Has anyone on this thread actually worked in China? I came looking for info on KISQ and all I see is ignorance.

I work at a University in southern China, working basically part time, and earn 10k rmb/month with a decent 2-bdrm apartment, 10k airfare, 5k travel. This is pretty normal. I had other job offers that were similar in the area. I live downtown in a city of over a million in a pretty nice environment with no air pollution.

I've also lived in Beijing and Qingdao and worked at an international school.

First, big cities are not necessarily more expensive. Beijing is not very expensive to live in if housing is provided, for example. Groceries there are very cheap compared to where I live in southern China and were often cheaper than Qingdao. Couldn't stand the pollution though.

Second, There is going to be one happy HR person if they can trick (and sometimes they get lucky) someone to work at an international school for 10-12k per month with no housing. Most people at the school I worked at, and this seems pretty standard across China, made about 15-20k per month with housing provided. Teachers that had been there a while and/or were certified teachers earned more like 30+k.

Compare that to being a teacher most places in America where the starting (as well as top salary) can be as low as $30k/year. I had co-workers who planned on staying for a year for the experience but stayed for the ability to save for a house down payment or whatever. It is easy to save $15k USD/year while enjoying long vacations to SE Asia which is a lot better than most young people are making in America. I can save almost that much at my current job and I only worked 14 hours per week with no commute, had Mondays off, and was finished by noon the rest of the week. And if you were smart with your student loans in the US, and plan to stay abroad indefinitely, you don't need to pay your student loans back.