Finally someone on the same wave length! Yes I have been investigating start up a side consulting biz. Hope the $$ from it will get me up to be on par with other expats. What you are mentioning is totally correct.. need to adapt to survive in Hk. Glad to see you have done it and have your personal and financial freedom.
Have you not noticed what an outlier MandM is? It's not normal to spend HKD5k on an evening meal. I have a colleague who does it, and considers it normal and he struggled hugely when we started our business and everyone took big pay cuts. But seems to have figured it out now. You can live on pretty much any sum of money between 20k and 200k. I know people on 20k who are single expats who are happy. I also know the ones on 200k and they are at least as likely to be unhappy as anyone else. Money doesn't bring you happiness. Fancy restaurants don't bring happiness, enjoying a meal with good friends does. Expensive holidays don't bring happiness - enjoying new experiences and meeting people on your travel is far more rewarding and FAR more likely to happen on a bus or a train rather than in that expensive driver-provided car.
Unfortunately, you are not listening to this. Probably because you are pretty young. Getting old gives one greater insight into what's more important in life. And more self confidence to live your own life and not somebody else's.
There is only one person making you unhappy, and that's you. Not your salary. Not HK.
I'm with OP and MandM on this one. 80k doesn't get you very far in this city, might not even cover rent. 5k is also not a lot for dinner here and it's still a mediocre experience. You can eat at very nice Michellin starred places in Europe or the US for what you spend on an average seafood dinner here.
The unhappiness part is self-made though. I'm probably just as unhappy here as Op, but that is my own fault and I understand all the counter arguments saying the opposite. It's just difficult to find people to relate to here, especially if your social circle is mostly work related. Everyone always seems to want something out of friendships. I've been thinking about taking the pay cut and moving back to have a nice middle class life, normal friendships, normal blood pressure, BBQs, going to a nice museum etc. But I'd probably miss the life and travel opportunities here. The more time I'm spending back home the less I want to return to HK. But maybe I'm just getting old and running out of patience.
Any single person who was spending 80k on rent would need their head examined. If you want to blow 5k on a meal or 150k on a holiday fine IF you can afford it but not if you are then going to complain about how much things cost. M&M lives in her rich bubble and the OP wants to live in that bubble but unfortunately can't afford to.
Not single, the Missus plus myself. But we are spending more than 80k a month on rent. We could easily live comfortably back home on the amount we spend on rent here alone. We would also earn substantially less. I'm not really complaining, well maybe I am. Everyone needs to find their own balance of potential to earn a lot in HK and cost of living here. I also try to spend less, but somehow end up charging my credit card just as much as last month. It's just way to easy to spend big in this city. Another member here once wrote that every expat has to bring two bags, one for gold and one for shit and leave when either on is full. I think that is pretty spot on.
800 sqf is also damn small. I know it's my choice, but I could live a similar live for way less back home, while also earning way less. I'm just not sure whether I want to. I'm just saying I can understand Op. This place can suck even if you make the big bucks.