| xyzah,
I think Jianshuo is on his plane coming over to the valley, so let me answer part of your question here. Hope Jianshuo will not mind. :) No, you will not live in a dump. The majority of cost lies in buying a condo + car, but if you are renting and using public transportation, then you are fine. I'm not sure how good your Madrine is, and if you are Asian or not, if your Madrine is good and you're Asian-looking, then you can live in there as if you're native. :) There are affordable rent places in Shanghai that are near convinent public transportation. For example, search Jianshuo's blog for "Meilong" to find where he used to live before getting his condo. I used to live in the neighbourhood, it's not new (10+ years I guess), but very convinent, with bus stops out on the street, Shanghai Metro within walking distance, several supermarkets, banks, ATMs, restaurants, and newspaper stands, and a university nearby. Don't expect the neighbourhood to be very clean, though. I lived in the area for 2 years before I moved to the States, so my info might be a bit out of date, the rent I got for a not-so-good apt was 700RMB, that's < $100 a month. So if you want to get a newer apt it may double. Sorry that I cannot answer your other questions. |
Flying to SFO