Frequently Asked Questions
How does the Neighborhood Quiz work?
You pick a handful of priorities (schools, walkability, nightlife, commute, etc.), your family situation, a budget tier, and how long you're planning to stay. The quiz runs entirely in your browser: it scores each curated Shanghai neighborhood against your selection and ranks the top matches. Nothing is sent to a server. No login, no cookies, no tracking.
What data is the quiz based on?
Each neighborhood entry is hand-curated based on widely reported expat experience as of 2026: published rent ranges, the locations of major international schools, metro/commute patterns, walkability characteristics, and the general expat-community density of each area. We don't pull live listings — the quiz is a "where to start looking" guide, not a real-time market scan.
Why no specific landlord, agent, or school recommendations?
We don't take referrals, kickbacks or affiliate fees, and we don't have the on-the-ground volume to vet individual agents fairly. Recommending one this week and missing a change next week would do more harm than good. Use the quiz to narrow your shortlist to 2-3 areas, then talk to multiple local relocation agents who actually walk those streets.
What is the quiz NOT good for?
- Visa or work-permit advice — always verify with your consulate or a licensed immigration lawyer in China.
- Legal contract review — Shanghai leases have quirks (fapiao tax invoices, agent fees, deposit handling). Have someone bilingual read your contract before signing.
- Live pricing — rent ranges shift quarterly. Verify with a current local agent.
- Medical, tax, schooling decisions — these need a professional on the ground.
Where does the cost data come from?
Rent and school-cost ranges are aggregated from publicly reported sources: classifieds on SmartShanghai and ShanghaiExpat, school fee publications, and expat-community surveys posted on r/Shanghai during 2025-2026. Numbers are rounded and given as ranges. Always verify locally before signing anything.
Why is the tone neutral on cultural questions?
We focus on logistics and lifestyle — commute times, neighborhood character, school access, walkability. We deliberately avoid politicized takes. If you want geopolitical commentary, this isn't the place.
Will the quiz remember my answers?
No. We don't use cookies or localStorage. Reload the page and you start fresh. That's intentional — it keeps the site privacy-clean and lets you experiment freely.