Not a bad idea for you to live in Shenyang for a while. There are more and more foreigners coming to this city. Most come from Japan, Korea, Indian, Germany. Americans are relativelt fewer. They usually work in hotels, large enterprides, such as BMW joint venture center, or run their own business. Living cost there is lower than Tianjin and Dalian. Generally, foreigners working in Shenyang are paid 4000-10000RMB per month. I think 2000-3000 is enough for basic need including a single apartment. Anyway, it depends. If your child would go to a school there, it is another expense. You can consider to be a language teacher. Most expats live close to the consulate and Wulihe area. Hope it can help you make your decisions. Well, you can try to find expats community in Shenyang online. That is a more direct way to learn how they are living there.

We live in Dalian. We pay 5000RMB for renting 200sqm apartment. We needed to pay a year's worth of rent. This is the norm here. At the very least, you can negotiate paying 6 months advance rent. Utilities(water, electricity, gas) are pretty cheap, probably around 300-400RMB per month. Food, really depends on your standard. If you will look for American stuff(cereals, pasta etc), then food will easily reach 2500-3000RMB for a family of 4. Mr David said that Shenyang is cheaper, so you already have a benchmark. International school in Dalian is about $15000 a year. I know that AMerical international schools around Asia(or at least China) basically have the same tuition. Chinese classes cost around 40RMB/hour.

Did these two replies help you at all? I have been living in Shenyang for a couple of years. Yes, you will need 20 -45 thousand RMB for 6-12 months rent on a furnished flat. Don't expect your one month security back AT ALL, it will never happen, just calculate it in the rent cost. All expenses here are variable. I worked for the first year making 22,000 RMB a month. Now, I make 10,000 RMB a month. I live exactly the same on both salaries. There is plenty to do in Shenyang, but it requires a willing suspension of disbelief. Living here is much like living in a theme park. A family of four will live very well here on 20,000 RMB a month. That is twice as much as an architect or doctor make here. 20,000 and you can have a cleaner, a cook, a driver and a nanny (in China ayi) for each child. I hope this is a bit more helpful to you. Any specific question, just post them back. Good luck!