by Barry Cunningham

Having lived in the midst of Beijings 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 Chinas 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. Thats 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 Americas next big overseas retirement community.

Lets 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 dont 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 Beijings 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 citys worn-out， 9）filthy subway system， an increase of 654 percent over a 30-cent ride on Beijings 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 farmers 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. Its 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 dont need much to be happy.

在北京猖獗的消費主義氛圍中生活了18個月之后，我覺得“四寶”早已不再是筆墨紙硯了。以中國新生的實利主義來看，如今的“四寶”似乎是一輛新車、一套公寓、一臺電腦和一部42寸的寬屏LCD大彩電。之所以中國的中產(chǎn)階級認為其生活成本百分比高于美國的大城市，那些“生活必需品”或許有助于解釋。這種觀點的確沒錯，如果你只考慮住房、電器和車子的話。然而就其它幾乎所有東西來說，在中國生活相比于美國實惠太多了，因此，這個“中原王國”也許會成為美國下一個海外退休養(yǎng)老大國。

讓我們先從可支配收入談起，也就是你的稅后收入；換句話說，就是你荷包里實實在在有的，能拿來買東西的錢。

當下，在紐約，人均的可支配月收入為3596美元，而在北京，人均的可支配月收入為591美元，兩者相較之下相差了不止508%。乍一看，如若紐約人移居北京的話，似乎能過上帝王般的生活。但是，紐約的物價水平，包括房租，算下來的話，較之北京要高出136%。紐約的房租比北京貴286%。紐約餐廳的菜單比北京貴209%，除去大多數(shù)中國人一般不怎么買的那些東西，比如牛奶和奶酪之類，紐約的生活用品也要比北京貴上78%。

我的中國朋友們爭論道：如果紐約的收入中位數(shù)為6萬美元，而北京的收入中位數(shù)為7500美元，那么北京的收入水平便只是紐約的12.5%，而中國的物價也應(yīng)當反映這一事實。按這個百分比來算的話，如果現(xiàn)在紐約一家中檔餐廳的一頓三道菜的二人餐需要花費73.44美元，那么在北京則應(yīng)當需要花費9.18美元。然而事實上，同樣的這一餐在北京要花費18.99美元，比情理中的價格貴了兩倍多。

盡管如此，紐約的物價還是讓中產(chǎn)階級備感壓力，以致于很多人都想在國外另覓家園了。如今在紐約市中心附近，要想買一套像樣的公寓，每平米的價格已經(jīng)超過了1萬美元，而相較之下，北京三環(huán)以內(nèi)的房價，大約每平米只需4000美元。

在紐約，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，相較之下，兩者之間竟有一個令人驚愕的差額比——345%。紐約的交通費用也很要命。同樣的路程，在北京打車要花3美元的話，在紐約就要花24美元，費用高出了560%。紐約的公共交通也不再是那么服務(wù)大眾了。乘坐紐約又臟又破的地鐵系統(tǒng)要花掉你2.5美元，而搭乘北京那時尚又現(xiàn)代的地鐵則只需要30美分，紐約較之北京高出了654%。

在紐約市郊，貴得離譜的財產(chǎn)稅、車險還有令人難以承受的醫(yī)療費用正驅(qū)使不少退休人員移居國外。

我認為，任何生活成本的比較，都應(yīng)當包含我口中所謂的美好生活。對于一個富裕的北京人來說，好日子也許意味著買臺嶄新的法拉利。而對于一位紐約的單親媽媽來說，好日子也許指的是不用再依靠福利過活。對于一個北漂外來工來說，好日子也許意味著找到一份工作來支撐遠在安徽老家的一家人的生活。在北京的美好生活，意味著我花一丁點兒錢便能在望京的一家農(nóng)貿(mào)市場里買到可口的辣椒，而在對街高檔超市里頭同一種用塑料薄膜包裝的辣椒則標著高出幾倍的價錢。北京人，你能體會在紐約花2.49美元只能買一根辣椒的感受嗎？又或者你能體會在紐約花12美元買一包在北京僅售60美分的香煙是什么感受嗎？

美好生活絕不由生活成本數(shù)據(jù)來界定。它是由一種幸福指數(shù)來界定的，這種指數(shù)可以丈量出生活在底層的十億中國人——那些每個月靠不到1000塊人民幣過活的中國人——要達到滿足所需的成本。貧窮和失業(yè)對于所有的社會來講，都算是雙重災(zāi)難。但在中國，我發(fā)現(xiàn)，想要幸福，你并不需要太多。