Banks, Locations & Furniture!

[lanre]

hi all,

I'm sure these questions have been posed before but I've had a look through the forums and so far haven't found a satisfactory answer, so please bear with me.

i'm moving to HK at the end of the month, from Ireland, though I'm from UK. I will be working on a local contract, so will be paid locally in HKD, and will have no housing allowance.

I am trying to decide on a whole host of things, the main ones are:

Bank: what bank should I join when I move? I am torn between HSBC (I've seen a lot of people complain about their service), standard chartered or any other suggestions? I've accounts in UK and IE so will need some easy and cheap facility to transfer money between those countries, at least UK

Locations: I'm 34 year old single guy, so I've decided it's best to live on the island. Any suggestions on where? I've been told to focus on Mid levels central. My budget is MAX HKD30k per month, and would prefer a high floor modern 2 bed apartment

Furniture: I am trying to decide whether to move my furniture over, or to get rid of it and either get a furnished apartment, or buy furniture when I'm there. I've got chunky furniture (and a very old & heavy 63-inch plasma TV!) so unsure if I'll get an apartment big enough

Would be very grateful for your thoughts on the above.

Thanks!!

[cookie09]

Bank: take HSBC, easiest to get started, has all online

Locations: mid-levels central if you like to go out, else also consider Sheung Wan, Tin Hau or Happy Valley

Furniture: chuck everything you have and buy here (except if you have a shipping allowance)

[dipper]

Banks:
They're much of a muchness. An HSBC Premier account will allow you to make overseas transactions to other HSBC accounts without incurring fees but I'm sure other banks have similar arrangements.

Locations:
Contrary to your suggestion there are in fact no gender, age or marital status based residency restrictions that would necessitate you living on HK side but you would be perfectly free to live there should you so wish.

If you have a burning desire to rid yourself of HK$30k a month on rental then Mid-levels would be ideal for that purpose. For a similar amount you could of course purchase your own place in Hong Kong in a slightly less expensive area or alternatively, spend HK$10k per month and put HK$20k per month in the bank in order to purchase your own dwelling upon returning to your home country. Your choices are many and varied in our fair city.

Furniture: As I have intimated before, it is in my experience much easier, cheaper and less time-consuming to purchase furniture to fit an apartment than to purchase an apartment to fit your furniture.

[lanre]

thanks for the advice guys.

Two things I should've added to my original post:

Firstly, my company will cover moving costs, so if I decide to ship my furniture it won't cost me anything. The main issue is more around whether or not I can find a suitable apartment for my stuff, and based on the feedback so far, a clean slate might be a better idea.

Secondly, I am getting 2 months of serviced accommodation when I arrive, allowing me time to explore and decide. I really just wanted to get people's opinion primarily on the whole Kowloon vs Island debate, cos I'm really struggling to decide on which area to focus on.

Thanks again!

[bibbju]

Same response.

HSBC
Central or Sheung Wan
Leave the furniture behind

[blueagles]

Same response.

HSBC
Central or Sheung Wan
Leave the furniture behind

+1 ..........

[Mat]

hi all,

I'm sure these questions have been posed before but I've had a look through the forums and so far haven't found a satisfactory answer, so please bear with me.

i'm moving to HK at the end of the month, from Ireland, though I'm from UK. I will be working on a local contract, so will be paid locally in HKD, and will have no housing allowance.

I am trying to decide on a whole host of things, the main ones are:

Bank: what bank should I join when I move? I am torn between HSBC (I've seen a lot of people complain about their service), standard chartered or any other suggestions? I've accounts in UK and IE so will need some easy and cheap facility to transfer money between those countries, at least UK

Locations: I'm 34 year old single guy, so I've decided it's best to live on the island. Any suggestions on where? I've been told to focus on Mid levels central. My budget is MAX HKD30k per month, and would prefer a high floor modern 2 bed apartment

Furniture: I am trying to decide whether to move my furniture over, or to get rid of it and either get a furnished apartment, or buy furniture when I'm there. I've got chunky furniture (and a very old & heavy 63-inch plasma TV!) so unsure if I'll get an apartment big enough

Would be very grateful for your thoughts on the above.

Thanks!!

Where is your office?

[lanre]

Where is your office?

Office is in central, near Jardine house.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using GeoClicks Mobile

[Mat]

Office is in central, near Jardine house.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using GeoClicks Mobile

Okay then Midlevels, Sheung Wan, Kennedy Town, Wanchai, Causeway Bay.

[imparanoic]

65" led tv are only HK$30000 nowadays (freeview digital not compatible in HK - dtmb standard here not europe standard dvb-t), maybe more features than your old TV, plus the fact plasma require calibriation and regassing after 5 years, very expensive in HK