I've heard lots of people mention how cheap it is to live in Shenzhen. I've recently moved to Shenzhen and not found it so cheap...
A decent apartment (no bad smells, everything works, non-scary neighborhood etc.) costs at least 3500 RMB (same as what I'd pay in a US city). Taxis are not much less expensive than Hong Kong. I don't shop much, but when I do I feel like prices are the same as anywhere else in the world. Eating out also seems not much different than Hong Kong.
I'm wondering: has the cost of living increased a lot in the last year or two? Or am I just a dumb westerner paying too much for things?