Setting up a Home

Domestic Help

95% of expatriates have domestic help. The “Ayi”, or Auntie, often becomes a friend if not a member of the family. The affordability of domestic help makes it an excellent option for the single worker or the entire family. The price and amount of time spent each week is negotiable. However, the vast majority of Ayis speak little or no English. Knowing this you will find the Savills “Bilingual Ayi Book” particularly useful. Finding a suitable Ayi that has been previously trained by another expatriate family to understand foreign preferences is usually preferable. It is advisable to check with neighbors, friends or your compound’s property management company to find a reliable Ayi or get useful recommendations. Also, upon request, Savills could assist you with this process.

Average costs for live-in Ayi would be RMB 1,000 to RMB 2,000 per month. Hourly rate ranges from RMB 7 to RMB 15+ depending on many factors such as working hours, number of family members and the location of the home. Most families will provide holidays and Chinese New Year bonus (in general 1 month salary) to their Ayis.

Television / Cable / Internet

Satellite TV is available despite some government restrictions (there are an estimated more than a million illegal dishes in Shanghai). Again, please note that the dishes installed by individuals are illegal; furthermore the reception from these dishes is not always reliable. All developers catering to expatriates will offer satellite or cable TV covering a number of major channels such as CNN, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, ESPN, Star World, etc.

Access to the Internet via any telephone line and broadband is also widely available.

Telephone

Many people have phone cards which make calling home less expensive but one of the best is the VONAGE system which hooks through your Internet and is a flat rate a month. For this service, you need to buy a Wireless G Router at an electronics store. Skype is another option for inexpensive international calls. Sign up for services like VONAGE and Skype is done online.

Cellular phones are available and usually use a pre-paid phone card system. The exception is if your company gives you a mobile phone that has an account with a provider. You can buy China Mobile Telephone cards and recharge your phone as needed. Most cell phones from the US do not work in China. Tri-band phones can support SIM cards for different countries.