meinemonkey

what is the standard of living like in HK if you're on a limited salary ?? (24000hkd per month?) ......... would i be living in a cupboard?

meinemonkey

also, is it expensive to go out, buy food etc... just basic living costs??

and are western foods readily available? thanks

penguinsix

Yes, McDonald's is everywhere ;-). Imported groceries and expat Western restaurants are also easy to find but expensive. Rent and taxes will eat up a good amount of your pay. How much are you living on now? If you goto expat places, bars, restaurants, expect high to very high prices. I paid £5 for a Diet Coke at a bar the other day. If you eat and shop local you can save a bit.

This may help.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living...m&city2=London

meinemonkey

Hi thanks for the reply

I thought taxes were low?? (10%) ?

Realistically can you live a decent life on that kind of salary??
I don't mean luxury! just 3 meals a day and a social life

ex reg

Are your accommodation, transport, air fares and medical bills paid by your company?

penguinsix

I thought I read in a recent HSBC survey that about 55% of expats are making over $150,000 a month SCMP Credit Cards for Expat story. Even if that's not entirely accurate, I would certainly expect the majority of expats in Hong Kong to be over $25k a month. I have several friends who are making $100k in just a housing allowance.

I mention this because you are also going to get into situations where some of the folks you are social with are making considerably more money. They'll call up and say "hop a cab and meet us at this place in LKF where you'll drop a few hundred HK in an hour or so." Or they'll ring and say "hey, we're all off to Thailand this weekend--are you up for it?" You may find yourself, if hanging primarily with expats, in a bit of a gap financially with your social peers, which may or may not affect you in some ways. I know that might sound unrealistic but your question is often asked on expat sites and frequently it ends in a flame war with people saying "I make that and get by fine" and others remarking "I spend that much on dinners and entertainment alone each month." It really depends on what you are expecting when you say "decent life".

Basically you're asking "how long is a piece of string". It's really going to come down to your own personal preferences and what you define as a social life, etc. Can you live in a small, slightly run down place a bit further away from the 'Center' of Hong Kong? Are you willing to shop in some of the street markets for some of your grocery needs, and, yes, eat at McDonalds a few times? Avoiding taxis and expensive restaurants and whatnot. Plenty of locals live on this, but they are in subsidized housing, shop in the markets, and eat at places you might avoid due to your own personal tastes. You're asking about Western food and groceries and while they do exist, from McDonalds on up to Michelin starred places, you will pay a premium for many of these things.

Yes, you can live here, more or less ok, on $25k. There is a thread on the bigger HK site geoexpats.com about some folks doing just that (http://hongkong.geoexpat.com/forum/63/thread231105.html). It's very possible to 'survive' on that. As for "thrive" on $25k, I think it might be a bit harder.

Here is the the tax calculator by the way. I think the biggest expense will be housing which will be between 1/3 to 1/2 (or more) of your monthly income.

http://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/ese/st_com..._12/stcfrm.htm

meinemonkey

Thanks for the replies.

I have seen a job in radiography that I'm really interested in applying for, simply for an experience and a little mini adventure I suppose. The contracts appear to be from 1 year to 3 years so I wouldn't be living there permanently.

I imagine most ex-pats work in finance and so their salaries are going to be much higher. As a health worker, the salary starts at 24,500 roughly a month.
It would be good to find out off other health professionals of their experience really but not having any luck contacting any so far.

I've seen the standard and size of apartments for 12000 a month and yes they look tiny, but I think I could cope for a year. Socially, it'd just be nice to go for a drink occasionally or play some sport. The shift work would mean I couldn't do many nights out anyway!

There is hospital accommodation but I have no idea of the standard or cost. All travel expenses I'd have to pay so far as I know.

And food, I'm happy cooking and eating rice/noodles etc.. so I don't think that would be too problematic so long as I can get hold of bread, milk, cereal etc.. fairly inexpensively.

It all just seems so borderline... if the salary was more I wouldnt hesitate but it seems I'd be on a threshold of surviving / living and I can't see that being particularly enjoyable. I'll have a look at the other forum and see if I can find anything out there.

If there are any health professionals on here it would be great to hear from you about your experiences. I did post another thread but its not having any replies so far.

penguinsix

Try geoexpat. It's a more active forum but be advised it is Chinese New Year here which is basically a week long holiday when many head out of town.

http://www.wellcome.com.hk/en/index.php

Check out the delivery section. Will tell you local prices. Milk is rather expensive but we drink imported stuff from USA or Australia.

Supernoodles

I'm not in the health industry but in our company there are 5 expats (US & EU, all under 30) and I know they're earning $20-32k pm, 3 of them have local wives so that does help to keep costs down.

Do remember that although rental will be expensive, income tax in HK is one of the lowest, healthcare is inexpensive & the cost of transport is very low (obviously depends on where you are comparing to but in general, the costs here are hard to beat in these areas).

If you are fine adapting to a more chinese diet and happy doing a flatshare then I think you'd be fine although if you like to party and drink you will struggle as alcohol in bars is pretty pricey (alcohol from supermarket is cheap).

Like Penguin says it depends on your priorities and what kind of lifestyle you want to have, he is spot on in that many other expats you meet will be earning A LOT of money in comparison, which means you will either have to keep saying no to invites because you can't really afford it, or live week to week keeping up with a lifestyle above your paycheck.

However, there are also lots of expats who do not live the 'expat lifestyle' and will rarely be seen drinking in LKF or jetting off to Thailand every public holiday so you wouldn't be totally alone in living a more 'normal' life.

One of my friends (a teacher), she is earning around $25k, sharing a village flat with 2 others for $4k, she is 30 mins away from Central and goes away 4 times a year so she isn't exactly just surviving either.
On the other hand, a neighbour we have who is a pilot so definitely earning more, moans about how he struggles to live decently in HK on his wage so really it is all a matter of preferences and standards.

In addition to Wellcome, the other main supermarket here is Parknshop http://www1.parknshop.com/WebShop/index.do
These sites will cover the basics in cost so have a virtual shop to compare, I find supermarket shopping more expensive in HK, but dining out is cheaper unless you're going for steak or more upscale western food in a proper restaurant, western fast food is same or cheaper imo.