E-Paper
Indian woman breaks down ₹10 lakh monthly expenses in China, internet shocked
An Indian woman living in China has challenged the notion that the country is affordable by breaking down her nearly ₹10 lakh monthly spend.
An Indian woman living in China has challenged the notion that the country is affordable by breaking down her nearly ₹10 lakh monthly spend. Aditi Sharma, who is based in Shanghai, shared an Instagram video detailing her monthly expenses in China’s biggest city.
“China is cheap? Here is what we actually spend in Shanghai. Family of 4 | no allowances,” she said, before revealing how much she shells out on rent, education and essentials.
Her total comes to a staggering ₹9.8 lakh per month — a figure that has raised quite a few eyebrows online.
Expenses in China
According to Sharma, their rent in Shanghai is 25,000 yuan or ₹3.5 lakh per month. She also spends the same amount on education — her children attend an international school, so the fee comes to 25,000 yuan or ₹3.5 lakh per month again.
On groceries, the family of four spends roughly 5,000 yuan or ₹70,750. They also spend on domestic workers — according to Sharma, hiring house help in Shanghai eats up more than ₹1 lakh of her monthly budget.
(Also read: From rent to childcare: Indian woman breaks down £6,650 monthly cost of living for family of 4 in UK)
Next, she revealed that utilities and public transport cost 1,500 yuan and 700 yuan each ( ₹21,230 and ₹10,000).
Finally, there is money set aside for discretionary spending. The family spends roughly 1,500 yuan (or ₹21,230) per month on kids’ entertainment and extracurricular activities. Their eating out and shopping budget stands at 4,000 yuan or ₹56,650 per month.
All in all, the Sharma family ends up spending ₹9,81,860 or ₹9.81 lakh per month.
“Just to clarify — this is our personal monthly spending as a family of 4 in Shanghai Downtown, based on our lifestyle and choices. It’s definitely not a general cost-of-living guide,” the Indian woman clarified in the caption.
She added that costs can vary depending on one’s lifestyle and priorities. Sharma described herself as a stay-at-home mom who is trying to become a content creator.
She also revealed that she and her husband “don’t receive any expat allowance here”. However, they do have medical insurance which covers 100% of any medical expenses they may incur.
Video sparks surprise
The video led to some amazed reactions on Instagram.
“This is my one year expense plus tuition fee,” wrote one person in the comments section.
“Shanghai is expensive ... rent is absurd and international schools are insane,” another said.
“China is comparatively cheap, but not Shanghai Shenzhen or Beijing like cities,” a third commenter said.
“In India, people stay in their bubbles and internet propaganda. I too thought before coming here to Beijing that China was cheap. After coming here I got to know it's twice expensive everything, Now I import most stuff from India from India post still it's cheap for me,” a user said.
