5 youngsters, a wife and him. He's going to need a higher budget on helpers than his current 20k housing budget. At least 3 helpers imo.
Yes true he doesn't need a car, but how are 5 kids getting to school everyday? Maybe I forgot there is a bus. Someone had mentioned that he could get a car, so if OP does, he should be aware of the expenses. It isn't the $1.99/gallon petrol and $80 annual license fees like it is in the states.
Cultural shock. Umm, I'm American and yes, MOST Americans can not cope with this type of change. Geez, I have millions of examples. There are some exceptions but I see lots of complaining ahead. I guess there are some European countries that are picking up a presence here that are very set in their ways too.
20k budget on HK side, here comes a studio. Bunk bed up and have a curtain for your office. If you're lucky you can get a 2 foot by 2 foot balcony and put a small table out there to work when it's loud inside. Hopefully they aren't building any new buildings nearby.
Sheesh. Its already been clarified they wouldn't need to live on hk island. In Mui Wo (or other islands) it's possible to get around on bicycles, and I wouldn't think there's issues with triads either (correct me if I'm wrong). Though I'll admit I don't know about the school situations.
If the wife is interested, she could consider (perhaps down the road) teaching English.
Learning Chinese natively could be a huge advantage for the children long-term.
Wow, this thread definitely became active overnight. I should clarify that I'm also generally considered insane in the US.
Thanks for the advice everyone. This thread does give some good insight into the issues of daily living in HK.
It seems that just as in the States, people have wildly varying ideas of what's liveable with 5 kids. There are people out here that say you can do it just fine on $2k USD/mo and people who say you'll be miserable without $20k/mo. For us, the truth is in the middle. I think most people actually just end up adjusting to whatever circumstances they have and normalizing on that, but as several posters have pointed out, making an overnight change from the US where we have 3k sq ft, speak the local language, have cars, and going to a place that is the opposite of that and also several times more expensive is probably going to be too much out of the gate.
Moving forward, I think bringing the wife and kids is off the table for the first little while, at least until I personally know the area better. I may have to make it a series of extended trips and see if I can find a local partner or affiliate, as one poster suggested. Need the time to help my wife feel better about things before moving. The universal insistence that she'll lose it if she's reluctant has convinced me that it's not something she'll adapt to easily.
Thanks again all. This has been a good thread.
Last edited by wacpol; 04-11-2015 at 01:56 AM.
In summary . . .
Is it possible to make a decent life for you and your family given the circumstances you described. YES, according to a minority of posters who have replied.
Is it probably you'll make a decent life for you and your family given the circumstances you described? NO, according to a majority of posters who have replied.
Is it advisable you make this jump? HELL NO. According to just about every poster who has replied.