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Did your household expense drop since you left HK ?

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  1. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by chuckster007:
    I think @CharSiuNow wanted to post the below here but he/she posted in the their own HK to SgP travel question post lol
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  2. #22

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    Imports from Europe will be considerably higher, Especially with those clueless Tory government in charge of negotiations

  3. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by DimSumBond:
    I'm sure your diet was and still is rubbish, mate.

    Just can't take anyone who compares price and quality between Hong Kong and Tokyo seriously. There is no comparison and to eat the same quality of food in Hong Kong as you would in Tokyo would cost at least double in Hong Kong... and that's even if you can find something of the same quality.

    Just stop making yourself look foolish. Believe it or not, some people have high standards in not only food, but people they live with and sleep with.
    I have to agree with you on that. Everyone who comments that food in HK is cheaper than the U.S or UK is probably eating shitty spam and instant noodles at some hole in the wall down the street. Eating or even cooking proper food in HK costs at least twice as much as back home.

  4. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by mrgoodkat:
    I have to agree with you on that. Everyone who comments that food in HK is cheaper than the U.S or UK is probably eating shitty spam and instant noodles at some hole in the wall down the street. Eating or even cooking proper food in HK costs at least twice as much as back home.
    Hmmm...not necessarily the case. There is reasonably healthy food in HK that doesn't cost that much. It all depends on what you are looking for specifically.

  5. #25

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    My food bills aren't much cheaper when I'm in France, but we eat a much wider range of food, and I tend to shop locally at the village butcher or fruit & vege weekly market which puts the price up. Can't beat a fillet slab of Limousin beef, but even in Limousin it's expensive.

    Electricity is more expensive, but as it's a large house we have 3 phase power which costs. Until last summer I was happy with no air con costs, but we got a mobile unit after the first heatwave, just in time for the second when it hit 42C. Heating is free except for labour of felling and chopping up trees, if you don't take into account the huge cost for installing a new eco heating system.

    Anything that requires a tradesman is crazy expensive. If you can get them to turn up.

    Water is a lot more expensive.

    Property taxes, holy fuck, ditto house insurance.

    All worth it for the fresh air, blue skies and absence of HK-induced stresses.

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  6. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coolboy:
    Hmmm...not necessarily the case. There is reasonably healthy food in HK that doesn't cost that much. It all depends on what you are looking for specifically.
    If you want to eat non-Chinese meat to cook at home, it is very expensive. I'm not even talking about organic, just imported frozen chicken and meat is 2x the price compared to the US or UK. Here it costs HKD 50 for a pack of chicken wings from Thailand. In London I'd pay GBP 3-4 for a basic pack of wings from Sainsbury's.
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  7. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by kimwy66:
    Water is a lot more expensive.

    Property taxes, holy fuck, ditto house insurance.

    All worth it for the fresh air, blue skies and absence of HK-induced stresses.
    True, water in HK is dirt cheap and back home they also charge sewage fees. Electricity is cheaper in HK, but because of better insulation we are using less power at home.
    I'm paying about 5 times as much for home contents insurance here in HK than back home with a roughly similar limit. $9900 HKD vs 220 EUR per year.
    Property taxes are less than rates + management fees here.
    Car insurance is about equal, but cars are obviously way cheaper and there are no tunnel tolls.
    Food is cheaper and you can get much better quality stuff right from a farm.
    Tradesmen are expensive, but way way better than in HK. People back home take pride in their trade and are trying to do a perfect job whereas in HK they just wanna charge you money for a job that's usually way worse than if I'd do it myself. I'll bet you there is not one flat in HK where corners are actually 90 degrees and straight all the way from top to bottom. Bump into a wall here or try to peel off some tape and the paint and plaster comes off, won't ever happen back home.

  8. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by DimSumBond:
    If your household expenses are higher outside of Hong Kong, you are not doing it right.
    A bit of a blanket statement. Water, Electricity, Gas are far more expensive in the UK and you have to have heating on 6 months of the year minimum - more often than not 7 or 8 months.

    Transport costs way more expensive (obviously excepting running a car in HK)

  9. #29

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    Biggest expense for most is housing and it's very difficult to move to a more expensive housing market than HK. Even after five years back in the U.S. I still marvel at how cheap food is at the grocery store.

    The total expenses are FAR less in the U.S. (even in an expensive city like L.A.) however, the expat package picked up a fair portion of cost.

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  10. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by mrgoodkat:
    True, water in HK is dirt cheap and back home they also charge sewage fees. Electricity is cheaper in HK, but because of better insulation we are using less power at home.
    I'm paying about 5 times as much for home contents insurance here in HK than back home with a roughly similar limit. $9900 HKD vs 220 EUR per year.
    Property taxes are less than rates + management fees here.
    Car insurance is about equal, but cars are obviously way cheaper and there are no tunnel tolls.
    Food is cheaper and you can get much better quality stuff right from a farm.
    Tradesmen are expensive, but way way better than in HK. People back home take pride in their trade and are trying to do a perfect job whereas in HK they just wanna charge you money for a job that's usually way worse than if I'd do it myself. I'll bet you there is not one flat in HK where corners are actually 90 degrees and straight all the way from top to bottom. Bump into a wall here or try to peel off some tape and the paint and plaster comes off, won't ever happen back home.
    I think on the whole it is comparing apples and oranges. In France we live completely differently, space, land, quality of life we can't have here. Compare any country there will be pluses and minuses in costs, quality is more important to me. We could certainly live much cheaper in France, but chose not to buy a neat little house with a bit of a back garden.

    As for tradesmen, I have plenty of experience of french artisans and tradesmen here. A plague on all their houses is my only comment, otherwise I'd be typing a full-length book on my views. Thank god for Youtube DIY videos.
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