LA is basically the same price for rent as third tier Chinese cities. (Source: I lived LA 2010, China before and after) However, you don't need a car in China, other aspects of cost of living such as food, utilities, transport and appliances are a lot cheaper, and the government doesn't really try to tax you (and certainly not on foreign earnings). Plus, you get to learn a new language. Flip side, no LACMA and it's a bitch to get decent avocados or orange juice, and a lot of alcohol is cheaper in LA.
Median or average cost of living doesn't necessarily translate across the entire population. Technology employee salaries skew towards the higher compensation edge of the distribution. If you assume that the income inequality in China is higher than that of LA, it stands to reason that cost of living / typical compensation for a technology employee salaries would be roughly the same.
It highlight the difficulty of comparison, that this tool assumes a western diet. I'm talking about milk, cheese as part of the cost of living. Nearly all chesse is imported and milk is rare. Also boneless skinless chicken breasts?
Not sure the solve for this, just found it interesting.
> Prices Including Rent in Shenzhen are 36.96% lower than in Los Angeles.
To compare,
> Prices Including Rent in Los Angeles, CA are 36.34% lower than in Zurich.