Moving from London to HK

[Twizbe]

Hi,
I am in the process at the moment for an internal transfer with my company to HK. Nothing is confirmed yet, but I wanted to start some research just in case.

I am 29 and would be moving over with my husband. He lived in HK as a child (pre 97) and we have been once on holiday in May 09.

We loved the city when we went which is one of the reasons I am going after this transfer, but I have a couple of questions.

Nothing has been said about a relocation package, but I want an idea ready for any negotiations, what, if anything, have other companies offered?

My current salary is £40k and I would not be prepared to take a dip on salary. I am a recruiter (in house not agency) so any ideas what I might expect?

We own our house in the UK (no mortgage) so would intend to use rental income from that to help pay rent which I think will be around 23K HK$ a month we can of course suppliment that with our wages. Is that enough to get somewhere 'decent'.

Husband works in finance as an account manager. Ideally he would transfer with his company but if not possible what is the job market like at the moment?

Any other hints or tips on things to research before we go too far along the process. We would both love to come out, but I want to make sure it is the right decision for both of us.

Many thanks

[bak875]

Sounds like you'll be set in HK. Try and get the 13th salary, which is intended to cover tax.

[kimwy66]

When my husband was seconded to Hong Kong from UK, his HK salary was 70% more than his UK salary. I guess it depends how in-demand your skills are in HK, - hubby is in civil engineering, and they can't get enough staff with all the projects going on in Asia.

We got HKD$70,000 for relocation, flights for the family, 2 months serviced apartment accommodation, with daily food allowance for the family. Medical insurance for the family also - do check the fine print on that, some policies here are a bit on the mean side.

If there are no children involved then you won't need to worry about negotiating a company debenture or school fees If there are, sort this out before anything. Getting kids into international schools is a bit of a nightmare without company help, and even with it isn't easy.

I would expect to get significantly more than a UK salary in Hong Kong, even with the more favourable tax situation here. We wouldn't have come if it hadn't have been the case. As it is now, we can't look to move back to UK, the salaries there seem so tiny in comparison as hubby jumped up the promotions table by leaps shortly after arriving.

If you don't mind living outside the main areas, 23,000 + some supplement would get you somewhere nice to live - CWB, Sai Kung you could get 2-3 floors of a village house, roof top, garden etc. And Sai Kung town is nice, bit more relaxed than Island Mid-levels, but coming from London you might like the more crowded side of life... or you might want to get away from it. Not sure what that would get you on the island interms of size of apartment.

[Claire ex-ax]

You may have to accept that you won't be offered a relocation package, and instead will be employed on 'local terms'.

[Twizbe]

Thank you for the advice.

We don't have children so that is not something we need to consider. I am not clear what the relo package would be yet so I will make sure to read the fine print on that one.

We live in the suburbs of London now, but I would be up for living more central. We would be going to experience the life there so being 'in the thick of it' would be more preferable.

Still a lot of weigh up - not least the fact that I have heard the manager I would work for is nuts!

[kimwy66]

You may have to accept that you won't be offered a relocation package, and instead will be employed on 'local terms'.

Our move was only 3 years ago, and the terms are still standard with his company.

Getting people to come on relocation packages is difficult enough, coming on local terms just wouldn't attract the staff needed. Hubby is always moaning about what he has to offer to get people to come to Hong Kong.

[Claire ex-ax]

Our move was only 3 years ago, and the terms are still standard with his company.

Getting people to come on relocation packages is difficult enough, coming on local terms just wouldn't attract the staff needed. Hubby is always moaning about what he has to offer to get people to come to Hong Kong.

I omitted "much of".

Some people don't want to move. Some people don't want to move to Hong Kong. Some people don't want to move with their company.

The OP is happy to move to Hong Kong with her company, if she's on a comparable salary. The rest is icing.

[Fiona in HKG]

Sounds like you'll be set in HK. Try and get the 13th salary, which is intended to cover tax.

At managerial level, few still pay this. We are expected to earn a performance bonus, not have annual salary split into 13 payments instead of 12!

[kimwy66]

At managerial level, few still pay this. We are expected to earn a performance bonus, not have annual salary split into 13 payments instead of 12!

Indeed, my husband gets a bonus based on the performance of the office. He got the 13th month deal 13 years ago when he was here last though. It depends on the company, but I think the culture of automatic bonuses is fading.

[bibbju]

I guess it depends on the industry. OP doesn't mention what industry she recruits in.

Two years ago, I was headhunted in France and offered my role in HK. I took a paycut (of approx HKD 300k p.a.) to come to HK (yes, I REALLY wanted the job - and I was extremely well paid for my level in Europe). My employer offered a limited relocation package: one way flight (Business), 6 weeks serviced apartment, paid for shipping container (up to a certain size...turned out to be quite small so just as well as wasn't planning on bringing furniture), that was pretty much it. I'm on a local contract. It was the same for colleagues who moved out both before and after me (although married people got a bigger shipping allowance) and this is very much the norm for my company (global well known financial institution).

In Finance there is no shortage of people who want to work in HK. There are coming out of our ears. So don't expect a salary uplift in this field (unless you're already poorly paid and/or exceedingly lucky).

Unlike some expats, I'm not in HK for the money. I came for the experience of working in a very different culture, and the opportunity to travel around Asia.

As for where to live, I have always lived centrally in London (apart from my "early" working years in Highgate, East Finchley, West Hampstead & East Croydon) and still own my flat in E1. E1 is noisy, dirty and busy (pretty much 24/7) so adjusting to living centrally in HK wasn't an issue for me. It may be harder if you're used to living in suburban London so suggest you get a feel for HK when you arrive before deciding. Before moving, I had all sorts of plans to live somewhere "further out" and not have the classic expat lifestyle (live in DB or Midlevels etc). After a few weeks in my serviced apartment in Midlevels, I was freaking out at how "suburban" it was compared to what I was used to in London, and ended up moving to Soho (Noho really). Noise-wise it's much quieter than what I'm used to (which is good!) but I am used to pretty much living surrounded by sirens, helicopters etc so probably anywhere except the Gaza Strip would seem quieter. But there are a LOT more people and it can get annoying after a while if you're trying to get anywhere fast as people here move so slowly compared to London. Patience is required although I do confess to letting the occasional "oh for f***'s sake" slip out.