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Possibly Moving to HK

post #1 of 9
5/4/10 at 12:05am
Thread Starter 
Hi All -

There is an opportunity for me to relocate to HK for a 2-3 yr assignment and was wondering if anyone here has done something similar. I've lived in NY most of my life, but have visited both HK and China. The culture and food I'm very familiar with (i'm chinese), but the finances is something I'm worried about.

What is a decent salary to live on in HK? I keep hearing it is much more expensive than NY, how much more is it?

Also, what are the tax implications if I work there? Would I still have to pay US taxes, and HK Taxes?

Thanks everyone!
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post #2 of 9
5/4/10 at 12:17am
I was in your exact situation until a week ago, I'll be moving to Zhu Hai (30 miles west) in August. A decent salary depends on your standard of living. Most HKnese people can live off 20k a month because they have free housing and lower taxes. Chinese students studying in HK often live off 5-6k a month because they're used to a low standard of living and eating in a small space. Keep in mind a decent apartment will run you 5-15k a month depending on your tastes and the district (more convenient being more pricey). I'd say that as a skilled ex-pat, you should be earning 30k+ a month AFTER your apartment is done and paid for. Cost of living is always very subjective, however, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
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post #3 of 9
5/4/10 at 1:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eason View Post
I was in your exact situation until a week ago, I'll be moving to Zhu Hai (30 miles west) in August. A decent salary depends on your standard of living. Most HKnese people can live off 20k a month because they have free housing and lower taxes. Chinese students studying in HK often live off 5-6k a month because they're used to a low standard of living and eating in a small space. Keep in mind a decent apartment will run you 5-15k a month depending on your tastes and the district (more convenient being more pricey). I'd say that as a skilled ex-pat, you should be earning 30k+ a month AFTER your apartment is done and paid for. Cost of living is always very subjective, however, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Hongers (HKnese?)

Free housing = Government subsidized housing

No income tax; it's a salary tax (ie: income gained from selling stocks/dividends isn't taxed directly)
Highest rate = 16%

Food price: Western food VS cheaper supermarkets; price differences have been shown (mostly people taking similar foods between wet markets, chain stores and western chains) to be in the 5 - 30x range for food if you go to a wet market VS a western chain. The difference between a wet market + super market chain is not very big.

Cost of living; you can spend as much or as little as you want and for the most part you get what you pay for.
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post #4 of 9
5/5/10 at 12:02am
Thread Starter 
any advice on where i can live? i see 400 sq ft apartment renting for 15000 hk, that is pretty darn expensive (more so than even ny!) my office in central, so anywhere within a 30 min commute would work. of course, would definately prefer a nice/safe area.
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post #5 of 9
5/5/10 at 2:53am
The newer apartments near Olympic rent out to $12,000 / 2 bedrooms if I remember correctly ... I can't remember how big it was, 600?.
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post #6 of 9
5/6/10 at 6:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ekinwang View Post
any advice on where i can live? i see 400 sq ft apartment renting for 15000 hk, that is pretty darn expensive (more so than even ny!)

my office in central, so anywhere within a 30 min commute would work. of course, would definately prefer a nice/safe area.

Anywhere close to central will be expensive. If you don't mind commuting then look at places along the rail lines/ major bus routes particularly over on Kowloon/ New Territories side. A similar 400 square foot apartment in Shatin say, would be closer to 6-7K HKD - you can commute with an express bus the 88R that takes 30-45 minutes. Some prefer to stay in Aberbeen/ Stanley areas which is the extreme south of the island.
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post #7 of 9
5/6/10 at 9:49am
Would it be crazy to live on Lamma Island and commute to Central via ferry? I did that when I was a tourist in HK for about a week and thought it was pretty cool.
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post #8 of 9
5/6/10 at 11:44pm
its not more expensive than NY! thats nonsense
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post #9 of 9
5/7/10 at 12:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kent Wang View Post
Would it be crazy to live on Lamma Island and commute to Central via ferry? I did that when I was a tourist in HK for about a week and thought it was pretty cool.

Should be doable. Or even Cheung Chau, which would be even cheaper for accomodation with Ferries every half hour.
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