Guest Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 No you can't............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 I guess your around the Caine Road area and that is significantly cheaper than upper Mid-Levels, the downside is the constant traffic on both the road and footpath! The apartment buildings are generally much older as well.... I do know the prices dropped quiet significantly 18 months ago where you could rent an apartment for 8/10k for 1000 sq feet.........When did you lock into the apartment? I must admit, Caine road is very conveniant for buses, central and the fong! Cheers SB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamer Posted September 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2004 Hi Stars, Given that transport is cheap and easy would you consider living away from Central - in Aberdeen or Stanley, or even Kowloon? I've heard that money goes much further in Kowloon and that the commute is a reasonable 30 minutes. Any pros and cons? (I'm not desperate to live in an expat area). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted September 19, 2004 Report Share Posted September 19, 2004 Up-2-U, but an hour+ commute a day to me is unacceptable. Life is too short to waste that kind of time. YMMV. Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stars99hk Posted September 20, 2004 Report Share Posted September 20, 2004 Dreamer, I personally would not want to live that far from the action. But having said that some people are quite happy to live in Discovery Bay or Stanley. I have lived in couple of places on the Kowloon side. Laguna City and Tai Kok Tsui. Laguna City is very nice place new buildings 2 bed room 664sqft about US$900 and 950sqft 3 bed room US$1300. New buildings with a gym and a swimming pool. This would have a 30 min commute to Central in the morning. Those numbers are up to date prices as I know someone who lives there. If I was going to live off the Island I would probably move back there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stars99hk Posted September 20, 2004 Report Share Posted September 20, 2004 Dreamer, I personally would not want to live that far from the action. But having said that some people are quite happy to live in Discovery Bay or Stanley. I have lived in couple of places on the Kowloon side. Laguna City and Tai Kok Tsui. Laguna City is very nice place new buildings 2 bed room 664sqft about US$900 and 950sqft 3 bed room US$1300. New buildings with a gym and a swimming pool. This would have a 30 min commute to Central in the morning. Those numbers are up to date prices as I know someone who lives there. If I was going to live off the Island I would probably move back there. Only a 15/20 minute taxi ride back home at night. There is a good community of expats living there so you are not in a 100% Chinese area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stars99hk Posted September 20, 2004 Report Share Posted September 20, 2004 Sanuk, I live between Caine and Robinson on Peel street close to the Mosque. Its a very quiet area just up from Princes Terrace, great for SOHO area, about 5-10 mins to Wanchai and the same to LKF . No problems with traffic or anything. But I know what you mean about Caine road, I would not want to live in some of those places that are right on top of Caine road, but some of the places that are set back look okay. I moved there 4 or 5 years ago just signed a new lease 1 month ago. Landlord reduced the price 2 1/2 years ago and has not increased the rental even after the pick up in the market. If I get a chance I will do a bit of research over next couple of days and give you some prices that are advertised in the small estate agents dotted about the area since I think you will find better prices in some of these places than the big expat oriented Estate Agents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamer Posted September 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2004 Thanks for all this advice. Looks like I need to spend a few days in each area looking around and checking the local ads. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ijs5 Posted October 2, 2004 Report Share Posted October 2, 2004 SingaporeSteve said:.... however to that you need to look at how the housing allowance is treated tax wise. If its being paid to you as cash, it will be taxed accordingly at the 15% rate. If company take the apt lease in their name, its more likely to be a benefit in kind. It makes a difference in Singapore (where I used to live) but not sure how its looked upon in HKG. If employer provides the accomodation, it's treated as an additional 10% on your salary for tax purposes. Normally worth doing it this way than getting paid a housing allowance and getting taxed on the whole amount. eg monthly salary HK$40k, empoyer rents HK$15k flat for you, you're taxed on HK$44k (ie salary + 10%); get paid theHK$15k as a housing allowance, you get taxed on HK$55k; The *maximum* salary tax you pay in HK is 15%, you need to earn a fortune to get anywhere near that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ijs5 Posted October 2, 2004 Report Share Posted October 2, 2004 SingaporeSteve said: Also you need to consider health insurances very carefully - its free in the UK, but not in HKG. All reputable employers will provide medical insurance in HK as part of the package Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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