Moving to HK for Work ~ Understanding Taxation

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  1. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by kbc28:
    I'm also going to be working in Causeway Bay area - can anyone recommend a good place to rent? for hopefully under 8K a month? I would initially be living with family literally by the border of China in Lo Wu, NT but this is not going to be doable in the long run because of the sheer distance.

    I heard anything on the island will be expensive but have also heard that Kowloon is even more! Ideally anything less than 40 minutes is preferable for commute.

    Is my budget realistic?
    Plenty of people do commute in from the distant New Territories to Hong Kong Island. In my own team I have commuters from Fanling, Ma O Shan, Wu Kai Sha and Yuen Long, amongst others. The popular option seems to be to get the bus (can get a seat and sleep). For Causeway Bay, a lot of folks seem to take the MTR to Hung Hom and then transfer to a bus.

    I'm sure you must realise 8K a month is very tight and you will need to make compromises in terms of location, space, condition of apartment etc. A half-decent flat share should be possible for that price.

  2. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by kbc28:
    Another question - since I will need to regularly setup transfers between Hong Kong and UK to cover my mortgage and bills, is there a recommended Bank to setup in HK to do this?

    I have HSBC in UK, but was told that HSBC in HK aren't the banks many people go for over there? It's just I don't want to be hit with fees constantly.
    Many Hong Kongers bank with HSBC (and their sister bank Hang Seng) here in Hong Kong - I do myself. It's just that their systems and processes seem to be stuck in the 1980s and while the staff are generally pretty helpful, getting even straightforward tasks done seems to be quite hard work. Transfers between HSBC Premier accounts worldwide are 'free' but the exchange rates aren't always as good as through other channels. It might also be worth considering Citibank.

  3. #13

    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    30
    Quote Originally Posted by Scousebanana:
    Plenty of people do commute in from the distant New Territories to Hong Kong Island. In my own team I have commuters from Fanling, Ma O Shan, Wu Kai Sha and Yuen Long, amongst others. The popular option seems to be to get the bus (can get a seat and sleep). For Causeway Bay, a lot of folks seem to take the MTR to Hung Hom and then transfer to a bus.

    I'm sure you must realise 8K a month is very tight and you will need to make compromises in terms of location, space, condition of apartment etc. A half-decent flat share should be possible for that price.
    Maybe I will try that, could be a long journey time though right? 8K, I guess so... I'm just doing a comparison to the UK of £800 but obviously Hong Kong you cannot get much for that price per month.

    Quote Originally Posted by Scousebanana:
    Many Hong Kongers bank with HSBC (and their sister bank Hang Seng) here in Hong Kong - I do myself. It's just that their systems and processes seem to be stuck in the 1980s and while the staff are generally pretty helpful, getting even straightforward tasks done seems to be quite hard work. Transfers between HSBC Premier accounts worldwide are 'free' but the exchange rates aren't always as good as through other channels. It might also be worth considering Citibank.
    People were saying to me to just use external websites that do foreign exchange on ad-hoc basis?

  4. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by kbc28:
    Maybe I will try that, could be a long journey time though right? 8K, I guess so... I'm just doing a comparison to the UK of £800 but obviously Hong Kong you cannot get much for that price per month.
    I live close to the office personally, but my team members who commute (generally because they either live with their parents or have bought their own place) from NT typically say it takes them 60-90 minutes. That wouldn't be seen as all that far by say London, or (say) Tokyo standards, but is seen a long commute in Hong Kong. You do need to bear in mind that working hours here can be long, so it may be a factor in your decision.

    With regards to accommodation, as a comparison, our home in a good part of London is almost twice the size of the apartment we are renting here in Hong Kong and we are paying twice the amount of rent in Hong Kong compared to what we are receiving in rent from our London property.

    I have only transferred any sizeable funds once since moving to HK 18 months ago (UK to HK to pay for initial set up costs like apartment deposits) and I just transferred that between bank accounts for ease, knowing it probably wasn't the best rates, so I'm not a good person to advise on this area!

  5. #15

    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Posts
    1

    You should look at Transferwise if you are doing regular money xfers to the UK. Cheaper & better FX rates than the banks