Monthly budget - Advice Needed

[Happy Chappy]

Hi all. We will be moving to Hong Kong very soon and are trying to get some sort of idea on a monthly budget.
I have put together some rough estimates below.
Should the numbers be out or if we missed any items, we would greatly appreciate any input from some seasoned Hong Kongers !!!
Thanks in advance !!!

Rent 35000
Food. 5000
Utilities. 1000
Internet. 300
Phones 500
Pay TV. 250
Transport 520
Petrol 800
Taxis. 250
Dinner 4000

Total 47620

[WMDS]

Mostly good, but a couple of points. BTW where are you coming from? UK?

Renting an apartment, need 3 and half months up front. 2 months deposit, 1 month rent up front and 1/2 month agency fees.

Also taxes, its not PAYE, you have to stash some money asides for annual tax bill.

Transportation costs, depends where you are living and place of work.

[Happy Chappy]

Thanks for that. Coming from Perth. Aim is to stay somewhere on South Lantau island as we prefer the country site to the city. Also work at the airport, so I guess that should be ok if one gets a car.
I was thinking that the amount for food might be a bit little !!!

[Natfixit]

Original Post Deleted

Permit, I am not sure of the cost but I know that you need to apply with full proof of residence at least three months prior. Costs of food...closest is Mui Wo or Tung Chung. I used it head out to the Sham Shui Po wet market. Best bet is to buy a car, although parking spaces are highly competed for, which has resulted in residents renting or buying car park spaces ( at a premium, although our landlord gave us ours included in our rent.)

BTW! You will need a permit or face a fine. Regular checks are made not only at the start of the entrance to the restricted permit road but also along south Lantau Rd towards Mui Wo and also towards Tai O from Shui Hau. And also regular drink driving breath tests....

My husband was travelling a hell of a lot, so being near the airport helped. In our village, there were mostly pilots and airport workers, namely in IT! Engineering, catering and air traffic control. One of my friends is in air traffic control and lives in Tong Fuk. There is an airport bus ( A35) , but their is mainly for airport workers, however there are many buses that go to the airport. Taxis..depends. I have had trouble getting one to Mui Wo ferry but to the airport not worries. If you can get a ride share, great. I worked in Quarry Bay/ Central so the ferry was great, or bus to TC then MTR, also good, if horribly crowded during early peak hours. Anyway, on South Lantau, there is a great community. If you are on FB, I suggest joining Mui Wo To Tai O Families. Loads of activities to do. ( I am trying to convince my husband to allow me to fly back to assist again at Moontrekker this year. But I am also to go back again to work temporarily for my former employer.)

[MandM!]

Rent 35000
Food. 5000
Utilities. 1000
Internet. 300
Phones 500
Pay TV. 250
Transport 520
Petrol 800
Taxis. 250
Dinner 4000

Total 47620

I would say Food is WAY too low. Budget closer to 10k is more realistic. And more if you need western food everyday.

Utilities again is low but for the entire year might be an appropriate average. My electric bill easily 3-4k in the summer.

Internet is 100-200 per month. Bundle with pay TV perhaps $300-500/month total

Phone could be cheaper depends on the speed you need (100/month cheap, $400-600/month faster, per line)

Transport -- depends where you are going

Petrol -- that's a bit low and depends on what kind of car you have and how often you use it. Using it weekends only I would budget for 1500-2000. I imagine you will explore and drive further distances (Sai Kung, south island, etc.) Also take into consideration parking.

Taxi -- again a bit low

Dinner -- ok, but depends where you want to eat. 4k doesn't cover one dinner at many of the nicer restaurants in hk

[dentarthurdent]

{...}
I would say Food is WAY too low. Budget closer to 10k is more realistic. And more if you need western food everyday.
{...}
Utilities again is low but for the entire year might be an appropriate average. My electric bill easily 3-4k in the summer.
{...}
Dinner -- ok, but depends where you want to eat. 4k doesn't cover one dinner at many of the nicer restaurants in hk

I guess this is a case of cutting your cloth to fit your means!

But food for two (I assume) for a month is indeed likely to be $10K unless you go very local/cheap.

On the other hand, so far this summer my electricity bill hasn't exceeded $800/month (and I'm retired and home much of the time). In months without need of aircon it is normally in the HK$80-200 range for a 700sq.ft net apartment. The total for the last 12 months is around HK$6000.

And spending more than $4K on a meal is only possible in a very few restaurants - they are not places that normal people would eat. For a decent standard western meal you could budget $500/head, plus drinks. Living on South Lantau I suspect you will be spending that quite often at The Gallery in Tong Fuk!

[Happy Chappy]

Thanks everybody for your input !!! Gives us a good idea !!! Cant wait to get. there !!

[Elegiaque]

Hi, some things need adjusted specifically for South Lantau. Going over the pass may require more petrol (it's ~300 metres climb).

There is an airport bus ( A35) , but their is mainly for airport workers, however there are many buses that go to the airport.

This is a bit confusing. From South Lantau there is only one bus that goes to the airport, A35, directly, and it has a very erratic schedule and is infrequent. There are many other buses that go to Tung Chung where you can change to an airport bus. On weekends, however, South Lantau fills up and so do the buses, so then transportation can be very difficult.

You will need to apply for a permit to drive on Lantau after you can show proof of residency, so this takes some time and don't freak out when you cannot immediately drive on Lantau the day you move in! Plan to not have a car for the first month or two.

The Facebook group Natfixit recommended can better answer your questions and your budget questions. For the internet, the service will be extremely poor and possibly more than your budget. But mobile phones are cheaper than your budget. For taxis, too, if you're taking one to get out of South Lantau to Tung Chung or further, you're looking at over $100/journey.

[UK/HKboy]

I recently started using one of those budgeting apps to check how much i was spending, and i'm averaging about HK$ 11-12k each month (gonna break the 10k barrier soon ).

This doesn't include rent and tax, but includes all bills, food, transport, going out etc. I am living on my own, so you will expect to pay double on some aspects such as food and transport, whereas some bills may be shared. I also own my place, so also include management fees, government rent, land rates etc. in bills, which you probably wont have.

i would expect you can get a nice place in south lantau for less than 35k but, as a note, food takes up over 4k of my budget (i normally eat out for lunch and maybe 2 or 3 dinners a week) for just 1 person.

It is possible to eat conservatively. most local restaurants have dinner sets for about $50 each, and in cooked food markets, there is usually place where you get a rice tray with 2 or 3 items for about $40. This is great if you cannot read Chinese as you can just point to what you want instead of going to more expensive restaurants for the English menus.

[Happy Chappy]

You are right. Doesn't have to be Wiener schnitzel every day !!!!! haha !!! Eating local can be exiting and cheaper !!!
After having looked around some online shopping sites I think 10K a moths for food is better then my original 5K.
If you guys say a dinner is about 500 HK $ a head that seems a lot !!! Thats about 90 Aus dollars !! Even for Perth thats on the high side.
So if one goes out about 2-3 times a week that would be about 12K - seems high !!!!