Job Discussion Forums

[Ona Nizm]

A friend of mine has recently contacted me regarding a job offer he has been given in Macau. I live in mainland China (not one of the big three - B, S or G) and make close to 20,000 RMB a mointh net. My friend, more experienced than I, in terms of years and qualifications, has been offered a job with a starting salary of 24,000 MOP gross without accomodation. I have never been to Macau myself so couldn't tell him if this was a reasonable wage. Having lived in HK before, and knowing how high the CoL is, I would say that if Macau is close to HK standards and costs then he'd be better off finding a well-paid job in the mainland.

And thoughts?

[hkteach]

I've been to Macau several times - most recently about a week ago.
MOP more or less equivalent to HKD.

I'd say Macau is not a cheap place to live - certainly not as cheap as many parts of mainland China.
This is because it attracts squillions of tourists (mainly to the casinos which are everywhere and more springing up all the time). Macau is in the midst of a huge building boom (casinos and hotels as well as more apartments to accommodate the expected huge influx of foreign workers to work in all those tourist-related industries).
According to the manager of the hotel where I stayed, there's a two year timeline during which lots of construction and infrastructure will occur. After that, it will rival Las Vegas (well on the way already).

All of this signals a big rise in the cost of living.

On my most recent trip, main meals in Portugese/Chinese style restaurants in the town centre covered a fairly wide range but 45MOP would get a decent main course. More 'western' options were dearer.

Travel out of Macau is cheap to other destinations in Asia on the budget carrier, Air Asia.

I have no idea of accommodation costs, but I wouldn't want to contemplate living in Macau on 24000 MOP if I had to pay for accommodation.
Given the currency is near enough to HKD, 24000 would not allow a comfortable lifestyle + savings + travel.

[Ona Nizm]

Thanks for this HKteach. What in your opinion would be a decent wage for Macau - 30,000 plus?

[hkteach]

I can only compare it to Hong Kong where 24000HK would not go far at all if accomm had to be paid for out of this - most flats or village houses are HK 6000+ but most people I know pay more than this - friends pay from 7500-12000 a month, depending on size and location of building and whether furnished or not. I pay 11000 for a 3 bedroom furnished flat but not on HK island, where the equivalent would probably be at least 16000 a month.
So you can see that total package of 24000 in Hong Kong would mean watching the budget. I think Macau could be a bit cheaper but still quite similar.

I don't know what a good package would be for Macau, but with a similar cost of living (there are cheap restaurants, clothes shops in both Macau and Hong Kong, just as there are 'high end' options in both places) I'd think I'd want to have at least 20,000 a month AFTER accommodation costs. Maybe a package of closer to 30000 would mean a big difference in lifestyle.

Sorry, this is the best info I can give without knowing accommodation costs in Macau. It seems that there isn't anyone from Macau on here (??) to help out with this info.

Perhaps a websearch for flats in Macau would provide that information and allow for some calculations to be made.

[Ona Nizm]

I appreciate this. Thanks for the info. My friend says he can get a pad for about 5,500 so we'll see. In China, I don't have to pay for accommodation and my place is fairly up-market - two bedrooms, a balcony overlooking beautiful ... Dresden. The only thing is that there doesn't appear to be a lot of jobs catering for seasoned professionals in mainland China with MAs and stuff.

Once again, cheers.