Don't go there with 1300 rent.....Forgot to add that friend didn't survive her place for too long!!!! Pay something like 5 to 7K for something decent and you'll be happier. I can't comment on 70K per year. But you do have to look at tax as well. When I made my move from Spore to HK, I did realise that tax in HK is higher than Spore and therefore I had to make sure that my salary will justify my move. So you have to work that out as well.