Tell me about your relo package...

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  1. #11

    Join Date
    Apr 2003
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    12,383

    The biggest soft issue is how much it would cost to replace your husband with a similarly qualified local person. Salary.Com and a fair number of the site use fairly standard cost of living analysis, which do not take this into concern.

    Then there is a trust and political factor -- if they trust your husband he can demand a lot more than what salary.com says. US based companies always like to have somone from the home office watching over and mediating over the overseas operations... and god knows the folks in the local offices need a headoffice person to keep the US folks at bay.

    Anyways, at the end of the day what matters is that the company is convinced that they will get a return on investment on the amount they spend... the comparative numbers are fairly meanless when it comes to ROI.


  2. #12
    inprov

    They want to send my husband because they believe that there is nobody else that they can trust and nobody else that really knows the ins and outs of this. They keep hiring employees and salespeople in China who run side businesses and are having all sorts of problems. My husband would be reorganizing things and hiring new people. He is married to his company and his boss is the President. He is the most loyal employee one could wish for and would not go to a competitor for even double his salary, out of sheer loyalty(which I equate with stupidity). He is 33 and has been with the company just about 10 years now, which says a lot.

    They have reservations about him going as he is really needed in the states. He thinks he can do much of his job from Asia and give off his local responsibilities to others. I hope they think he is worth it. He never asks for more and negotiates dow, which I also think is stupid, but he is a very smart businessman...


  3. #13

    Join Date
    May 2006
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    Siu Sai Wan
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    I have seen a husband and wife on salaries on US$90k each, plus full housing and schooling allowances. But after years of working, they have no assets, no savings, but enjoy their lifestyle. Money is not everything to everyone.

    In the end, you have to do what you feel is right. I am sure some people relocate to HK for no real apparent financial advantage.

    One thing that you shoudl not forget that HK/China has a culture that is very different from western culture. The culture is bigger an any one person - it cannot be changed. So people come to HK with good intentions, only to realise that thing are very different from their homeland.

    Just my two cents worth. Good luck with the negotiations....


  4. #14
    inprov

    Thank you for your input. We actually want to save money. We need to have some type of nest egg. I have been to Asia and am prepared for the culture shock and my husband has been a frequent traveler to Asia for many years. I am sure living there will be VERY different. I want new experiences for myself and my children.


  5. #15

    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    Fo Tan
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    Way late to this thread, but we are getting a cost of living adjustment, tax equalization, housing allowance, schooling, trips home, international medical insurance (good everywhere, including USA) and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have experiences that we would never have in the US. Make sure you get the insurance, schooling and housing and then plan some savings into your budget and then adjust your lifestyle to fit what is left.


  6. #16
    inprov

    Thanks Sleuth!
    I just forwarded this this to my husband!

    I am also wondering about housing allowances for our salary range.
    His company has never done this in Asia, so there is no precedent. I need some numbers to show them. Are 50k housing allowances for people with $2million HK salaries or for people like us?


  7. #17

    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    Admirality (Pacific Place)
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    Usually with a higher salary, comes a higher allowance - for all things, including housing. Based on $2million HKD, I would say a housing allowance at $50k is on the lower end; around $75k is more reasonable. This is simply based on what I have seen with offers within the financial services industry. Having said that, you can't expect to have the same housing as you would have in the US.


  8. #18
    inprov

    sorry, we are at about 1mil hkd per annum. What would a reasonable housing allowance be for us? (a family of 5) we are only going for a year or two. My husband says I cannot expect his company to pay for our house, even our realtor fees here in the States! This seems like BS to me!


  9. #19

    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    227

    Actually, it really depends on your industry and your company. A lot of what people have said so far is really geared towards the financial industry. Bankers often still get generous expat packages, but from what we've learned, many companies no longer offer such packages.

    My wife is in a similar position to your husband, I think. She's 33 and also makes around $1mil HKD/year. She works for a large company (think Microsoft, Google, etc.) and is moving to HK to fill a role that no one else can. In fact, they are quite desperate for her to get there ASAP. However, despite all this, they cannot offer her an expat package. She's getting a small (10%) or so raise, a relocation package, tax preparation, and a one time $40k HKD stipend. No tuition, no housing allowance. Some people we know from the same company have actually taken pay cuts to move to HK so we consider ourselves pretty lucky.

    We don't have kids so we dont need a larger apartment nor do we need tuition. Nevertheless, this is still not much of a package. Hope this provides a useful perspective.


  10. #20

    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Fo Tan
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    2,389

    I don't make HK$1 million and my housing allowance is HK$50,000. Our allowances were set with family size in mind also. With 1 child, my allowance isn't as big as the guy with 2 kids. Plus they pay all the deposits on the house which are equal to 3 months rent or so.
    Also, my company's relo package pays our realtor fees and will even buy the house (good thing since the Atlanta housing market died thi smonth).