COMPARING THE COST OF LIVING IN CHINA AND CANADA

From an ESL School Headmaster in China

Dear Mr. Philip McAlary,

Thanks for your message. I think you might not know much about the differences between China and Canada. First of all, China is developing country. The living standard in China is still much lower than that in any developed country. For income, the medium income in Beijing and Shanghai is about 1200 Yuan/month and about 800 Yuan/month in Wenzhou. The salary for a middle school teacher in a big city is about 1200 Yuan/month. So our offers for a foreign teacher is much higher than the salary what that local teacher can earn. In addition, any living expenses in China major cities are about 5 to 7 times lower than that in Canada. Unlike Canada, a short term (one year contract), a foreign teacher has no tax, or very low tax rate (less than 2% if you stay longer than one year).

So, the salaries we are offering can give you a much higher living condition than what you can get in Canada with $50,000CND income. Of course, you may not have ability to buy a car in a short term in China, but for traveling in china: train, airfare and other transportations is 5 to 8 times lower than that in Canada. For eating, if you have to pay $12 CND for a dish in a Chinese restaurant at Toronto, you may fond you only need to pay $1.20 CND or lower for the same dish in a restaurant inside China. We also offer an apartment with all facilities without any fees, a large discount on delicious food (in some schools, food may be also free) and paid vacation and all Canadian and Chinese holidays. Also, as an foreign teacher, you work less than 25 hours per week. So, you have plenty of time to earn more money if you want to.

I am 100% sure that you would not find life this easy in Canada. After adding the basic numbers, you spend less in China to have a better living condition. In contrasts, if you earns $50,000 CND/year in Canada, you have to pay as high as 40% of your income for tax. If you rent an apartment with the same conditions as we are offering, you have to pay an equivalent of $1800/month. With what's left, it's only $8400/year. You cannot eat high quality food every day as you can in China. With only $23.30 CND/day after rent, you probably cannot have any quality vacation. Note, we will pay our foreign teach a round trip international airfare to China. I don't 抰 think most low-income people in Canada want to spend that much money to go to China. Therefore, I believe our offer is very competitive.

However, if you go to China as a traveler instead of an employee, your living index in China will be like you living in New York or Tokyo because they charge you based on the rates in above cities. Therefore, for most people, even they earn more than $50,000 CND/year; they cannot live in a major city for more than a month. But with the salary you earn in China, you can do it because you get the Chinese rate. For example, a ticket for Beijing summer palace is 200 Yuan for foreigners, but it is only 10 Yuan for Chinese!

We hope the major purpose that one wants to go to teach English in China is not for digging gold, but to learn more about China, want to help our kids to gain more knowledge about outside world. I also believe that, as an ESL teacher or any Chinese related job, the抯 teaching experience in China will greatly benefit his/her future care. Many people have proved it. Compared with Canada and US, China still is a poor country. But I feel very confident that this country will catch up in the near future.

Again, I believe that we have very good offers right now. If you don't 抰 feel comfortable but still want the chance to teach English in China, see our other positions. We have sent more than 200 teachers to China around the world. People in China always give a very warm welcome to these teachers. Almost all of them had very pleasant time during their stay in China. If you know someone who had been teaching in China, ask him or her about his or her experiences in China.

Best regards,

Dylan (ESL Headmaster in China)

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