Aussie making a move... concerns about salary package!

[LionelHutz]

I've just done salary negotiations myself. If you are going from A$100k to HK$1.1m that sounds about right; its about the same ratio as my "conversion".

Bear in mind if they are working it out in AUD that the dollar is super high right now; not to say it won't stay there or increase but historically it tends to be a 5-6 HKD instead of 8.

I sat down and did a spreadsheet trying to assess what I live on in Australia and what expenses are likely to be in HK. Some things are less, some are more. A good site is numbeo.com; you can compare the relative cost of living in any two cities.

[bibbju]

I'm not sure if this helps or not but I'm a Senior Business Analyst - currently in consulting - and I'm at the latter stages of the recruitment process for a role in HK (I'm currently employed in the UK) and the salary my prospective employer looks like offering is HKD 1.1 million. I've been told that this is the maximum they'll pay as they (allegedly) do lots of market surveys and they say that is the top end of the going rate in HK. I take all this with a pinch of salt but they do have a reputation for attracting staff from rival companies so I don't think they could do this if they paid under the market rate. That's the argument they're giving me anyway!

Note that this potential offer is for a Senior BA in Banking rather than Consultancy. My current employer (global consultancy) offered me HKD 800k to move internally to HK. I said not enough cash and they upped it to 900k but I turned that down too. So, it seems to be that 1.1m is most likely a decent offer for Consultancy in HK but only you can really decide if its enough for you.

Also to add, both of the offers I've quoted above are paycuts compared to my London salary - but it seems to me that the experience of working in HK would be worth it (as long as the paycut isn't too much of a mickey-take).

Hope this helps!

[PDLM]

You do understand that in HK your tax rate will be 15% vs well over double that in the UK?

[TheBrit]

But don't forget to add in the stealth tax of huge housing costs which keeps salary tax low. If you figure in a similar standard of accommodation as you have in London the tax differential narrows sharply.

[bibbju]

You do understand that in HK your tax rate will be 15% vs well over double that in the UK?

Yep, even with the much better tax regime in HK, its still a pay cut for me. To be on a par with my UK salary after tax, I would need to get almost HKD 1.4m gross. And that's ignoring the lower holiday allowance, longer working hours in HK etc etc

And of course with HK accommodation costs, my net disposable income is going to a be a LOT less. But its not all about the money....its still a decent salary and the opportunity to work in HK is pretty amazing so I think its probably worth taking the financial hit.

[dipper]

Actually housing costs in central London are not that dissimilar to HK. Of course if you're talking about what you'd get in the outskirts (somewhere like Croydon or something) or commuting from the suburbs (say Woking for example) then yes HK's much more expensive, but in HK terms that would be the equivalent of living across the border in China anyway

[virago]

My friend the other day that used to live in HK complained to me that when she arrived that the cost of a decent hotel was $500-$600 US. I just calmly explained to her that in Kowloon you can get a good hotel for $150 US and you need to get out of the clouds.

What has that got to do with what we are talking about? Well nothing but costs in HK are much cheaper than London (besides rents), lifestyle is comparable if not better, tax is between 12-15%, no sales tax, gateway to asia, you can get a live in house keeper/cook for $500 US a month.

Gone are the days when HK expats were getting obscene pay. Yes, you still hear of some but they are getting less and less. Anyway even if you come for a year or two it's good for your resume as well as gaining world experience and you could find a better position getting the equivalent you are really after.

[TheBrit]

Actually housing costs in central London are not that dissimilar to HK.

I don't think that is correct. There is a much wider, higher quality selection of housing in central parts of London. The first place I ever bought in the UK - which I still have - is a 3 bed place 3 stops from Liverpool St station on the Tube. I don't know the exact size (!) but it has two huge bedrooms, a smaller one and a big lounge I would imagine it is around 1700-2000 sq feet. It is certainly much bigger than my "1250 sq foot" place here.

I rent this out for 1250 quid a month, 25 minute commute to the City. All done up nicely and overlooking a park.

Where could I rent a similarly sized and located place in HK for 16k?

[dipper]

2 floors of a village house in Tsing Yi, perhaps? 20 mins from Central, only 1400ft but with the significant advantage of not being in Mile End