Posted by
shamraye
12 yrs ago
Hello we are a family of 4 considering a move to HK from Texas. I have a job offer but no expat pkg. Job is for 1,101,778 HKD (US $142K) per year. Job will offer relocation for a 2 year assignment - flights and movement of stuff there and back to Texas. Our kids are 12 year old twins. I know we probably can't get them into school at least for first year so husband can home school. My questions please:
1) Can we get a furnished 3 BDR apt for $38K month HK and where?
2) Do you know of socialization opportunities for homeschooled 12 year olds? (the one place in Discovery Bay is no longer a homeschool co op)
3) Do you think we'd have a chance at getting them into a school if we try for one year? What type of school do you recommend for kids who haven't gone through IB or English or rigorous school system (they are bright - advanced classes here but I think TX system isn't as rigorous). What is a good choice between: HKIS, ESF secondary or Private, Hong Kong Academy - I'm not sure.
4) What are typical monthly costs for:
a. Groceries
b. Internet
c. 4 x cellphones
d. Eating out
e. Transportation
f. Medical co-pays? My company will cover us with medical insurance ....
5. Do you have a recommended accountant who could help us with any needed HK - AND - expat US tax preparation?
Thank you so much in advance for any help!
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For Groceries, check the Parksnhop website http://www.parknshop.com/
Internet $300/mth
cellphones $200 / mth
For the other costs - it is cheaper to eat out in HK than most other international cities, transport is really cheap and you'll be able to find a local tax person when the time comes at a price lower than you paid in the US.
The school fees will be at least HK$12,000 / mth for each child.
You should really ask for at least 1.5 mill or even more since you have to pay for education and housing and will have to pay US taxes.
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Ps cellphones service will be for 4 of us = $300'?
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Just do a simple site search on 'budget'. The question about budgeting and costs has been asked many times and there are some very good answers posted.
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If you approach this with an open, adventurous mind, you will have the experience of a lifetime. Not a bed of roses, you will have a very different life, but that is the whole point. Especially for the kids.
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Thanks for that woods99. It's an excellent mindset to have.
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I was apartment-hunting recently and visited many estates in the Shatin-Tai Wai area. Some apartments were more or less fully furnished and were in your price range. Places like Festival City, The Palazzo, Pictorial Gardens, Belair Gardens, to name a few. Mind you that none of them are crowded with expats. And You will need to appear in person in order for real estate agents to share any details/specifics with you. You may also want to keep in mind the possibility of hiring a foreign domestic helper, who by law is required to live in your apartment. Some apartments come with a DH room equipped with a simple toilet/wash basin. But not all of them.
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1) Can we get a furnished 3 BDR apt for $38K month HK and where? you can easily get it, just don't stay in the expat ghettos (e.g. mid levels). areas with good mix of locals and expats like tin hau-north point corridor, sha-tin/tai wai, park island/disco bay/tong chong offer plenty of opportunities at that price. furnishing is the bigger issue but it's cheap here. i suggest budgeting 32-35k and then go shopping for new stuff in ikea
2) Do you know of socialization opportunities for homeschooled 12 year olds? (the one place in Discovery Bay is no longer a homeschool co op) no idea. not very common in hong kong. but i would not give up hope of getting them in somewhere. at least you can try.
3) Do you think we'd have a chance at getting them into a school if we try for one year? What type of school do you recommend for kids who haven't gone through IB or English or rigorous school system (they are bright - advanced classes here but I think TX system isn't as rigorous). What is a good choice between: HKIS, ESF secondary or Private, Hong Kong Academy - I'm not sure.
certainly you have a chance. all of the ones listed are ok. check topschools.com.hk for reference.
4) What are typical monthly costs for:
a. Groceries less than 10k for such a family for sure
b. Internet (200-500 HKD, depends whether you combine it with a tv contract)
c. 4 x cellphones (200/each max)
d. Eating out (many cheap options available. can be as low as 20HKD for a bowl of noodles and as high as 200HKD/main course for a "normal" western restaurant. of course the sky is the limit, especially in a place like hong kong (sothebys just auctioned off a dinner with some famous spanish chef for 30k+ USD...)
e. Transportation (depends where you live but generally very cheap and very efficient)
f. Medical co-pays? My company will cover us with medical insurance ....
zero, since with a HK ID (which you get when working/dependent) the public system is free (100HKD per visit even for surgery).
5. Do you have a recommended accountant who could help us with any needed HK - AND - expat US tax preparation? no idea, but you dont need an accountant for HK taxes. they are pre-populated through your companies salary submission, and all online and simple. i do my tax submission typically in less than 20 minutes.
Thank you so much in advance for any help! welcome
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"You should really ask for at least 1.5 mill or even more since you have to pay for education and housing and will have to pay US taxes."
yes you can and should always ask for more, but 1mill is more than 95% of honkies make, so surely you can survive. schools at 10k/month and a helper at 5k/month are indeed the ones to consider.
as far as i can recall (and i am not american), the first 90k USD earned abroad are tax-free in the US, so that should get you a long way. check online or ask some other people though
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If you are 'smart' and willing to go through all the trouble, you can do the tax by yourself with turbo tax. Otherwise, a CPA in US is cheaper. Here you have kpmg kind of global tax companies.
you pay provisioning tax at the begining of the year, so you will pay two years of tax at the begingign of the second year. That is a lot of money. Make sure you have cash in your bank account at that time. Also, you may have to pay tax penality if you do not do the estimate tax after you move here.
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Thx coconut USA - even if I'm a local hire in HK - paid in HKD?
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sure you can live like a local, but if you are moving half-way around the world, you should benefit it from it. you shouldn't accept the position that you will earn more than others as a reason to accept a small package by international standards. the cost of education and the holiday trips will eat into your budget.
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I agree Samsonight. I am negotiating for one year tuition (in a 2 yr assignment where my husband would homeschool the 1st year while we wait for the kids (going into grade 8) to get accepted ... and 2 trips back to Tx.
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