Cost of Living in HK - another perspective (and question!)

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  1. #1

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    Cost of Living in HK - another perspective (and question!)

    Hi All

    I'm a total newbie to this Forum - have literally registered 30 minutes ago

    A few weeks back, my company's office in HK has made me an offer to move there from the UK. They seem quite keen and even flew my wife and I over for a week to 'look around, and love it or hate it'. The job seems quite exciting for me and the family would consider the move (our kids are 18 and 15), however, understanding purchasing power of the salary offered is a real struggle...

    My question:
    Putting aside the costs of housing & schools (I already know these are high!), what monthly budget/disposable income a family of four with two grown teens would need in order to keep a decent standard of life in HK?

    I mean 'normal decent', not posh - we don't necessarily wear designer clothes all of the time and, as a family, are more in favour of staying together at home than going out six days a week. But we would like to be able to have nice holidays from time to time as well...

    We would most probably settle down in DB, because of the school for our daughter (WIS). My office would be in Wan Chai. Wife wouldn't start working/earning at least for some time.

    HK$20k a month budget/disposable income wouldn't be enough, I guess? But would 30k be? 50k? More?

    Any advice hugely appreciated.


  2. #2

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    Cost of living is somewhat subjective - some folks claim electricity bills of 10K a month but our household bill has never been over 1K. The heaviest burden can be school fees (and debentures) so make sure you get those covered.

    BTW, what will your son be doing? The dependent visa is only for spouses and dependent children up to the age of 18. Will he be looking for a university place here and thus apply for a study visa? Or will he remain in the UK?

    Last edited by Claire ex-ax; 12-01-2010 at 09:44 AM.

  3. #3

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    Posted in error - deleted.

    Last edited by PDLM; 12-01-2010 at 11:40 AM.

  4. #4

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    his/her unmarried dependent child under the age of 18
    ...........

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    Sorry - my mistake.


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    Mind you, according to the odd poster here some folks are, apparently, getting dependent visas well into their 20s, even though relatives don't live here. But I'm not much moved by hearsay.


  7. #7

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    That was the essence of my previous point - if you do get a Dependant Visa before you turn 18 then I think you're good to stay until you get PR, perhaps even in the absence of the original sponsor (although I'm less sure about the last bit).


  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by PJJ:

    HK$20k a month budget/disposable income wouldn't be enough, I guess? But would 30k be? 50k? More?
    As others said, it is really subjective. My wife and I (no children) usually use less than 7K per month, even though we eat outside quite often.

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    That was the essence of my previous point - if you do get a Dependant Visa before you turn 18 then I think you're good to stay until you get PR, perhaps even in the absence of the original sponsor (although I'm less sure about the last bit).
    Thanks Everyone for your prompt response - much appreciated.

    To be precise, our son will turn 18 in mid April, which is when my company want me to start in HK, so I would expect them to organise for Visas for the family before that, i.e. before we arrive in HK. It's going to be a bit more complicated, though: he has to finish his A-level exams still in the UK, so effectively could join us in HK in June/July... But in essence, Dependant Visa is what we would be seeking for our son.

    Back to the main subject: I fully appreciate that 'cost of living' standard is very subjective... We are just trying to understand what sort of a 'standard' specific monthly budget (i.e. HK$10k, 20k, etc.) is going to buy us. How about direct comparison to our disposable income here in the UK? Would using the GBP/HKD exchange rate be any good to arrive at sensible conclusions? Or, are we better off using the US Department of Defence COLA index to compare London and Hong Kong? (a bit crazy idea, I know...).

  10. #10

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    i think 20-30k disposable should be good enough for basic (i.e. some western food out, holidays nearby, etc.)


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