For the past 3-4 years, typical expat apartments with two or three small bedrooms and two baths in cemtral Guangzhou cost about 5-7kRMB per month. Currently, teachers at international schools are being offered places like that in Zhujiang New Town for 7-9k/month. In Xiamen it was slightly less. What are they charging in Kunming?

Are you really in a place that bad?

No! But it's not that great either.

These city rankings, they do all over the globe and they don't always represent what we think personally but they are usually pretty accurate for what they stand for.

And I agree with the authors of the ranking.

Kunming, as nice as it is, is not a very good city for establishing businesses, families, nightlife, lifestyle, relaxation and so on.

Well compared with some of the other cities.
Kunming is nice but not exactly up to par with the bigger cities.

Kunming doesn't even have real parks, unless you want to go to Xishan or Chengong.

I have been to most of the cities mentioned in the article and I agree with most of it. I have friends living in many of these cities and we compare often.

Kunming is great if you are a student, just want to hang out for a while in a city with some conveniences, enjoy the weather, or just want to be a city-hippy for a while.

But in terms of professional career jobs, which seems to be the most important link to stay in Kunming for a longer period of time, or settle and start a family, -Kunming is a nightmare.

I know of maybe five major companies, hiring professional foreign experts and offering a good work and career environment.

About rent I have been back and forth in Kunming over the last 10 years and my Chinese wife or I have never got a lease under 6 month rent upfront payment.

Prices in Kunming are ridiculous compared to quality of life and standards in these cities mentioned in the ranking.

The same goes for food and dining.

Salaries have gone up for Chinese talents, thank god but for foreigners it's still 2001 in Kunming.

To summarize, the ranking article is accurate, sadly.

That said, Kunming is a great little town, by Chinese city standards to live in, but to catch up with the big winners, there is still a lot of room.

The weather and climate is great, the local food is nice.

A small expat community, people know each other.

Locals are very open to meet new people and strangers, which is nice.

But why does it bother you so much? You already live in Kunming, so you made a good decision, enjoy it, why do you care where others rank Kunming or think about it?

Your little gem stays hidden a little longer, isn't that great?

My family and I, we moved to Dali, because it's the new-old Kunming. And it's soooooooo much cheaper and even offers plenty of professional job opportunities. And you can do a lot of office work from your porch, watching the mountain or lake.

@stratocaster
It depends, the rent can be similar, depending on location and apartment style or state.

In the Kunming downtown area, a new building or apartment, in a good location and condition 3-5k is normal.

But since salaries in Kunming are lower than in Guangzhou, you could say Kunming is more expensive, especially if you compare the houses and conveniences.

@Napoelon/Tigertiger, 1940??? you need to re-check your history. Churchill was elected to the parliament weeks before his 26th birthday and by 1911 as First Lord, Churchill was actively seeking to take part in a Franco-German war as he tried to convince the Cabinet as well as Llyod George to whom he personally confided his desires for the conflict.
George had always opposed and abhorred such a war but Churchill persisted in his internal campaign up to a point where the Fat boy's addresses to the Parliament in favor of a war slowly shifted the opinion of the majority who opposed it, greatly contributing to England's declaration of war.
@Redjon, I reckon you haven't been to England lately, then. The country is turning into a jihab party and it's about to get worse, there are more migrants in England than Mexicans in Texas, which hints at why brexit was even possible.
Back to the discussion Kunming's exclusivity of rental payments in advance, low salaries compared to other cities, and a more precarious rural setting though better now with the subway but still lacking an international city life, is what kept it out of that List, arguably its only advantages are border proximity and low PM 2.5 levels imho.

@Hammer: Salaries for foreigners - as far as English teaching goes, people make a lot more than they did in 2001. I have a friend who has been teaching English in universities for 20 years in China - in Kunming 10 years ago he was making Y3000 a month, now making Y6000 a month. Plus free housing.
Away from university campuses, foreigners are able to charge a LOT more for teaching in other institutions (largely private) and for private individuals now than, say, 10 years ago.
Housing: 3-5 k may well be 'normal' for what you're talking about, but there are certainly plenty of cheaper places to rent.

@spartans I don't need to go back recently to view that kind of thing in England.

Being raised in London and on a council estate when I younger, at least 30/40% of the people I knew were either immigrants or had some kind of family link (parents etc) to immigration. People like you having these 'jihab party' comments really piss me off and yes that is a reply after seeing the news today! You got no other way of talking about the point without phrases like that?
Brexit was possible because a lot of small minded people who have never probably voted in their lives suddenly came out for their chance to vote 'Englishness'. That was what probably swung the tight vote that was brexit.

Can't believe I accidentally clicked to upvote your comment lol

Alien
Of course it is possible to rent an apartment for 700RMB which is the very cheapest I have heard so far, for a room, with outside toilet, shared kitchen.

But do you really think it is reasonable for a family of 3 or 4 to move into a hole like that?

Plus you have to calculate the transportation into your location as well. Is it more expensive to rent for a higher lease or could you safe money having a more expensive lease but have a better public transportation situation?

That puts you in the vicinity of the subway lines and that means the price goes up.

The standard salary for Chinese in basically any untrained job is around 3500RMB in Kunming.

Your friend probably got a bad deal 10 years ago the university pay was already better than that.

Teachers make barely enough money to survive and take their annual vacation.

I mean how many teachers do you know that own property or have cars, or have the funds to properly settle down?

7 years ago I was offered a similar pay I was paid 12 years ago and the offers are still very similar today, especially hourly rates.

Most of the people I know get the same pay, they would have gotten 10 years ago.

So, no Alien, your friends' case, does not explain what most people experience.

I know you love and defend everything China, but please be realistic.

And of course you can also just live in a card box under an overpass, but it isn't exactly an option or the reality for most people.

If you want to check the prices for renting an apartment see the rise in sqm prices, then you would see that my numbers are accurate.

@Hammer: Your first question: No.
Second question: Indeed a valid consideration.
3rd: very few, but I don't know any who feel the need to own a car, or who even want to buy property.
About sqm prices in the areas you mention: I don't know, will accept the numbers you give, but there are other numbers for other areas and other styles of housing.