85k a mth for family of 4

[Claire ex-ax]

Things you should check:

Tax deduction for housing (some companies are willing to do the paperwork necessary - nice saving if your employer does)

13th month payment (according to Chinese tradition, many companies do this, so ask. It's not just for locals )

[7jai]

Curious to ask this; is there another reason why you are moving from SG to HK, besides the promotion and the salary gains that come with it?

I would've thought SG and HK would be very similar - minus the crowds and the pollution lol

[Just8in]

Curious to ask this; is there another reason why you are moving from SG to HK, besides the promotion and the salary gains that come with it?

I would've thought SG and HK would be very similar - minus the crowds and the pollution lol

Actually it's mainly the promotion and not even salary gains from a nett family perspective. I guess the pull is because it is the next level that I have been working towards the last 5 years and now suddenly that it is available, putting everything in perspective, it doesn't seem like the best choice anymore. It's also opportunity lost/cost if I turn this down ie knowing that I may not get another chance like this anytime soon. Otherwise, I do know and feel it is family which should take precedence now. 5 years ago, I didn't have my 2 boys or the experience/maturity to take up this role either!

[Claire ex-ax]

How long with the posting in Hong Kong be for?

[Just8in]

How long with the posting in Hong Kong be for?

It would be a permanent relocation.

[Mat]

I liked it so much that I left ;-). And haven't been back. And don't intend to. There's a message there :-)

On a serious note, although I managed my asthma in HK by using stronger steroids (not something I particularly liked doing but needs must), healthwise I felt below par my entire time in HK yet felt much better within a few days of going anywhere else...including Singapore. My asthma is actually quite mild (or at least it was until I got to HK. I only needed steroids once in 20 years until I moved to HK when I ended up having to take them daily). I remember getting off a flight back to London and thinking "hmm, clean air!" That's when you know there's a problem with HK air pollution!!! I was a lot less healthy when I left HK compared to when I arrived.

I would be seriously concerned given the OP's wife already has a history of sickness when visiting HK.

hey Bibbju, I am not going to argue with you since I usually like your posts but as I recall you left more for work reason than for pollution reason. Pollution is a big thing in HK, I am not going to deny it at all, it is one of my main concern too..I just felt that you were comparing Apples and Oranges when you brought up Ontario in the mix...

Anyway as I said, we are not comparing HK to London or Ontario but to Singapore. I am sure as you said that HK is way more polluted than Ontario or London. It is also more polluted than Singapore but the difference is less stagering than versus Ontario.

[bibbju]

hey Bibbju, I am not going to argue with you since I usually like your posts but as I recall you left more for work reason than for pollution reason. Pollution is a big thing in HK, I am not going to deny it at all, it is one of my main concern too..I just felt that you were comparing Apples and Oranges when you brought up Ontario in the mix...

Anyway as I said, we are not comparing HK to London or Ontario but to Singapore. I am sure as you said that HK is way more polluted than Ontario or London. It is also more polluted than Singapore but the difference is less stagering than versus Ontario.

Deleted

[bibbju]

OP, looks like you're now leaning towards not taking this offer. Wish you all the very best.
@bibbju I just find it curious that you still hang around on geo that is about HK, whereas you left HK because you hated it and now happily settled back in a city of your choice that provides it all to you. Or may be they don't have any expat websites over there in London, is it? I mean let's be fair, you lived here for a short period of time, hardly an expert on the city and its life so it's not to impart your wisdom to the posters on here, nor you have any love for HK as far as I could see from your posting history that you'd want to hang on to this last link to HK... Why do you hang on here?
I am not trying to be offending or anything, just don't find things adding up here.

1) I don't consider 3 years a short time

2) I only post on threads where I have some relevant knowledge/experience

3) I have a lot of friends/connections still in HK and Geo helps me keep up-to-date.

4) I enjoy reading posts from some of the regulars as I find them quite entertaining.

But thanks for that. Time for me to delete the app.

[MandM!]

That's rough and you need to consider your wife and her feelings. It's 33 degrees everyday here, what is she going to do? HK can get lonely and boring for those not working and having a budget on money can make it difficult.

Groceries, do you eat a good portion of meat or light portion. When my helper cooks and with soup veggies 2 meats full meal it is easily $120 per meal. Don't forget lunch during the workweek. Nights out with colleagues and friends, happy hour, nice meals with the misses, late night taxi home now and then. It all adds up.

Yes you can live on it, but it isn't ideal. I would ask the company to provide a housing allowance otherwise it isn't worth it. That's my opinion, others will say differently.

And yes the air is bad for sensitive people. That's torture. Then you need to add medical coverage if not included at work.

[Cho-man]

Deleted - I am not in the best of moods today so this is best left unanswered.

Well I am not going to needle you if you are not in the mood. But I just find it hard to believe that DB is so unliveable as you say. I always see it as sort of residential fantasyland in HK far removed from the average apartment in HK. If you find even that area to be unliveable, there really is nowhere suitable in HK. One does wonder how other expats survive in HK if even DB is intolerable...