Tianjin Rent - 2 bedroom will cost about 1100USD/month. 1 Month deposit, a building service fee or elevator fee as the locals call it, and rent is paid in increments of 3, 4, 6, or 12 months. Agencies are used but English is not widely spoken. The contracts will be in Chinese so you must provide your own translator. There is a 5%/monthly rent police tax that must be paid.
Direct deposit is available and used by the company. ICBC is used and you will get a debit card that works everywhere.
The amount transferable outside China was believed limited yearly but friends in Shanghai are telling me if you go to the bank with your pay statement you can transfer money based on your income. I have heard the transfer is relatively cheap. You could set up an account in Honk Kong too during a visa run.
Utilities are prepaid. You will get a card and put credit it and insert it into the meters for your unit. Mobile phones are prepaid too as well as your internet.
Electronic banking is prevalent. Utilities are cheap in China.
I use
Baloun & Company, LLC . Contact Jim Hill for CPA. He can work over your taxes. Pro Diem is a good site that will maximize your per diem into charted and table for for your CPA.
You are required to pay taxes after approx 92k if you have worked outside of the US and passed the bona fide overseas IRS tests. It mainly states you are working outside the US and staying outside the US for approx 330 days of the year and your income is from overseas. You can use the Chinese taxes, paid by the company, against your taxes in the US. The trick is you can use either the overseas deduction or the taxes paid overseas. Most likely the taxes paid overseas will be more so you will probably pay nothing.
The social security tax due is dependent on your contract if you are an independent contractor or employee. SS tax is approx 15%
State taxes depend on each States rules but if you make any rent from a house then you most likely will need to pay State taxes.
Before you come out here consult a CPA. Understand your liabilities especially if you intend to commute. That 2 week holiday in Hawaii combined with a 2 week Xmas stint may take some tax money out of your pocket.
The contracts now are written with 3 month notices. This means you or the company can terminate with a 3 month notice. If you terminate prior to this then there is 4K penalty.
USMCProbe hits it on the head for the simulator. It is done in a 1980s style.
You'll want to brief and they will want to take off immediately. There is no warm up time and you may get the V1 cut on the first take off with a recovery then a wind shear followed by a TCAS then engine fire on vectors with an electrical failure. Multiples are common here. Stick handling is the most important to them. You are lucky. You will most likely have another English speaker in your seat. I had a 0 hour F/O who never flew a jet and could barely speak English. (This will be your sim training so get used to it) When you hit the line the pilots you are assigned will speak more English. (I didn't say good just more)
Most pass the initial sim and eval by the company. DON'T give up that seniority number just yet. This is very important because once you come to China you must do a CAAC check. This is the one that most people fail. The smallest things can set off the inspector. What they think is important does not jive with ours. And there are some rules that are not published in English. Part of it is just luck but here even more so because you didn't know you had to query even during vectors a descent below the MSA.
The ATP written is luck too. It is completely random and there is a fair bit of info already on the boards. People are allowed to take the test again if they fail and it does happen. The hardest part is the section on the history of ICAO and Chinese regulation and Chinese agency names. You may have one question on these or 20.
The medical is what kills another large portion of the people. Again, search the boards here and you will find plenty of info.
If you are a lazy pilot you could be so comfy here but you will never be able to work outside China. Keep your gaurd up. Fly the SOP. You will either return home a wreck or a damn fine pilot.