Hi everyone,

I am going to be in Shanghai this Fall for doing a study abroad. We are actually 4-5 people coming together from the same school in U.S. to one school in Shanghai. The school offers dorms, but we've been also thinking of possibly renting a house (perhaps somewhere closer to downtown?). I have briefly checked some prices on Craigslist and some other places (quick Google search), and it looks like housing in Shanghai isn't cheap , but the range is pretty wide.

The school dorms are about $250 per person per month (far from downtown). If we were to get a house closer to downtown... what should we expect to pay? Would it be much more expensive than $250x4? Does this sound like a good idea at all, or should we just opt for the dorms? Or look for a house in Pudong? If we live away from downtown, would we be missing out (obviously, we want to make the best of this experience)?

Any ideas would be welcome... Thanks! ^