I Left The U.S. For China — Here's How Much It Costs

Aleese Lightyear, a 35-year-old American, shares her experience of moving to China in 2019 after a decade of working in reality TV production in New York City. She describes her previous life as exhausting and financially unstable, leading her to seek a change. She moved to Beijing to teach for four years before relocating to Chengdu in 2023, where she works as a university teacher for 18 hours a week, earning $30,000 annually. Despite this salary being considered low in the US, she lives an upper-middle-class lifestyle in China, paying only $278 a month for a three-bedroom apartment due to her job benefits, which also include free healthcare and a flight allowance. She highlights the affordability of living, with subway trips costing 28 cents and groceries around $75 a month. Aleese discusses the ease of making friends with both locals and expats, her additional income as a YouTuber, and feeling safe as a woman of color. Challenges include being visibly different in a homogenous country and experiencing homesickness, but her excitement and improved self-confidence have outweighed these difficulties. She plans to use her savings to pay off student loans and potentially buy a property in Mexico.