicycle cuts down taxi fares a bit.

I have a Chinese corporation, and it was indeed a pain in the ass and expensive to set up.

I admire your commitment, although I think anyone who can't handle $1000/month shouldn't really consider moving to China. It's easy to have unexpected expenses, and $1.50 a meal is really slumming it. Most Xinjiang places charge at least 10 RMB for a plate of choamianpianr these days.

That said, congrats on starting an official business here. I'd be curious to hear what you're doing and whether you can legally bill in RMB? My contact info is on my profile page.

I can handle $1k / month, I just prefer not to. I go out for coffee periodically, which would bring that number up, but that's usually business-related. I can legally bill in RMB.

$2500 sounds really high for visa and entry /exit expenses, unless you're including plane tickets. My year-long visa was $100-200. Anyway, I see you're near Dongzhimen - I'm near Yonghegong, so not far. I'll drop you a line some time.

Beijing, China

$800 in rent (single, just me footing that bill). Food expenses are between $500 and $1000 a month. Could easily spend less, but it makes being social difficult.

I'm working full-time with a RMB salary and working on side projects (a bit slow at the moment).

Local programmers can be cheap, $500-$1500/month. If you want to sell to the local Chinese market online you may need an Internet Content Provider (ICP) license, which could be costly. Note that I know nothing about this process, but it's probably a good idea to talk to a lawyer if this is part of your business plan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICP_license

Do you host locally in China? Do you know any local VPS hosting?

$500 to $1000 a month for food? The food must be very good.

Sorry, I'm including weekend nightlife in Food expenses. With out it, Food expenses should be around 100 RMB/day, about $400-$500 /month

I had an American programmer friend of mine that lived on $100 a month in Beijing. The university paid his rent. He was a teacher.

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