Who is leaving HK, Anecdotal Evidence - Part 2

[bdw]

How many would leave if there was a similar job with similar pay elsewhere?

Well this is more or less what I did.

ME: Boss can I work remotely from Australia doing the same job I do now in IT and supporting the whole Asia Pacific region as I do now?
BOSS: No, fuck off.
ME: But if you say yes, you can save $250k/year in international school fees you pay for my 2 kids in Hong Kong. Then just pay around $120k/year in flights and hotels and I promise I'll come to HK and work in the office for one week every month.
BOSS: OK sounds great.

This was in Jan 2020. I've still got the job now, just the travel bit never quite worked out as planned.

[TheBrit]

Of course it is and I definitely prefer HK from my early days to today (not counting in covid situation) on almost all fronts. But that can also be said about my home country in northern Europe, its a vastly different country after the mass immigration. HK is still one of the better options for me and my partner, would probably feel differently with small kids..

OK - no children - this definitely alters the equation significantly.

[TheBrit]

How many would take a 50% pay cut (or worse, no prospective job) to leave HK right now? How many would leave if there was a similar job with similar pay elsewhere?

I took an effective pay cut to leave - my pay remained the same but taxes take a much bigger chunk of it now. Was is the right move - absolutely - even before NSL and covid-19 - we're much happpier raising our children outside Hong Kong. After covid I am pretty sure we would have left even without a job to go to - the disruption to schooling has just been too much.

[RobRoy]

OK - no children - this definitely alters the equation significantly.

Well we have a grown up kid, he studied at Eton and now happily back in HK studying to be a doctor..

[bdw]

I took an effective pay cut to leave - my pay remained the same but taxes take a much bigger chunk of it now. Was is the right move - absolutely - even before NSL and covid-19 - we're much happpier raising our children outside Hong Kong. After covid I am pretty sure we would have left even without a job to go to - the disruption to schooling has just been too much.

Yeah for me was the same. Even though my company agreed to let me work remotely and pay a similar salary, I took an effective cut due to Australian taxes. But it was the right move for me and definitely worth it. Also was a decision I had come to before NSL and COVID, but the 2019 political drama definitely helped solidify my decision making and rule out any second thoughts I had in my head at the time.

[merchantms]

I took an effective pay cut to leave - my pay remained the same but taxes take a much bigger chunk of it now. Was is the right move - absolutely - even before NSL and covid-19 - we're much happpier raising our children outside Hong Kong. After covid I am pretty sure we would have left even without a job to go to - the disruption to schooling has just been too much.

It’s incredibly dependent on where you leave to. Our home city in the US was a Covid hotspot and schools were closed for more than a year. So leaving for schooling simply wasn’t an option.

They’ve been back fairly normally now in HK since spring and my friends at home are fearful of sending their own kids back in the next few weeks due to rising delta cases. In some US states public schools cannot require masks or vaccinations for students or teachers.

[TheBrit]

It’s incredibly dependent on where you leave to. Our home city in the US was a Covid hotspot and schools were closed for more than a year. So leaving for schooling simply wasn’t an option.

I didn't realise US people could only move back to their home city! Does the US have a hukou system preventing people moving around then?

We didn't move to either of our home cities.

[mostexcellent]

Bit odd to see the need to convince anyone one way or the other whether HK is a good place to live. Different strokes for different folks. Even if it's something as crude as tax residency ... don't really see that much difference as a factor as ultimately money in pocket has direct quality of life impact. Everyone makes their own trade offs

[merchantms]

I didn't realise US people could only move back to their home city! Does the US have a hukou system preventing people moving around then?

We didn't move to either of our home cities.

We’re not rich enough to move somewhere with no jobs and no ties to family and friends. So yes first stop would be where we own a property and our companies have offices already.

What’s with the snark?!

[TheBrit]

We’re not rich enough to move somewhere with no jobs and no ties to family and friends. So yes first stop would be where we own a property and our companies have offices already.

Wow, ok. With two full time working parents in HK for seven years, I figured you might have been building up a nest egg. My apologies for not realising you are struggling to go anyway apart your from home city. What are you staying in HK for if not the money?

What’s with the snark?!

Instictive reaction to intellectual dishonesty.