Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
accepted by budgeting advisors that housing costs can acceptably take about 30-35 percent
of your net income, and for this second crowd, that guideline is frequently exceeded—again
especially for those who let their comfort zone have its head.
Modern apartments with security inside the Fourth Ring Road can go for
RMB7,000-12,000 for a large one-bedroom, RMB8,000-22,000 for a two-bedroom, and
RMB15,000-30,000 for a three bedroom. If you're willing to go to a Chinese-style apart-
ment, then costs will be much lower. One-bedrooms can go for around RMB4,000-8,000,
two-bedrooms for RMB6,000-10,000, and three bedrooms for RMB8,000-15,000. Sharing
can be an effective way to either reduce your costs or have a better quality place for
the amount you're willing to spend. For a ballpark figure for Shunyi homes multiply
RMB10,000 per number of bedrooms—RMB30,000 for a three-bedroom house, for ex-
ample.
Most rental homes in Beijing are fully furnished before you move in, so unless you want
to decorate the home yourself, you won't need to outlay much to make it livable. Land-
lords can be quite stubborn about removing furniture, as they're using the place as a storage
room. If furniture is shabby or just not to your taste, you can try to use this to bargain on
the price. About half the homes in Shunyi, however, are intentionally unfurnished, given
the high number of expats who do come over with their own furniture.
Utilities
Utilities are extraordinarily cheap, but they do differ somewhat between old and new
homes, as well as apartments and villas. Older apartments usually work out to be the
cheapest.
Electricity is about RMB0.5/kilowatt, which for many apartments pans out to be about
RMB50-100 per month. This can go up in summer if you're using the air conditioner, but
possibly also in winter if you choose to live in a
hútòng
home or other such place where you
independently manage the heating. Heating a
sìhéyuàn
or
píngf
ā
ng
in winter can make your
bills jump by close to RMB1,000 per month. Most apartments inside the Fifth Ring Road,
especially the older ones, have state-run central heating (Nov. 15- Mar. 15). As a general
rule, this fee is covered by the landlord not the tenant. Different complexes have different
off-peak and peak periods throughout the day and year. If you're in a regular apartment this
might not make a huge difference, but if you're in a
sìhéyuàn
or
píngf
ā
ng
, knowing the
off-peak times can really help you cut costs. Ask your landlord or agent about the specific
times for your complex.
