economy - The real costs of living in Shanghai

Very funny to read in this AFP-report that the HR-company Mercer has found out that the costs of living of expats in Shanghai have now outranked even Tokyo and New York.
"Conducted by the US-based Mercer Human Resource Consulting firm, the survey says the cost of apartments and tuition for children in China's expat hubs was even more expensive than cities like New York and Tokyo," writes AFP. "A 200-square-meter (2,152-square-feet) furnished house at prime locations for expats in the eastern metropolis Shanghai, for example, rents at 9,400 US dollars a month."
The report mainly proves that when you play you cards right you can spend a hell of a lot of money here in Shanghai. That is why the real expats have become part of a dying breed. For example I would be quite sure that both the AFP correspondents in Beijing and Shanghai do not have the budget that would allow them such a living style.
Yes, the people from Mercer would most likely have this kind of houses and can afford children that do not attend the local schools, but that is why their reports are so expensive.