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Relocating from NYC to HK

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  1. #11

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    Original Post Deleted
    Out of curiosity - what makes you say that expats are sensitive about the protests? Any article to share?

  2. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by rkenia852:
    Out of curiosity - what makes you say that expats are sensitive about the protests? Any article to share?
    There are people who have very different views. It causes heated arguments. I had a dinner last night with a friend who supports the violence and destruction. I didn't want to argue so I kept my mouth shut. He plans to relocate to Canada.
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  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by MandM!:
    There are people who have very different views. It causes heated arguments. I had a dinner last night with a friend who supports the violence and destruction. I didn't want to argue so I kept my mouth shut. He plans to relocate to Canada.
    I understand that - We all have opinions, after all. Recognising the irony that most of us are benefiting from the system and infrastructure that makes Hong Kong this unique home, is itself difficult.

    That said, it seemed more of a blanket statement by .
    Hence, I was curious if that was derived from the media as that's not a sentiment I have felt so far.
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  4. #14

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    That salary would be more than enough to live very comfortably in Hong Kong. But don't Americans have to pay tax in the USA as well even when working overseas?

    As some others have mentioned, if you want to maintain your NY lifestyle in HK then obviously it gets very expensive to have the space, food, activities etc. (it is foreign to HK). But if you adopt the local Asian lifestyle, then its a lot more affordable.

    e.g. I can eat something from a local restaurant and don't need to have british food from Marks & Spencers.

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  5. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by wanderer01:
    There are many reasons why you would want to move to HK or rather move out of NYC and I am sure you have considered them all. Since you asked for an opinion on tax benefits and whether your mentioned salary is comfortable. Here's my take on it.
    PS: We moved from NYC to HK 2 years ago. Idea was to do 2 years, but as they say, its either 2 or forever.

    Is your salary comfortable - I think it is very much. If you take your base pay, you have a base monthly salary of HKD 107,250 per month less HKD 1500 deduction for retirement plan contributions = HKD105,750. Spend HKD 20-23k for a large studio or decent 1 bed in mid-levels, sai ying pun, etc (i've seen many in my recent search for apartments), HKD 1k for utilities ... thats all your housing taken care off.

    Tax situation - based on HKD 1.5m total pay, your tax bill for 2019-2020 year will be HKD 211,500 or 14% ... good savings from 24% in the US.

    Take home pay situation - this is where things need to be weighed in. Lets look at line by line what gets taken out of your paycheck in the US and see whether it is a benefit or not:

    Social Security/Medicare - You will not be contributing to this fund. Your SS statement will show $0 annual contribution. How does this affect your retirement benefits is what you need to be able to accept. Maybe this is a benefit, since your views maybe that you are anyhow not going to get anything out of it.

    401k - even - you can chose to participate in your employer's retirement plan here in HK. For HK taxes you can only deduct HKD 1500 per month max. You cannot deduct contributions to HK retirement plan on your US taxes. I personally contribute just 1500 a month, declare on the US that I don't participate on employer retirement plan (I've deliberated on the rules a lot), and then contribute separately into my pre-tax IRA account in the US to build some retirement savings. I also aim to contribute in my post tax brokerage account as well. I used to max out my 401k contributions when I was in US, but here in HK, I split that contribution into IRA and brokerage account.

    Medical, Dental, Vision - Hopefully your employer in HK will cover this .. preferably in full! - If yes, def a benefit as you don't have this outgoings from your HK paycheck.

    Transportation - even - you will not have expensive monthly passes, but then you may end up splurging on taxis coz of hot weather. In HK your spend will be in after-tax dollars even for public transport.

    NYC Taxes - Benefit! - no more deductions for these.
    NYS Taxes - Benefit! - no more deductions for these.

    Fed Taxes - Benefit! - USD200k - USD103.5k (foreign earned income exclusion) - USD15k (estimated housing exclusion) = USD69.5k AGI - $12k standard deduction = USD57.5k taxable income. Determine tax bill - credit for taxes paid to HK (adjusted portion) = Tax liability to US. You will find that this number is slightly beneficial compared to what you would have paid while working in the US.

    hope this helps!
    For the federal tax calculation you can reduce your taxable income by $6,000 USD if you contribute up to the max to your IRA.
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  6. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by tf19:
    But for me the biggest degradation in quality of life are the little things. Running in Central Park, going to Peloton studio or Barry’s for a quick workout, catching an impromptu show at the Vanguard or Mercury Lounge, checking out the hot new restaurant recommended by the NYT or Grubstreet, eating out of a taco truck at Redhook, etc etc. Some of these activities exist but only a fraction of the quality and experience.
    Thanks so much for your input. Really appreciate it...
    It is super interesting that there are no similar alternatives in HK... I imagined there would be...
    I am pretty low key and being Asian American, I hope I can blend in better than non-Asian foreigners. Although I will have different challenges; looking the same outside but cultural gap inside...
    Thanks again!

  7. #17

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    Original Post Deleted
    I agree with you 100%. I am talking to my company now for the move in Q1 2020. So I'm hoping things will be somewhat resolved by then...

    Thank you!

  8. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by d3011d:
    Thanks so much for your input. Really appreciate it...
    It is super interesting that there are no similar alternatives in HK... I imagined there would be...
    I am pretty low key and being Asian American, I hope I can blend in better than non-Asian foreigners. Although I will have different challenges; looking the same outside but cultural gap inside...
    Thanks again!
    Being Asian American may make it more difficult....
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  9. #19

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    IMO even if there is some sort of settlement (probably not the perfect descriptor) I think when you see the crowds turn out at the malls and in the streets and you measure the general sentiment, there will always be some apprehension toward 2047 and one man one vote will always be in the back of the minds of the people. So you should prepare to live in such an environment. I'm not sure what your motivation is for coming to Greater China. Maybe its to discover your cultural roots and/or you are just adventurous and/or its to improve your career trajectory. My advice is get it out of your system but at the end of the day you will prefer to live in the US. What you are contemplating now was best done in the early 2000's to the mid 2000's and before the financial crisis. That was the golden years to be an expat in this part of the world IMO.
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  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by d3011d:
    Thanks so much for your input. Really appreciate it...
    It is super interesting that there are no similar alternatives in HK... I imagined there would be...
    I am pretty low key and being Asian American, I hope I can blend in better than non-Asian foreigners. Although I will have different challenges; looking the same outside but cultural gap inside...
    Thanks again!
    There are activities that are equivalent to Hong Kongers e.g. its pretty easy to join a group doing tai chi in the park, mahjong is popular here, its a lot cheaper to sing a whole night of karaoke than I expect it will be in NY, there are still some cheapish street stalls in Central and Jordan, theres often some underground music in This Town Needs. But yes there are fewer options than NY I think.
    d3011d likes this.