Hong Kong expats

[dreamer]

I?m considering a move overseas and have been offered a job in Hong Kong, was wondering if any of you chaps have experience / advice that you would be willing to share (cost of living, places to live, etc.)

 

Briefly I work at junior management level in financial services for an international company and will be transferring skills currently practiced in the UK to HK. My package including housing allowance and overall is worth about 10% less than my current package. Other benefits include medical and relocation assistance - I have no family commitments.

 

I?ve posted a couple of times on this topic previously and have looked at the safer Middle East countries. There I found that employers were looking very much at recruiting from India / Pakistan and the packages offered were worth considerably less than my current or the HK package.

 

Cheers,

 

[samak]

you would have to post a bit more details, if you like to get any appropriate advise!

is this offer from your current employer or from a new one?

you say the package is 10% less than your current: are you at the moment also working on a expat package? or is your offered salary PLUS the housing allowance 10% less than your current domestic salary?

does your housing allowance cover just a certain contribution to the real rental costs or do they cover full rental costs of a certain accommodation standard?

[think_too_mut]

I know of one guy who is located in HK, he says that housing is a killer there.

He moved from Singapore and price of similar apartment almost doubled. I can't remember whether he said 6 or 8K US$ per month and it's not the most expensive area there. But it is a 3 bedroom place. It's a bit more expensive than Tokyo.

[samak]

agreed TTM, however the prices have come down the last 5 years.

that's why dreamer must clarify the housing allowance. while 1-1.5k usd per month allow you a very decent accommodation in Bangkok, you have to be very modest while staying in Hongkong and probably live in the new territories instead of Hongkong Island or Kowloon.

[stars99hk]

Dreamer,

 

I have lived in Hong Kong last 8 years. Regarding housing you basically find rents at any level here from US$600 for a studio apartment upto mega bucks for huge duplex apartments on the peak.

 

I live on Hong Kong Island in a 650sqft apartment with a large roof top. That costs me US$1350 per month. Its not huge but its comfortable and the large roof top makes up for it. The building is a slightly older one maybe 15 years and so its nice but not spectacular. this is in Lower mid levels.

 

My brother lives about 5 minutes from me in a brand new building and pays exactly the same. His is a slightly bigger apartment. In a very nice building.

 

Both of these were rented a the bottom of the market and prices are probably up about 10-15% from that now.

 

You can find very reasonable places to rent in the less well known areas of the Island, North Point , Sheung Wan places like that you could probably find similar place at 20-30% lower in price.

 

Other costs:

 

Car - Why bother a parking space costs almost as much as you apartment. Taxis are cheap, the MTR underground system is excellent and goes everywhere you could possibly want. Buses are plentiful. having a car would be a pain ( for me anyway)

 

Food- Again like rents you can eat at any level you want, you can eat local in the Dai Pai Dongs or you can go full out and spend a fortune on fancy restaurants.

 

Beer - Average probably around US$4-6 for a bottled beer , you can find cheaper but not much.

 

I always tend to disagree when people say that Hong Kong is a really expensive place to live, you can live expensive if you want but you can also live very reasonably.

 

Dreamer,

 

If you need more info let me know, happy to help.

[stars99hk]

TTM,

 

Sure you can spend US$6-8000 on an apartment, but really you are talking the top of the market there ( well probably not the top but getting there). That would be a very fancy place.

 

You can get a 3 bedroom for considerably less than that.

 

Of course the reason you see these prices thrown around is that expats tend to be rented this level of apartment by the companies they work for.

 

I reckon you could find a reasonably nice 3 bedroom apartment in the lower mid levels area ( Central) for something like HK$25,000 or around US$3200. Depending on the type of apartment, the facilities it has and the age of the building.

[Guest]

7,000 Hong Kong Dollar = 897.574 US Dollar

http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic?expr2=&script=..%2Fconvert%2Fclassic&language=en&lang=en&value=7000&date=09%2F13%2F04&SUBMIT=Convert%20Now&date_fmt=us&margin_fixed=0&exch2=&expr=USD&exch=HKD

[think_too_mut]

stars99hk said:

TTM,

 

Sure you can spend US$6-8000 on an apartment, but really you are talking the top of the market there ( well probably not the top but getting there). That would be a very fancy place.

 

You can get a 3 bedroom for considerably less than that.

 

Of course the reason you see these prices thrown around is that expats tend to be rented this level of apartment by the companies they work for.

 

I reckon you could find a reasonably nice 3 bedroom apartment in the lower mid levels area ( Central) for something like HK$25,000 or around US$3200. Depending on the type of apartment, the facilities it has and the age of the building.

 

I accept what you are saying. The guy who told me the numbers is a big fish.

 

Now that we have you around, no need for people like me who can only guess or give the upscale information.

 

Thanks for your input. Valuable.

[dreamer]

Thank you for your interest in this post guys, I?m delighted with the responses.

 

More details:

 

Offer is from current employer

Not currently on an expat package

Offered salary plus housing assistance = 90% current salary

Housing reimbursement is about 40% of the package and I assume I can use it cover rents, utilities, service charges etc.

[dreamer]

Thanks for these tips on prices and districts to consider, it is very useful. My employer will pay for my initial accommodation but only for two weeks, I will need to find digs quickly.

 

I?m expecting that my housing reimbursement will cover a similar apartment but am awaiting clarification of whether I am entitled to the full amount set out in the offer letter.

 

Do you / or anyone know golf membership / round prices?

 

Cheers,