Why is it cheaper to live in China then the USA? Because China has a huge import/export deficit and artificial devaluation of currency. It does not play part to the global economy like others do through deliberate manipulation. It remains true that this is simple exploitation on a national scale.
There might be some currency manipulation, but it is not the 600% difference that would be required, plus we probably get an equal amount of benefit by being the reserve currency.
It's cheaper to live in China than the USA because Americans expect that they will have a salary + medical benefits that will allow them to afford a 3 bedroom house of their own in the suburbs built to rather more exacting construction standards than China, 2 cars which they drive 20k miles/year, a family vacation every year, medical prices that cover the cost of doctors purchase insurance to protect against litigious Americans' expensive lawsuits, and pay taxes that support large social programs and one of the world's largest standing Armies. Prices for American workers and goods reflect these expectations.
It's a lot easier to live cheaply when your expectations of housing are a concrete room (shared by a number of friends if you are single), no car, no overseas vacations via plane, medical care provided by the state, and a system where doctors are not at risk of multi-million dollar court cases if they get something wrong.
I think you're forgetting the most important part of the equation: China is still a developing country. In fact 50 years ago, it was one of the poorest countries in the world. As amazing as it's total GDP output is (by some measures more than the U.S. now) it has 5x the people. While yes there is some artificial currency devaluation, that is nowhere close to being the reason it's cheaper to live in China.
If food is more expensive in USA than in China, why do they sell it in China rather than sell it in USA? 1. Cost of freight 2. Import tariffs.
Why is housing more expensive? 1. More expensive land (more desirable place to live) 2. More expensive to build house. a) Higher labour costs (can't just import cheap chinese labour because of visas) b) Stricter building codes.
With all of the conservatives crying foul over "hyperinflation" as the US pushes QE just a little bit to get us over the financial crisis... we will virtually never have a political environment that will explicitly devalue currency to encourage job growth here in America.
Just saying, not enough support to do what you want to do.
