House Insurance
In China, you are not required to have property insurance. In fact, all expatriates places are usually insured by the landlord in case of fire, bad weather, war, water…any other cause which is not attributable to the tenant. If you damage the apartment, you will have to pay for it, or it is possible to get a private insurance and insure your personal goods and the goods which are in the apartment (Public liability - Property Damage).
Utiliies Bills
The Tenant usually pays gas, water, electricity, and telephone charges. It usually costs around 50 euros or 65 USD all together. This is an average on 1 year: expect higher electricity bills during winter and summer.
Those charges can be paid to any convenient stores like Kedi, Lawson or Convenience 21; or also at the post office or the bank. Just bring your bills with you.
- Electricity – billed monthly. China uses a standard of 220 volts and 50 cycles. Plugs come in at least four designs: three pronged angled pins (as in Australia), three pronged round pins (as in Hong Kong), two flat pins (US style but without the ground wire) and two narrow round pins (European style). You will be able to buy most kind of adaptors in Shanghai, but it is a good idea to bring a few with you to start. Find out to read your electricity bill here.
- Water – billed bimonthly. The tap water is not drinkable or must be boiled before drinking. We recommend you use water dispensers with water jugs. It usually costs between 8 – 12 RMB for a 19 litres jug. The base unit can be purchased at any supermarket. Water containers can be delivered as needed.
- Gas – billed bimonthly. Most kitchen burners use gas.
- Phone / Internet – billed monthly. Usually you need to pay 30 euros or 35 USD for the installation of a broadband Internet connection. And every month you pay 15 to 17 euros or 20 USD for the subscription.
- Cable or Satellite TV – most buildings are cable ready, and give you access to Chinese channels (about 50 channels), and only one in English (CCTV 9).Some apartments have satellite TV installed but it is quite rare. If you want to install it, it costs from 2000-8000RMB (installation fees + one year subscription).
Housekeeping
A housekeeper - or ayi in Chinese and as called by most foreigners, costs from RMB 8 to 15 per hour depending on the number of working hours. Some of the services offered by an ayi include cleaning, ironing, cooking, taking clothes to the dry cleaners and the paying of utility bills. Some of them speak English or have experience working for foreigners, are generally more expensive. If you are living alone it can be great to return home from work to find all your clothes washed and ironed, and your evening dinner waiting in the microwave. Even better, most ayis are wonderful cooks!
It's important to remember that some ayis may not be used to dealing with foreigners and their cultural habits (laundry baskets are not the norm in China), so be patient with your instructions and expectations. Tipping is not normally expected in China, but if you're satisfied with your ayi's service then a bonus will be more than welcome.
Download: "How to communicate with my Ayi?"
