Never See in the US
- Thread starter GADawg
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JoeyA said:
JoeyA - Thanks. However, the total cost of living in Shanghai is not comparable to the US when converted to USD. Most things are much cheaper here , so people have money to spend occasionally on the other things. There are so many people that if everybody goes to Starbucks or KFC once a month, you can't make enough coffee or cook enough chicken.
On other items, for example, this is what I spend for some things, converted to USD. Shanghai is the most expensive city in China and I spend a lot more than the typical Chinese. Go outside to smaller cities and prices will be about half of this.
Haircut - $0.65
Bus - $0.12-0.25
Taxi - minimum - $1.25
Beer(22oz) - $0.40 in supermarket
Apples/Oranges - $0.18/lb
Dinner out - $45 - 8 people in private dining room, fancy Chinese restaurant,huge holiday meal, no rice
In addition, almost all young people live at home with their parents until they get married, some even after. I know many young Chinese, male and female in their late 20's early 30's who still live with their parents so they don't have to pay rent, utilities, food, etc. They don't have a car and all the associated expense, so basically all of their income that they don't save is disposable.
I'm going to stay out of the political discussions other than to say that everybody who buys something makes a choice of what to buy and whether to pay the price. Most people, when given that choice, will choose the best value for what they need or want. If they want a fancy watch, made of gold with all the bells and whistles, they buy a Rolex. If they just want to know what time it is, they buy a Timex.
If you pay a higher price for something just to create a job for someone and you only have a limited total amount of money to spend, then there is something else that you can't buy, which takes away someone elses job. It is the buyers choice to make.
Joey -JoeyA said:
Those are Shanghai prices.
I get my haircut in the cheapest place near my house. It is possible to pay a lot more, but most don't. I'm a cheap SOB, but I get a good haircut.
For another $0.65, I can get a shampoo and a 20 minute head, face shoulder and arm massage sitting in the barber chair. Sometimes I splurge.
John Barton
New member
I pay about $2-3 for a 30-45 minute hair wash/scalp massage/shoulder/back/arm/hand massage AND a nice haircut/style. I wish I could that treatment in the USA for $10-15.
Coffee in coffee houses runs about $3-5 a cup and so does tea, of which there are endless varieties.
Eating out is cheap. I spent the equivalent of $65 on dinnner for four at a nice western style restaurant, would be 4 stars in the USA and the bill would upwards of $200.
In Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen the cost of living is higher for some things and low for others.
Coffee in coffee houses runs about $3-5 a cup and so does tea, of which there are endless varieties.
Eating out is cheap. I spent the equivalent of $65 on dinnner for four at a nice western style restaurant, would be 4 stars in the USA and the bill would upwards of $200.
In Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen the cost of living is higher for some things and low for others.
John Barton
New member
And Joey, I also have $10-30 on pocket action against one player with a Stalev style and a good touch. He grasps the game quickly and I have to give up 9-7 and it's tough to beat him because whenever he gets any open shot he runs out. And runs out the right way.
Pool and snooker are huge in China and there are pro tournements, national championships, etc. The prize money, although good by Chinese standards is not enough to entice many foreign players to come here to play. In the recent Shanghai Open 9 ball tournament, first prize was 30,000 rmb, equivalent to about $4000US.
All of the top Chinese players participated along with some from Taiwan. Chao Fong Pang was the winner.
It seems like there are new pool rooms opening every day and they are busy.
For the Chinese players to play outside China, especially in the US, there are visa hurdles to overcome. The US does not easily issue visas to young, single pool players, especially males. Liu Wei, for instance, qualified for the IPT, but could not get a visa to play in the US. If I recall correctly, Li He Wen lost to Ronnie Alcano in the semi finals of the recent WPC in Manila.
It is booming here, and all over Asia, and people are making money but imported US and European cues are not going to do anything because the prices are too high for the local players. I play with a Varney fancy SP and Varney J/B. The local pros players here try them, like them OK, but when I tell them the price, they look at me and say " Ni feng le ma?"("Are you crazy?")
All of the top Chinese players participated along with some from Taiwan. Chao Fong Pang was the winner.
It seems like there are new pool rooms opening every day and they are busy.
For the Chinese players to play outside China, especially in the US, there are visa hurdles to overcome. The US does not easily issue visas to young, single pool players, especially males. Liu Wei, for instance, qualified for the IPT, but could not get a visa to play in the US. If I recall correctly, Li He Wen lost to Ronnie Alcano in the semi finals of the recent WPC in Manila.
It is booming here, and all over Asia, and people are making money but imported US and European cues are not going to do anything because the prices are too high for the local players. I play with a Varney fancy SP and Varney J/B. The local pros players here try them, like them OK, but when I tell them the price, they look at me and say " Ni feng le ma?"("Are you crazy?")
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American players can promote anything, IF, I mean IF they moved to any Asian cities. Pool is big in Asia, any good American player who wished to move and live or got married to Asian and stay in Asia for good, will make money. They should be very good though, to the level of the Scorpion Archer. Not Earl, he said he was booed in Manila. I was watching his match with Van Den Berg and he was arguing with Nick's family (this was the IPT), and he mentioned that he was also booed in Manila.
Pan xiao ting and Ding Jun hui are very famous in China, The Chinese always put advertisement everywhere, even those places you can not image, like public toilet. By the way, the China made products are cheap. I got two headrest car dvd on a online shop named justcardvd. $163/pc. They went on well with my car. Nice purchase.