Stereotypes that all Chinese are poor and live on a few dozen yuan a month have long been debunked. In fact, China’s major industrial cities are home to millions of jobs and trillions of yuan. Where is the best place to live? In Shanghai, the world’s largest city by population, or in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Moscow, Russia Let’s start with the most obvious – the average salary, which in Moscow after taxes is 118,000 rubles, and in Shanghai – 13,500 yuan, which in rubles is 164,000 rubles. That is, the average resident of Shanghai earns 40% more than a resident of Moscow. You can be happy for the Chinese and sad for the Russians, but there is no need to rush. The main thing here is to understand what you can buy for this money. In other words, let’s estimate the purchasing power of wages in Moscow and Shanghai. We will evaluate using the “free” global database “Numbeo”, where the residents of these cities themselves provide data on prices for consumer goods, real estate and the general quality of life. China has a cult of food and some of the cheapest restaurants in the world, so the average resident of Shanghai can afford many more trips to a restaurant than the average resident of Moscow. Comparative statistics (PP – purchasing power). On average, a Chinese worker can eat in a cheap restaurant 439 times for a monthly salary, while a Russian worker can eat only 131 times. As for food, oddly enough, some products are cheaper in Russia than in China, even when converted to purchasing power. For example, a worker in Moscow can buy 1,325 liters of milk or 1,017 kg of bread, and a worker in Shanghai – 781 liters of milk and 471 kg of bread. Moscow Shanghai But it gets even more interesting: the “Transport” category. It is known that China builds more roads and railways than all the countries in the world combined, so it is logical that for such a large-scale construction they should be cheap. And this is true. Public transport in Shanghai is cheaper than in Moscow, including in terms of purchasing power. At the same time, Shanghai residents can travel 4432 km by taxi on an average salary, and Muscovites – 2950 km. The PV of wages for cars is expressed in the number of months of work. But at the same time, gasoline and fuel in Moscow are much cheaper: a Muscovite can afford to buy 2070 liters of gasoline, and a resident of Shanghai – 1592 liters. But a Muscovite will have to save up for a golf-class car for 25-27 months, and a worker in Shanghai can afford a Toyota Corolla in just 10 months. We do not take into account the fact that you will also have to pay 800 thousand rubles to get license plates in Shanghai. Next, we will compare the cost of utilities. It is worth noting that in China, utility rates are among the lowest in the world. True, mobile phone and Internet rates in China are much higher. And if we limit ourselves to this comparison, we can conclude that the Chinese live better than Russians, because salaries are higher and food is generally more affordable. But, as they say, the devil is in the details… Let’s move on to more interesting aspects of life and start with childcare. In China, as in Russia, there are state kindergartens, but “state” does not mean free. The cost of staying in a group starts from 550 yuan (6,660 rubles) and reaches a maximum of 900 yuan, or 10,900 rubles per month in Shanghai. But it is not so easy to get there even for a native resident of Shanghai. Therefore, in parallel with state kindergartens, there are also public kindergartens (with state support), which accept everyone, including foreigners. The cost of living in such a group for the whole day with meals in Shanghai is 1,500 yuan, or 18,166 rubles per month. For comparison: in Moscow, the cost of attending a state kindergarten with full-time care and three meals a day is 4,000 rubles per month. That is, with an average salary, a Muscovite can pay for almost 30 months of a child’s stay in kindergarten, while in Shanghai – only 15 months. And if it is a state kindergarten, then even less – 9 months. A place where you will be fed, watered and put to bed. Ah, those were the good old days … But what if you send your child to a private kindergarten and an international school. How much will it cost? According to Numbeo, the average monthly cost of a private preschool (or kindergarten) for a full day for one child in Moscow is 46,294 rubles, in Shanghai – 112,053 rubles. The annual cost of education at the International Primary School in Moscow will cost 1,067,123 rubles, in Shanghai – 2,722,263 rubles. As for purchasing power, we see that Muscovites can pay for 76 days of stay in a private kindergarten, while a resident of Shanghai will only need 44 days of salary. And to send a child to an international school for the academic year, a Muscovite will have to work for 9 months, and a resident of Shanghai – 17 months. As a result, preschool, school and even international education in Moscow is much more affordable than in Shanghai. Let’s move on. Monthly rent and the cost of buying an apartment. And then Shanghai will simply beat Moscow. It would seem that China is building ghost towns in which no one lives. Therefore, prices should be much lower due to the large volume of construction and the housing commission. But this was not the case. Cities in China are empty not because no one wants to move there, but because apartment prices there are comparable to prices in industrialized areas of China. Here, people are waiting for their house to be finished, and here, houses are waiting to be moved into. Since 2021, China has been experiencing a liquidity crisis. In 2023, China’s largest developer, China Evergrande Group, went bankrupt, leaving behind a debt of $300 billion. It would seem that the housing issue is the most important criterion for the well-being of the population, and in China, apartments should be given out to everyone left and right. But the situation is just the opposite. As for the rental market: it is known that renting an apartment in Shanghai is not that expensive. Living in a rented apartment in Moscow is more expensive than in Shanghai. But what if we decide to buy an apartment? Then something wonderful awaits us. The average price per square meter of an apartment in the center of Moscow is 549,121 rubles, and in Shanghai – 1,442,454 rubles. The average price per square meter when buying an apartment outside the center of Moscow is 307,693 rubles, and in Shanghai – 800,599 rubles. In terms of purchasing power, we see that a Muscovite will have to work 186 months (fifteen and a half years) for an apartment of 40 m2, and a resident of Shanghai – almost 352 months, or 29 years! But if you buy an apartment somewhere on the outskirts of the city, a Muscovite will have to work 104 months (about eight and a half years), and a Shanghai resident – 195 months, and after 16 years they can afford a one-room apartment. And yes, medicine in China is not free, as in Russia. Surprise! Over the past 10 years, government spending on it has significantly decreased, and many Chinese have to pay for treatment entirely at their own expense. However, basic health insurance is still available to the vast majority of Chinese citizens. True, it covers about 50% (in some cases – 60%) of medical expenses, and the rest the Chinese pay from their own pocket. In China, medicine was conditionally free until the 1970s, as it is now in Russia. But today the Chinese healthcare system is increasingly moving towards the American style. So, since 2015, Chinese hospitals even stopped providing food. Now you have to provide yourself with food, fortunately almost all clinics have paid canteens and cafeterias, and where there are none, relatives bring food; And here, of course, to each his own. But what is better: to have cheaper housing, education and medicine, but at the same time expensive cars and clothes, or, conversely, cheap cars and clothes, but at the same time expensive education and housing (for whom, as it turns out). Look, a resident of China has to work all his life) and constantly growing medical expenses? Alexey Kochetovhttps://dzen.ru Subscribe to our Telegram channel so as not to miss all the most important materials that we publish: https://t.me/russiapost
Stereotypes that all Chinese are poor and live on several dozen yuan a month have long been debunked. Compare the standard of living in Moscow and Shanghai. Kochetov Alexey
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