The Living Is Good

In the interest of painting a clear picture of my experience here, I do need to mention that the frustrations are usually outweighed by the comfortable living.
Part of the good living is that I make a US salary, which is high for this city, but the other is that the cost of things is so cheap. For example, massages !

Here is my Massage Count:

September:
-Down the street from my apt – 60 min. for 90 RMB/$11

November:
-Fake Hot Springs Full Body 45 min. – free
-Extra Food Massage 98 RMB/$12
-Foot massage at Real Hot Springs 45 min. – 198 RMB/$30

December:
-Amarela, Pangalo, full body came to our room, 600 Pesos/ 100 RMB/$14
-Hotel h20, Manila, hour body massage, 800 Pesos/$18 USD

January:
-3.3 center, Sanlitun, 60 min. foot massage, 60 RMB/$9

February:
-3.3., Foot massage 60 min/60 RMB

March:
Discovered Dragonfly discount for teachers! 2nd hour is free!
-1 hour foot, 1 hour body, 150 RMB
-1 hour foot, 1 hour hot oil, 250 RMB

April:
1 hour foot, 1 hour body, 150 RMB

May:
-1 hour foot, 1 hour body
-1 hour foot
-3.3, 30 minute foot
-3.3m 60 minute foot

June:
-1 hour foot, 1 hot stone massage
-3.3, 30 minute foot
-3.3, 30 minute hand
-1 hour foot
-3.3, 1 hour foot
-1 hour foot, 1 hot stone massage

July
-3.3 1 hour foot
-1 hour head/shoulder, 1 hour body
-1 hour foot, 1 hour body

On Friday, Kelly and I went out to dinner, got manicures and massages, then met up with friends at a fancy bar for martinis. I got a kiwi-cucumber martini, which was every bit as refreshing as it sounds, and a really good dirty martini. Each were Y50/$7.

It’s not just that things are so cheap and affordable here, especially if you make US salary. I think the difference really come from moving here from New York.
As an assistant teacher and grad student in NYC, you get used to a certain standard of living. Open bar.com, for example, is not just a fun little tool. No one gets $1.50 PBRs from the Johnsons if you can afford a real beer somewhere else. On the L.E.S., I lived with mice, leaking bathrooms, and without heat…loving every minute of it.

In Beijing, my life is almost too comfortable. Kelly and my apartment has so much space, we can’t seem to keep it clean. We can eat out at nice restaurants any or every day of the week. We can buy bottles of imported liquor and any other random purchase we don’t really need from the shopping village in Sanlitun. It’s all so…convenient.

And that’s a major reason why I’m going home after this year. I’m simply too young to live this well. After this, I won’t be able to afford this life style until my 40’s, and that’s just right. If I stayed here for another year, it’d make my transition into rough NY living all the more painful, and I won’t have that. Next Stop, NYC!