Job Discussion Forums

[m27]

I am going through the application process for the NET program and am really hoping to earn a position in Hong Kong. I'm trying to get a good idea of what our finances would be.

I think I'd be making around 20,000HKD per month. Plus, they offer 14,000HKD per month for living expenses. My husband would be coming with me, so our costs would be for 2 people. Would we have enough to cover two people living comfortably, paying a few bills from home, traveling, and saving a little? We live relatively modestly, but like to go out for dinner once or twice a week, and want to travel around and sightsee while we're there.

I'm a newbie to teaching EFL abroad, excited about the prospect of moving to Hong Kong, so any info is greatly appreciated!

[Marcoregano]

[Yes Sir I Can Bogey]

M27, unsurprisingly, opinions on this board differ as to how much one needs to live 'comfortably' in Hong Kong. The questions 'How much do I need to live?' and 'Is HK$X enough to live comfortably?' are pretty much unanswerable, as they are, to all intents and purposes, really non-questions. It is rather like asking how long a piece of string � or a noodle � is, and it all depends on what you mean by 'need', 'live', and 'comfort/comfortably'.

In 2006 the monthly median income in HK was HK$16,000, so, given that some are on salaries which are nothing short of mythical (I know of someone at the EDB who pulls in some HK$140,000 a month, and that is peanuts compared to executives in private industry), this means that there are others on around HK$3,000 a month. It is not just foreign 'domestic helpers' who earn Third World wages.

However, remember that people on low incomes are local, and so either live in public (i.e., government supplied) housing, with their parents, or with their parents in public housing. Many Hong Kong people continue to live at home even after getting married and so save on rent or mortgage payments their entire life. Also, local people rarely if ever go on holiday, rarely socialise (Hong Kong people do not really mix with people outside of their immediate family), and do not pursue hobbies or interests outside of work. They stay at home watching Japanese and Korean soap operas whilst eating super noodles instead. They are also penny-pinchers, often sacrificing their lunch hour to queue up for a two dollar discount on their next MTR ride.

Now, if you want to live like that then around HK$34,000 a month will be more than adequate for you and your partner. But, if as you say you want to live comfortably (with 'comfortably' here meaning in a western sense), and if you have bills back home, and if you want to save, then I would say HK$34,000 will most certainly not be enough. It would be sufficient for a single person, but not for a couple.

You say you want to travel, but do you mean around Hong Kong or do you mean to other countries? If the latter, then again your income will probably not stretch that far.

Also, what is your partner going to do whilst you're at work during the day? It is not easy for someone from the West to stay cooped up in a tiny flat all day and all night.

[m27]

Thanks for your comments, Marco and Bogey. Yes, of course, you are right in that the term "comfortable" is relative and hard to define. I did mean refer to it in the westernized sense (while I like a super noodle now and again, lady cannot live on noodles and soap operas alone).

My lifestyle is not out at the bars all the time spending money that way, but I want to be able to sight see (in HK and abroad if possible), and meet friends for drinks or dinner a night or two a week. I certainly don't expect to live like a prima donna, but also don't want to stress over making ends meet constantly.

My husband does plan on finding a job, but not being a teacher, we're as yet unsure of what he would do there. He plans on looking once we get to HK, but we really don't know how long it will take him to find something, and how much he could make. My hope was that we could rely on my income to carry us, and that his income would be bonus. From what you both said, though, that will not be the case. I guess he'll have to earn his keep after all

I have to say that I'm a little suprised by the amount I'm being offered. I've read on the forums that many people live on very little in HK, and I'm not unaware that teaching isn't a profession to get rich by, but still...I have a MA TESL and a few years teaching experience, so many of the jobs I've looked into were offering me salaries at the top of their scale. The recruiting company for NET, however, estimated that I would be offered the 4th step from the bottom. Do you two know whether having a master's degree in ESL is factored into their process of determining salary? Marco, it sounds like you have a number of NET friends, and your wife is a NET, do you know anything about this? Does this sound right to those who know? Thanks!

[m27]

Thanks for your comments, Marco and Bogey. Yes, of course, you are right in that the term "comfortable" is relative and hard to define. I did mean refer to it in the westernized sense (while I like a super noodle now and again, lady cannot live on noodles and soap operas alone).

My lifestyle is not out at the bars all the time spending money that way, but I want to be able to sight see (in HK and abroad if possible), and meet friends for drinks or dinner a night or two a week. I certainly don't expect to live like a prima donna, but also don't want to stress over making ends meet constantly.

My husband does plan on finding a job, but not being a teacher, we're as yet unsure of what he would do there. He plans on looking once we get to HK, but we really don't know how long it will take him to find something, and how much he could make. My hope was that we could rely on my income to carry us, and that his income would be bonus. From what you both said, though, that will not be the case. I guess he'll have to earn his keep after all

I have to say that I'm a little suprised by the amount I'm being offered. I've read on the forums that many people live on very little in HK, and I'm not unaware that teaching isn't a profession to get rich by, but still...I have a MA TESL and a few years teaching experience, so many of the jobs I've looked into were offering me salaries at the top of their scale. The recruiting company for NET, however, estimated that I would be offered the 4th step from the bottom. Do you two know whether having a master's degree in ESL is factored into their process of determining salary? Marco, it sounds like you have a number of NET friends, and your wife is a NET, do you know anything about this? Does this sound right to those who know? Thanks!

[Yes Sir I Can Bogey]

Postgraduate degrees do not enter into the equation for the NET scheme(s). What is of the utmost importance, at least as regards pay, is possessing QTS in your home country.

You say teaching is not a profession in which to get rich, but as with everything else in HK, it is all about the dosh. Take a look at ESF�s pay scale:

http://www.esf.edu.hk/index.aspx?nodeid=92&langno=1

I know of somebody who, after some thirty years at ESF, ended up on HK$80,000 a month. That is serious lolly.

Local teachers also quite openly state why they became teachers: the (back then-perceived) safe nature of the work, and the annual increments.