How do you organize your budget?

[helixness]

I am trying to plan a budget for my language study journey.

What are your methods of organizing your budget when going abroad?

How do you find out the cost of living of a specific area?

What kind of loan would you suggest? I would rather not loan, but I am on a pretty low budget and ready to makes sacrifices to go there for two semesters.

To round up ...

-Plane ticket: ~$1,000 approx

-Tuition: $1,000 / semester * 2 = $2,000 approx

-Rent? I heard rent ranges between 400RMB and 1000RMB. Where could I find resources on the cost of living of like, 浙江?

-Food: I am extremely flexible on food, and would rather try to adapt to the chinese diet while over there. How much did you spend weekly on food?

-Transportation: What is the most convenient way of transportation, or your suggestions to get to and from the university?

I was approximating my total close to $5,000 USD... This covers the above mentioned and extra spending. I could also do french/english tutoring for spending money.

I hope this topic is in the right forum, if not, my apologies.

[tboasis7]

Check out all available scholarships first, you could be eligible for more than you think. I got my loan through Chase Private Student Loans...I mean it all depends on your/cosigners credit on where you get the best deal.

This forum is probably your best bet on getting a good estimate on living costs... I'm sure someone knows about the school you requested

[taylor04]

What school are you going to? I studied at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou so I might be able to answer some specific questions. I regret the fact that I didn't apply for the Chinese government scholarship, you should check it out first, theres a whole topic dedicated to it. You need to be more specific about where you want to study before anyone can give you an estimate on living expenses.

I think you are extremely underestimating the costs if you mean $5,000 for everything including plane ticket and tuition. Taking the plane ticket and tuition out, that would leave you with $2,000 for a year according to your figures, which would be 1,100 rmb a month for everything else. Let me throw in some expenses you haven't included.

Visa, $50 dollars for a residence visa per semester(or possibly year if you pay the school both semesters tuition at once)

Do you have a phone that can be used in China or do you need one?

Phone bill

Bills such as electricity, water, gas, etc.

Transportation from the airport to your city.

Towels, soap, tooth brush/paste, clothes hangers, laundry soap, and all basic necessities.

School supplies and books

Medical expenses

etc etc

I don't mean to burst your bubble but it will be a bit more than $5000. If you want to live like a hermit in China you can live very very cheaply, but shouldn't you plan on enjoying yourself a bit as well?

On a side note, tutoring while on a student visa is illegal, I did it, so have a lot of other people, but like always some are caught.

[helixness]

Since I am aiming at a location which would have lower living costs, a friend of mine recommended 浙江师范大学. What is your opinion on this school? I am not fixed on this school, although it would be nice to go there since I'd already know some people.

@taylor04, thanks, your posts does bring little details I might have omitted. The problem is, I really have no clue about what living costs in China are. As I was talking to my friend, she said the average student spends approximately 2000 RMB / month, is that realistic? Is 500RMB for an apartment doable? By the way, I am not planning to be a hermit, but I do know how to live on lower standards when needed.

So the visas add up to another $100. Since I'm planning on doing two semesters (I think one semester would not be sufficient enough), do the VISAS cover the summer?

Phone... not sure but phones and plans don't seem so expensive afaik.

Soon after posting this thread, I've done a little more counting and my new approximation was ~$6,000 USD. IMO, that really isn't much for 12 months or so, really. But having to pay my entire studies with no help from my parents, the sums can be quite frightening especially knowing I'll need money when I come back from china (car, school etc back in the US =/ )

I did not know tutoring was illegal, as I hear on many websites that many people do that during their stay. I would preferred not to take any risks, are there ANY ways to work legally? I will look into the government scholarship program, thanks ~.

I really appreciate your responses. Going to China is a very important goal to me. Since it's just for language study, I don't mind so much if units are transferable or not. Whilst I'm over there, my goals are to attain near fluency and reach a high level to pass the HSK (I don't know which level so far).

[taylor04]

I have heard of that university, but only from Chinese people. I don't know anything about it. Is it in Hangzhou or another city? I haven't lived in Hangzhou for two years, and since I don't know where your university is it is hard for me to tell you what rent would be. If you could find a place for 500 kuai, it would most likely just be a small room with a shared toilet. I'm not saying you can find a room for that little, as I said I don't know where and it's been too long. But then you will most likely have to pay for electricity at the very least. Zhejiang gets hot, cold, and everything in between. If you plan on keeping your air on while you sleep, you could be looking at a few hundred kuai a month.

Is your friend Chinese or a foreigner? I would say 2000 kuai a month is doable in a cheaper area, and you would need to live like a Chinese student. It might be hard if you take rent money from that 2000. You're right that cell phones and plans are inexpensive, you can pick up a cheap used one for less than 100 kuai if you can bargain, but it is the fact that you will have a lot of these small expenses combined that is going to hurt.

The only way to work legally is to go over on a work visa.

Remember that you can never bring too much, but you CAN bring too little.

You might want to check out www.hangzhouexpat.com for specific information about Hangzhou/Zhejiang.