Hong Kong life vs NYC

[lawrenceray]

I miss the diversity, the radical bookstores, the concerts, and the intellectual conversations with people of all sorts of backgrounds the most.

[bklynfan]

bklynfan - I think you may have missed the humour in the reply. It was a slight teasing at the response that the pollution here is so bad that you can't do any outdoor activity.

There are plenty of outdoor activities available in Hong Kong not just the hiking that PDLM alluded to. Football, tennis, hockey, rugby, cricket all seem to be adequately catered for. Plenty of basketball courts around too.

Jonnnye,

You are right I may have missed it, thinking that, like divers, folks may take their activities seriously and thereby not very accepting of newbies, my apologies.

As a long time fan of those "famous" NY J-E-T-S , is there a decent sports bar (in the central area) to catch the games during season ? I guess Monday night is Tuesday morning there - so no hot wings $ brews huh? Mental note: need dvr.

On the tax thing, I guess I will have to pay half years' taxes in the US and the second half in HK.

Thanks for the insight folks.

[filin]

i'm 99% sure your'e wrong. states do not tax if you're not workign in the state. federal only taxes abroad ...cause it can (sorta).

I'll be speaking with my tax guy over the next few days to get specifics on my situation...but basically, yes, you're marginaly better off cause you're essentially getting a tax break on the first 85 or so thousand US....

you def. don't pay MORE than you would if you were living/working in the US...i think the main issue is us americans in hkg feel a little jealous at all other countries which don't apply a world tax to it's citizens...but at the end of the day, we still are paying less working in hkg than in the US (of course if you're making millions, than the 85K at 15% is nothing)

OK, that's in line with how I imagined it as well. I should save a bit on state tax and on the first 85K of federal tax. Thanks.

[smelly]

Jonnnye,

You are right I may have missed it, thinking that, like divers, folks may take their activities seriously and thereby not very accepting of newbies, my apologies.

As a long time fan of those "famous" NY J-E-T-S , is there a decent sports bar (in the central area) to catch the games during season ? I guess Monday night is Tuesday morning there - so no hot wings $ brews huh? Mental note: need dvr.

On the tax thing, I guess I will have to pay half years' taxes in the US and the second half in HK.

Thanks for the insight folks.

Not many bars in HK play much US sports. There are some, but I suggest you hookup a Slingbox before you leave the US.

Plus to get to a bar it may involve some walking outside....

[MrMoo]

For example: Is pollution really bad? Does it really get super hot and humid in the summer?

It's not Beijing, personally I find HK to be better than Manhattan, both not that bad.

Stand in 34th St Herald Station now and you'll get a feel of how bad it can get here.

[campas12]

It's not Beijing, personally I find HK to be better than Manhattan, both not that bad.

Stand in 34th St Herald Station now and you'll get a feel of how bad it can get here.

i'd say standing in the middle of times square nyc/walking around that area during the day time is a very close comparison to causewaybay/wanchai....central is slightly better.

oh- met with my international accountant- here's the deal with state tax...depends on your state. certain states will still consider you a resident of that state unless you provide an out of state. now depending on which state it is you reside, they may or may not charge non-resident tax.

example. i've lived in nyc for hte past 8 years, but have used my brother's address to file in nj since it's slightly cheaper...every year i'd get a refund for nyc, and have a balance to pay nj. nj is a pain in the ass state- meaning, even when i have a place in hkg, i'll still have to pay the nj tax at the end of the day. i could opt to not pay it and say i left...but if i ever return and use the nj address, then they may argue/claim that i owe them back taxes...

theoretically i'd only move back to nyc, so i could skip out on nj tax...

[bklynfan]

Not many bars in HK play much US sports. There are some, but I suggest you hookup a Slingbox before you leave the US.

Plus to get to a bar it may involve some walking outside....

A Slingbox I am thinking will create a little latency and accross the globe a lot of single points of failure (I could be wrong)...

How about Satellite TV (you know dish networks) that one can subscribe to US networks like CBS? with DVR service, any of these out there, costly ?

[smelly]

A Slingbox I am thinking will create a little latency and accross the globe a lot of single points of failure (I could be wrong)...

How about Satellite TV (you know dish networks) that one can subscribe to US networks like CBS? with DVR service, any of these out there, costly ?

My Slingbox in the US works flawlessly.

Don't think there is satellite TV here

[ejc317]

I'm a born and bred New Yorker but ethincially chinese. Grew up in a private school blah blah

I LOVE HONG KONG

1) Lower tax
2) Cheap ass taxies
3) Cheap and good food
4) better pay

Only things I don't like are

1) Too crowded
2) Girls arnt as hot
3) Too frigging humid (its not even heat)

otherwise ... im happy and don't want to leave - might even buy an aptment

Also healthcare is great here - thought it'd be ghetto but i messed up my eye (detached retina) 3 years ago and post-op care here is perfectly fine just go to a private hospital like advantis

[filin]

So, I've made up my mind - Hong Kong, here I come! Of course now I have a zillion questions... I've been browsing the forums, but I thought I'd still throw out a couple of them here in case anyone would like to comment:

1. Will be working in West Kowloon, near the harbour. What's a nice place to live with a short commute for a couple with no kids (~30 years old) on a 40K (plus or minus) monthly housing allowance? What would it take to either (a) get a nice ocean view or (b) live in a nice "green" area, maybe near a park?

2. Many forums keep saying not to bring electronics from US, but we've just bought a complete new entertainment center with carefully chosen components and my company will be covering the shipping costs, so I would rather not sell and buy everything new. Has anyone brought their electronics from US? Would I be ok with a couple of good transformers?