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Having lived in the midst of Beijing’s 1）rampant consumerism for 18 months， I feel that the “four treasures” are no longer the calligraphy brush， ink stick， ink stone and rice paper. In China’s newfound materialism， it seems that the four cultural treasures now are a new car， an apartment， a computer and a wide-screen 42-inch 2）LCD TV. Those “essentials” may help explain why the Chinese middle class believes its cost of living percentage is higher than in the US’ largest cities. That’s true if you concentrate only on housing， electronics and automobiles. For almost everything else， living in China is so much cheaper than in the U.S. that the Middle Kingdom may become America’s next big overseas retirement community.
Let’s start with 3）disposable income， your paycheck after taxes； in other words， the money you actually have in your pocket to buy things.
The average disposable monthly income in New York right now is $3，596 compared to $591 in Beijing， a difference of more than 508 percent. At first glance， it may seem that New York 4）expats in Beijing are living like 5）maharajahs. Consumer prices in New York， including rent， are 136 percent higher than in Beijing. Rent is 286 percent higher. Restaurant menus are 209 percent higher. Groceries cost 78 percent more， except for items like milk and cheese， which most Chinese don’t consume anyway.
My Chinese friends argue that if the median salaries are $60，000 in New York and $7，500 in Beijing， prices in China should reflect the fact that the Beijing paycheck is only 12.5 percent of the New York salary. Percentage-wise， if a threecourse meal for two people in a mid-range New York restaurant now costs $73.44， it should cost$9.18 in Beijing. In reality， the same meal in Beijing costs $18.99， more than double what it should be.
Still， New York prices are putting such a squeeze on the middle-class that many people are looking for 6）greener pastures in foreign lands. The price per square meter to buy a decent apartment anywhere near the center of New York is now more than $10，000 per square meter， compared to about $4000 inside Beijing’s third ring road.
The average one-bedroom apartment in New York rents for $2，402 compared to $539 in Beijing， a 7）staggering difference of 345 percent. Transportation here is a killer. The same $3 dollar taxi ride in Beijing costs me $24 in New York， a 560 percent higher fare. 8）Mass transit is no longer for the masses. You pay $2.50 to ride the city’s worn-out， 9）filthy subway system， an increase of 654 percent over a 30-cent ride on Beijing’s sleek， modern metro. In the suburbs， outrageous property taxes， auto insurance rates and 10）insurmountable medical costs are driving retirees overseas by the plane load.
I think that any cost-of-living comparisons should include what I call the good life. To a wealthy Beijinger， the good life may mean buying a new Ferrari. To a New York single mother， it may mean getting off welfare. To a migrant worker in Beijing， it may mean finding a job to support a family back home in Anhui Province. The good life in Beijing means that I can buy the same delicious red peppers at a farmer’s market in Wangjing at a tiny fraction of the price I pay for the plastic shrink-wrapped variety at a highend supermarket across the street. Do Beijingers have any idea what it feels like to pay $2.49 for a single pepper in New York？ Or $12 for a pack of cigarettes that cost 60 cents in Beijing？
The good life goes beyond cost-of-living statistics. It’s a happiness 11）quotient that might measure the cost of contentment for the bottom billion of Chinese living on less than 1，000 yuan per month. Poverty and joblessness are the twin 12）scourges of any society. But in China， I found， you don’t need much to be happy.
在北京猖獗的消费主义氛围中生活了18个月之后，我觉得“四宝”早已不再是笔墨纸砚了。以中国新生的实利主义来看，如今的“四宝”似乎是一辆新车、一套公寓、一台电脑和一部42寸的宽屏LCD大彩电。之所以中国的中产阶级认为其生活成本百分比高于美国的大城市，那些“生活必需品”或许有助于解释。这种观点的确没错，如果你只考虑住房、电器和车子的话。然而就其它几乎所有东西来说，在中国生活相比于美国实惠太多了，因此，这个“中原王国”也许会成为美国下一个海外退休养老大国。
让我们先从可支配收入谈起，也就是你的税后收入；换句话说，就是你荷包里实实在在有的，能拿来买东西的钱。
当下，在纽约，人均的可支配月收入为3596美元，而在北京，人均的可支配月收入为591美元，两者相较之下相差了不止508%。乍一看，如若纽约人移居北京的话，似乎能过上帝王般的生活。但是，纽约的物价水平，包括房租，算下来的话，较之北京要高出136%。纽约的房租比北京贵286%。纽约餐厅的菜单比北京贵209%，除去大多数中国人一般不怎么买的那些东西，比如牛奶和奶酪之类，纽约的生活用品也要比北京贵上78%。
我的中国朋友们争论道：如果纽约的收入中位数为6万美元，而北京的收入中位数为7500美元，那么北京的收入水平便只是纽约的12.5%，而中国的物价也应当反映这一事实。按这个百分比来算的话，如果现在纽约一家中档餐厅的一顿三道菜的二人餐需要花费73.44美元，那么在北京则应当需要花费9.18美元。然而事实上，同样的这一餐在北京要花费18.99美元，比情理中的价格贵了两倍多。
尽管如此，纽约的物价还是让中产阶级备感压力，以致于很多人都想在国外另觅家园了。如今在纽约市中心附近，要想买一套像样的公寓，每平米的价格已经超过了1万美元，而相较之下，北京三环以内的房价，大约每平米只需4000美元。
在纽约，一居室公寓的月平均租金是2402美元，而在北京只需要539美元，相较之下，两者之间竟有一个令人惊愕的差额比——345%。纽约的交通费用也很要命。同样的路程，在北京打车要花3美元的话，在纽约就要花24美元，费用高出了560%。纽约的公共交通也不再是那么服务大众了。乘坐纽约又脏又破的地铁系统要花掉你2.5美元，而搭乘北京那时尚又现代的地铁则只需要30美分，纽约较之北京高出了654%。
在纽约市郊，贵得离谱的财产税、车险还有令人难以承受的医疗费用正驱使不少退休人员移居国外。
我认为，任何生活成本的比较，都应当包含我口中所谓的美好生活。对于一个富裕的北京人来说，好日子也许意味着买台崭新的法拉利。而对于一位纽约的单亲妈妈来说，好日子也许指的是不用再依靠福利过活。对于一个北漂外来工来说，好日子也许意味着找到一份工作来支撑远在安徽老家的一家人的生活。在北京的美好生活，意味着我花一丁点儿钱便能在望京的一家农贸市场里买到可口的辣椒，而在对街高档超市里头同一种用塑料薄膜包装的辣椒则标着高出几倍的价钱。北京人，你能体会在纽约花2.49美元只能买一根辣椒的感受吗？又或者你能体会在纽约花12美元买一包在北京仅售60美分的香烟是什么感受吗？
美好生活绝不由生活成本数据来界定。它是由一种幸福指数来界定的，这种指数可以丈量出生活在底层的十亿中国人——那些每个月靠不到1000块人民币过活的中国人——要达到满足所需的成本。贫穷和失业对于所有的社会来讲，都算是双重灾难。但在中国，我发现，想要幸福，你并不需要太多。
Let’s start with 3）disposable income， your paycheck after taxes； in other words， the money you actually have in your pocket to buy things.
The average disposable monthly income in New York right now is $3，596 compared to $591 in Beijing， a difference of more than 508 percent. At first glance， it may seem that New York 4）expats in Beijing are living like 5）maharajahs. Consumer prices in New York， including rent， are 136 percent higher than in Beijing. Rent is 286 percent higher. Restaurant menus are 209 percent higher. Groceries cost 78 percent more， except for items like milk and cheese， which most Chinese don’t consume anyway.
My Chinese friends argue that if the median salaries are $60，000 in New York and $7，500 in Beijing， prices in China should reflect the fact that the Beijing paycheck is only 12.5 percent of the New York salary. Percentage-wise， if a threecourse meal for two people in a mid-range New York restaurant now costs $73.44， it should cost$9.18 in Beijing. In reality， the same meal in Beijing costs $18.99， more than double what it should be.
Still， New York prices are putting such a squeeze on the middle-class that many people are looking for 6）greener pastures in foreign lands. The price per square meter to buy a decent apartment anywhere near the center of New York is now more than $10，000 per square meter， compared to about $4000 inside Beijing’s third ring road.
The average one-bedroom apartment in New York rents for $2，402 compared to $539 in Beijing， a 7）staggering difference of 345 percent. Transportation here is a killer. The same $3 dollar taxi ride in Beijing costs me $24 in New York， a 560 percent higher fare. 8）Mass transit is no longer for the masses. You pay $2.50 to ride the city’s worn-out， 9）filthy subway system， an increase of 654 percent over a 30-cent ride on Beijing’s sleek， modern metro. In the suburbs， outrageous property taxes， auto insurance rates and 10）insurmountable medical costs are driving retirees overseas by the plane load.
I think that any cost-of-living comparisons should include what I call the good life. To a wealthy Beijinger， the good life may mean buying a new Ferrari. To a New York single mother， it may mean getting off welfare. To a migrant worker in Beijing， it may mean finding a job to support a family back home in Anhui Province. The good life in Beijing means that I can buy the same delicious red peppers at a farmer’s market in Wangjing at a tiny fraction of the price I pay for the plastic shrink-wrapped variety at a highend supermarket across the street. Do Beijingers have any idea what it feels like to pay $2.49 for a single pepper in New York？ Or $12 for a pack of cigarettes that cost 60 cents in Beijing？
The good life goes beyond cost-of-living statistics. It’s a happiness 11）quotient that might measure the cost of contentment for the bottom billion of Chinese living on less than 1，000 yuan per month. Poverty and joblessness are the twin 12）scourges of any society. But in China， I found， you don’t need much to be happy.
在北京猖獗的消费主义氛围中生活了18个月之后，我觉得“四宝”早已不再是笔墨纸砚了。以中国新生的实利主义来看，如今的“四宝”似乎是一辆新车、一套公寓、一台电脑和一部42寸的宽屏LCD大彩电。之所以中国的中产阶级认为其生活成本百分比高于美国的大城市，那些“生活必需品”或许有助于解释。这种观点的确没错，如果你只考虑住房、电器和车子的话。然而就其它几乎所有东西来说，在中国生活相比于美国实惠太多了，因此，这个“中原王国”也许会成为美国下一个海外退休养老大国。
让我们先从可支配收入谈起，也就是你的税后收入；换句话说，就是你荷包里实实在在有的，能拿来买东西的钱。
当下，在纽约，人均的可支配月收入为3596美元，而在北京，人均的可支配月收入为591美元，两者相较之下相差了不止508%。乍一看，如若纽约人移居北京的话，似乎能过上帝王般的生活。但是，纽约的物价水平，包括房租，算下来的话，较之北京要高出136%。纽约的房租比北京贵286%。纽约餐厅的菜单比北京贵209%，除去大多数中国人一般不怎么买的那些东西，比如牛奶和奶酪之类，纽约的生活用品也要比北京贵上78%。
我的中国朋友们争论道：如果纽约的收入中位数为6万美元，而北京的收入中位数为7500美元，那么北京的收入水平便只是纽约的12.5%，而中国的物价也应当反映这一事实。按这个百分比来算的话，如果现在纽约一家中档餐厅的一顿三道菜的二人餐需要花费73.44美元，那么在北京则应当需要花费9.18美元。然而事实上，同样的这一餐在北京要花费18.99美元，比情理中的价格贵了两倍多。
尽管如此，纽约的物价还是让中产阶级备感压力，以致于很多人都想在国外另觅家园了。如今在纽约市中心附近，要想买一套像样的公寓，每平米的价格已经超过了1万美元，而相较之下，北京三环以内的房价，大约每平米只需4000美元。
在纽约，一居室公寓的月平均租金是2402美元，而在北京只需要539美元，相较之下，两者之间竟有一个令人惊愕的差额比——345%。纽约的交通费用也很要命。同样的路程，在北京打车要花3美元的话，在纽约就要花24美元，费用高出了560%。纽约的公共交通也不再是那么服务大众了。乘坐纽约又脏又破的地铁系统要花掉你2.5美元，而搭乘北京那时尚又现代的地铁则只需要30美分，纽约较之北京高出了654%。
在纽约市郊，贵得离谱的财产税、车险还有令人难以承受的医疗费用正驱使不少退休人员移居国外。
我认为，任何生活成本的比较，都应当包含我口中所谓的美好生活。对于一个富裕的北京人来说，好日子也许意味着买台崭新的法拉利。而对于一位纽约的单亲妈妈来说，好日子也许指的是不用再依靠福利过活。对于一个北漂外来工来说，好日子也许意味着找到一份工作来支撑远在安徽老家的一家人的生活。在北京的美好生活，意味着我花一丁点儿钱便能在望京的一家农贸市场里买到可口的辣椒，而在对街高档超市里头同一种用塑料薄膜包装的辣椒则标着高出几倍的价钱。北京人，你能体会在纽约花2.49美元只能买一根辣椒的感受吗？又或者你能体会在纽约花12美元买一包在北京仅售60美分的香烟是什么感受吗？
美好生活绝不由生活成本数据来界定。它是由一种幸福指数来界定的，这种指数可以丈量出生活在底层的十亿中国人——那些每个月靠不到1000块人民币过活的中国人——要达到满足所需的成本。贫穷和失业对于所有的社会来讲，都算是双重灾难。但在中国，我发现，想要幸福，你并不需要太多。