An American man moved from the US to China and is very happy with his life: he pays $1000 for rent and $100 for groceries for the whole family.

Bradley Cray is an American who moved to China in 2016. There, he began teaching English, met his future wife, and started a family. The couple went to Tahiti for a while before returning to Shenzhen, China. CNBC writes about the story of a man who found the "American dream" in China.

"I moved around a lot as a child," writes Bradley Cray. "I was born in California, but I lived in Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia, Montana, and Oklahoma. I never had the opportunity to call one place home for long. So if you had told me back then that I'd end up in China, I would have simply laughed.

I first visited China in 2016. I was 27 years old and had taken a job teaching English in Shenzhen, a rapidly developing tech hub near Hong Kong. I sold my car and used the proceeds to buy a plane ticket from North Carolina. I had never been outside the United States before.

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Over the next four years, living in Asia gave me the opportunity to visit countries like Cambodia and Thailand. I loved traveling because it was a way to test myself and my self-control, as well as to better understand what was important to me and broaden my perspective.

Today, I live in Shenzhen with my wife and two children. And here's why I consider it one of the best decisions of my life.

I met my wife and started a family

My wife was born in Tahiti, her parents are Chinese. When we met, she was working there as a French teacher.

When the pandemic began, we had already been living in China for three years and were on vacation in the United States. Due to closed borders, we decided to move to Tahiti to be closer to her parents.

Five years later, we had two children. We loved many things about life in Tahiti, but something still felt missing. China still felt like our true home, and in June 2025, we returned to Shenzhen.

I'm still grateful for that first teaching job. I got it almost by accident, but without it, I wouldn't have my family or the life I have today.

I spend less than if I lived in the US

After returning to Shenzhen in 2025, I continued teaching English and earned about $4000 a month.

We rent a three-bedroom apartment for about $1000 per month. Internet costs about $29, and electricity is on average $100.

Grocery costs about $100 a month for a family of four. When we eat out, we rarely spend more than $10 a month. We spend about $90 a month on medical expenses.

So my monthly expenses are about a quarter of what I spent in the US – and I lived alone back then.

I feel like I'm living in the future.

For me, Shenzhen is like Silicon Valley and New York City combined into one city in China. It's a bustling tech hub where there's something unexpected at every turn.

Drones deliver food in 15 minutes or less, and driverless taxis cruise neon-lit streets. The city has its own cyberpunk vibe.

Public transportation is also well-developed. The metro covers almost the entire city, and new lines are being built quickly. A cross-city ride costs about 30 cents.

I hardly ever carry a wallet or keys with me. If I need to pay for something, I use my phone: I scan a QR code or use biometrics, like a palm print. It's very convenient.

Well-paid job with flexible hours

When we lived in Tahiti, I also taught English and made videos about it from time to time. In 2025, my wife suggested I regularly post videos on TikTok to show what life is like in China.

I created an account, my videos quickly started gaining views, and soon I had an audience. This led to new opportunities, and in February, I landed a full-time job as a marketing manager.

I currently make about $3500 a month, plus about $1200 from additional projects.

At the same time, I'm not tied to the office all day. The company has a flexible schedule, so I have time for other projects and personal interests, and I can do some of my work from home.

You can raise children in peace

Shenzhen is great for family life. The city has over a thousand indoor playgrounds. I don't have to constantly supervise my children and worry about them or worry about gun violence. The main danger I see is electric scooters. They speed along the sidewalks.

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My children are growing up speaking three languages. My wife speaks French with them, they communicate with me in English, and they study Chinese at school. The children attend a state-run Chinese kindergarten, and for both of them, including meals, it costs about $300 per semester.

Overall, I think both the food at the daycare and the food in local stores is much healthier than what you'd typically find in the US.

It's amazing – I found my version of the American dream in China."

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