35-year-old American relocated to China and lives on $30,000 a 12 months

In her late 20s, Aleese Lightyear labored in actuality TV manufacturing and lived in New York Metropolis, which she thought was her dream.

“On the peak of my profession in New York, I used to be most likely making $100,000 a 12 months [and] working eight months out of the 12 months, which on paper sounds nice, however New York Metropolis is without doubt one of the world’s most costly cities, in order that $100,000 went extraordinarily quick,” Lightyear tells CNBC Make It.

“I used to be spending all of my cash going out and shopping for garments in order that I could possibly be fashionable and really feel like I used to be residing within the ‘Intercourse and the Metropolis’ New York Metropolis dream.”

As her thirtieth birthday approached, Lightyear realized she was nonetheless working 70 to 80 hours every week, however did not have any retirement financial savings. And since she was a freelancer, she did not have advantages or medical insurance.

“I ought to have been saving for these issues. I used to be residing verify to verify, which sucked. My previous few years residing and dealing in New York Metropolis have been a few of the most aggravating years of my life,” she says.

“I got here up with this concept that I wished to go away New York as a result of I used to be uninterested in working 70 hours every week for ten years. Being in my 20s, I felt like a 50-year-old girl.”

In the future, Lightyear awoke and searched, “How do I make cash and journey the world?” The primary consequence was about instructing English. After talking with a coworker who had taught in South Korea, Lightyear started researching what it might entail to show abroad with no prior expertise.

“I form of put that on pause as a result of I simply wasn’t positive if that was proper for me. It took me about two years to make the choice that I wished to develop into a instructor,” she says. “Google advised me I simply wanted a TEFL certificates to show English to overseas language learners, so I enrolled.”

Lightyear accomplished a 13-week program to earn her Educating English as a Overseas Language (TEFL) certification, initially setting her sights on South America. She shortly modified course, nonetheless, deciding that if she was going to go away her life in New York behind, she would go so far as doable.

“If I’ll transfer all the way in which internationally, I higher go to the furthest nation that I do know completely nothing about and have a full journey, and China simply appeared like pure journey, enjoyable, pleasure, and nice cash,” Lightyear says.

“I am somebody who has traveled so much however I would by no means been to Asia earlier than, so I did not actually know what to anticipate and to be trustworthy, my first few days have been simply an enormous blur as a result of there was a lot tradition shock.”

Lightyear, 31 on the time, made her official transfer to Beijing, China in 2019 — and he or she hasn’t regarded again. She lived within the Chinese language capital for 4 years earlier than shifting to Chengdu, the place she is a instructor at a college. Lightyear works 18 hours every week, 4 days every week and has a yearly wage of about $30,000 USD.

“$30,000 a 12 months is poverty in America however in China, I am residing giant,” she says.

Her typical work week is totally completely different than it was in New York. In China, she works Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, providing two to a few courses a day. A few of her advantages embrace free medical insurance, a journey stipend, a lease stipend, a flight allowance and two months of paid summer season and winter trip.

Lightyear took a pay lower when she left her job in Beijing for one in Chengdu. However her life in Beijing had began to really feel too just like her time in NYC, so she has no regrets.

“I did not transfer all the way in which internationally to work as a lot as I did in New York,” she says.

“My present work-life steadiness is a dream. I can have time to take action many alternative hobbies, to take the time to truly study the language and to do no matter I need after I need, and that feels superb. I simply really feel so fortunate and completely satisfied to have the ability to have a lot time to myself.”

In Chengdu, Lightyear lives in a pre-furnished three-bedroom, one-bathroom condo with a balcony and laundry room. Due to the lease stipend she will get, Lightyear solely has to pay $278 a month for her lodging.

Lightyear dietary supplements her revenue as a instructor with content material creation and an energetic YouTube channel. Each of these issues enable her to avoid wasting as much as $1,000 a month. It is one thing she was by no means in a position to do residing within the U.S.

Now that she’s been residing in China for over 5 years, Lightyear says when she visits the U.S., she experiences reverse tradition shock. She’s nearly at all times having to elucidate to pals, household and strangers why her life now’s so a lot better there than it was earlier than.

“For the standard American, there’s numerous confusion and misinformation about what life is really like in China, however I really feel fully secure as a girl, as a girl of colour, being impartial, doing something. I really feel very relaxed on this nation,” she says.

Although she feels comfy in China, Lightyear says that as a result of the nation is so homogeneous, as an individual of colour she “stands out like a sore thumb,” and it does hassle her at occasions.

“I most likely can not go an hour being exterior with out somebody pointing at me and saying, in Chinese language, ‘there is a black individual, look, there is a foreigner,” she says. “If I’ll a touristy spot, the quantity of people that take photographs of me whereas I am not wanting or will ask me to take photographs, then subsequent factor I do know, there is a line of people that need to take photographs with me.”

Regardless of these uncomfortable moments and the time it is taken to regulate to Chinese language tradition, Lightyear says her self-confidence has skyrocketed.

“I nonetheless face numerous challenges [and] there are such a lot of issues I nonetheless do not know about, and within the very starting, that was the toughest half,” she says. “You already know the saying that if you may make it in New York, you may make it anyplace? Effectively, throw that away and apply it to China. If you may make it in China, you’ll be able to actually make it anyplace. I really feel fearless and like there’s nothing I can not do.”

Conversions from Chinese language Yuan to USD have been performed utilizing the OANDA conversion charge of 1 Chinese language Yuan to 0.14 USD on July 3, 2025. All quantities are rounded to the closest greenback.

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