Monthly budget check

[Curious George]

Hi all,

we are considering moving from Europe to HK and are currently checking the numbers. Instead of however asking if the envisioned salary is enough, since that is rather difficult to answer due to subjectivity, I researched the forum and made a budget. We are a couple (one working, other one will start looking once we arrive), mid 30s, and the closest MTR to work will be Kowloon. We try to always budget more conservatively and rather have left-over budget instead of the other way.

Many kind thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

Apartment	30,000
Utilities	2,000
Transportation	4,000
Internet, TV, Phone	1,500
Eating out (incl. lunch)	4,000
Groceries	7,500
Leisure	4,500
Insurances	6,000
Fitness et al	3,000
TOTAL	62,500

[Cheeky Kiwi]

Utilities could be 2/3 less

Transportation could be half that if you only use the MTR and buses

Internet,TV,Phone could be 1/3 less

[Curious George]

Thank you DeletedUser for the valuable tip on locations to live !

[aw451]

Eating out is likely to be more expensive. The reason being that in HK we tend to work quite late and you're not likely to have time to cook, especially if both are working.

Lunch can be as low as $50 / day / person if you eat cheap local food and same with dinner but that would quickly make you sick. Eating out for special occasions will set you back at least $500 / p

[Curious George]

Thanks aw451! Would you say a total budget of 11,500 (Eating out + Groceries) would still be sufficient, just increasing the one for the other, or would the total food budget need to be increased?

[Sith]

Thanks aw451! Would you say a total budget of 11,500 (Eating out + Groceries) would still be sufficient, just increasing the one for the other, or would the total food budget need to be increased?

Depends how much you drink
Going out can be expensive. Your groceries should be fine if you do cook at home.

Don’t you get health insurance from work? If so you can bring that down to like a few thousand a year (e.g. home insurance)

I assume you are married? Otherwise it’s more difficult for your partner to find a job (will need a separate sponsorship)

[Blowfish]

I say closer to 18k if you enjoy going out, want to get closer to the standards of food in your home country etc. I severly underestimated the food bill coming here. Anything you dont spend you save! But its all subjective, many get by on alot less!

[dinosaurs88]

Apartment	30,000
Utilities	1,000 (electricity, water, gas)
Transportation	2,000 (if you don't use taxis all the time)
Internet, TV, Phone	300 , 200
Eating out (incl. lunch)	4,000
Groceries	7,500
Leisure	4,500
Insurances	6,000 (way too high. Doesn't your company provide)
Fitness et al	3,000
TOTAL	For insurance, you can pay about $2,000 for outpatient doctor that has about unlimited visits to GP. You need to buy private insurance for in patient.

[Cornmeal]

Original Post Deleted

I think this sounds quite reasonable. We spend less than this, way out in the villages, and ours includes the running cost of a used car as well.

If you want quality groceries and don't want to buy from a bunch of different places it can be quite expensive, especially if you like nice beers and wine. Dropped $1000 just today for 12 beer, bottle of wine, some canned goods, dairy, fresh pasta and a few other basics.

Unless you need HD youtube or Spotify all the time when you're out you can pay as little as $88/m for phone with 6gbs....

[Curious George]

Thank you everyone! It is extremely helpful getting your insights!
We (my wife and I) only ever drink when we out with friends, which seeing that we will be new will take some time probably
At the moment we cook almost every night but I do understand that this is different in HK. We do however love to grill so if possible once a week we would want to throw some meat on the grill. Do most condos, like in Singapore, have BBQ pits?
Regarding insurances, yes my potential employer does have insurance, but looking at the policy I am not sure it is enough. Major surgical benefits are capped at 60,000 for example and I read going to public hospitals has become very difficult as the waiting times are extremely long.So I checked some international insurances and they would cost around EUR200-300 pp. But to be honest, we usually are over insured and this might be something we should look into deeper