Posted by
reydevan
17 yrs ago
Feasible? I have to pay for everything including rent, transport, food etc.....the cheapest rent i found was $2200 @ 1 Yuen Long. My office is at Science Park, Shatin.
So, do you think i can survive? I heard food and transport is very pricey. MTR is pricey? Some said yes, some said no.
I can try to scrimp and save cos i reali wan to get the experience of working in another country but i dunoe if this is reali pushing it...
Advise is greatly appreciated.
Please support our advertisers:
if you're ok with living in Yuen Long (VERY local), you should be okay to live in Sheung Shui/Fanling, which would significantly lower your commuting time and cost...12k is DOABLE if you're not a party animal, and you may even be able to save a bit if you're careful (eat at home/shop local/minimal vacation travel)
Please support our advertisers:
12k is esily doable especially if your rent is below 5k
Please support our advertisers:
Glad to hear that...but the problem is i duno if i can find rent below 5K. And Im not a party animal...would wan to explore now n then tho but i can try to work with mi limits....
And i heard tax is 17%? That is a killer for me!
Please support our advertisers:
you joking right? HK has one of the lowest income tax rates in the world (0-15%)...where are you coming from? no sales tax/VAT/GST either...you could also look at flatsharing to ease your housing costs
Please support our advertisers:
If your rent is below 4K, you can live fine in HK. I know a lot of people who pay less than 7K a month on living expenses for 2 people. Easy.
Please support our advertisers:
I think it's 4-20% here. Not too sure as i just started working. I said 17% is a killer cos that sucks up alot of cash tt i could use for other stuff but i know i can't escape from income tax. =)
Yeah ArtinHK, i hope i can find a rm(flatsharing) that is not too inconvenient to travel to n fro work under 4K.
I heard you have to have a pay of at least US$40000 per annum to get a visa which i dun meet. Hmmm, i dont know if my company can help out with this...
Please support our advertisers:
At 12K/month, you're not going to pay much tax. 12 x 12 = 144k and the first 108 is not taxable!
If you're working in Shatin, you better get a flat share or room for rent somewhere in Tai Po.
Please support our advertisers:
If you're working in Shatin, suggest you find a 350sqft-450sqft village house near Ma On Shan in one of the many villages off Sai Sha Road (that's the road going to Sai Kung) or in Shatin itself. Rent will only be around $4K per month and because you'll be nearer, transport to and from work won't be as expensive compared to for example living in Yuen Long. There are places avaible and if you go to one of the property agents set up in some of the larger villages and ask, they should be able to help you find a place.
Please support our advertisers:
Very do able. Many people have said Sheung Shui, Fanling Tai Po or Sai Sha road which is very nice place. Live in a village is better than a tower anyway Have fun
Please support our advertisers:
Ohh...sad to hear that Cara but thanks for being honest. I've already been working in my current company for 2 years, it's just that I'm relocating to the HK branch with the same position. Does this make any difference?
And to all the others, thanks so much for replying me. Really appreciate it.....
Please support our advertisers:
Kea_
17 yrs ago
$12,000 is doable. Definitely try to find a village house in the Sha Tin/Tai Po area to cut down on your commute. If you get a room-mate, you can pay less than $4000 per month.
About food - food is only expensive if you eat a Western diet. The supermarkets know that Westerners and/or Westernized yuppies tend to have money and charge accordingly. Cheese costs a small fortune. So does yogurt and milk. Beef is expensive. Any packaged food imported from Europe or North America is sold at a premium, even if the same item cost pennies in its country of origin.
But if you live on an Asian diet of rice, noodles, vegetables, chicken, pork and fish, you can easily spend less than $300 per week on groceries. Much less, if you shop at a wet market attached to a public housing estate.
It is possible to find decent restaurants at $100 per person per meal or less. Don't hang out in SoHo and you'll be fine. Actually, there's a lot of excellent and inexpensive restaurants out in Yuen Long. Yuen Long is a food paradise if you know where to look (it must be the cheap rent - the restaurants can afford quality ingredients there).
Good luck!
Please support our advertisers:
that's very easy to work out tho...get the company to write a letter stating your 'salary' as 2x,000 for visa purposes only...your real salary may be less...IMMD and IRD are two huge and very separate departments within the govt and it's highly unlikely any trace of what was done will ever be followed up on...you're just one more fish in the pond after all...an internal transfer as you are suggesting is the situation is you're best bet to get in, as the company can claim you have intimate knowledge of the workings of the company blah blah...good luck!
Please support our advertisers:
Oh, you know of anyone who has done that funbobby?
Will speak to my company on that......
Please support our advertisers:
That's illegal. There was news of some guys who got in trouble because of it. Definitely not your problem as it's your company which is going to apply for the visa. If the visa is not approved, you just stay in your current post. Maybe your company have experience doing this already that they're confident it's going to go through.
Please support our advertisers:
Hey Punter, i cant stay in my current post if my visa is not approved cos the company is relocating so i'll lose my job.
"Maybe your company have experience doing this already that they're confident it's going to go through." - what do you mean by this?
Please support our advertisers:
i know of people with 12k salaries that got a visa - both mainland chinese staff and overseas staff. i don't know what the company did, but it's possible.
in these cases it was all large corporates though...
Please support our advertisers:
Mine is quite a BIG MNC cookie09...
Green-Catalonia - I know what you mean but i dun mind getting that pay cos i really want to experience working overseas so i dont mind 'suffering' for a while...
What is YMMV?
Please support our advertisers:
I was thinking that your company may have sponsored some other guys same as you before.
However, if your company is relocating you then you should be in an "expat" package. 12K/month without a housing allowance is way off an "expat" package! At least 20k/month plus free living quarters is more like it.
Hope things work out well for you.
Please support our advertisers:
Hey Punter, mine is a special case. I've been with the company for nearly 2 years but it's on contract. I'm not a perm staff so i wont get the expat package...
But i really hope to work in HK for at least a few months...
I hope things work out well too...Thanks alot evyone!
Please support our advertisers:
Kea_
17 yrs ago
Seriously, $12,000 per month is already above the median wage in Hong Kong. It's lower middle class. $5,000 a month is working a McJob and living in public housing. You shouldn't have any trouble living on $12,000 when vast swathes of the population can do it too.
I've been living on a similar wage over the last 3 years while renting a village house with my boyfriend. In that time I've managed to save up about HK$240,000. Granted, I'm not stinking rich but it's enough to put me through grad school in the UK, which is what I'm going to do next.
Expat packages are basically another planet compared to what regular HKers make. It's not the end of the world if you don't get one.
Please support our advertisers:
Interesting to get so many point of views....I guess to each his own.
Let me highlight that if Im indeed goin to suffer in HK w that wage, i can choose to come back to my country anytime...It's not like i have a family to feed back home.
I dont mind 'suffering' for a few months cos I've been pampered back home and all the bills are settled by my parents. It would be a good chance to experience life by myself and most importantly, to get an overseas work experience...
Having said all that, i can now only pray that my visa gets approved.... =)
Please support our advertisers:
You must be logged in to be able to reply.
Login now
Copy Link
Facebook
Gmail
Mail