Job Discussion Forums

[lastmanineurope]

What kind of life could one have in Hong Kong on a monthly wage of HK$ 30 000?

I have been told that a flat (maybe in the New Territories) might cost HK$ 6-7000? Does this sound right for an apartment?

Is the tax about 15%?

Thanks for any thoughts

[parrothead]

You would have a great lifestyle. $30,000HKD is roughly $4,000USD.

[shmeagain]

As with all things it depends on who you talk to and what your expectations are.

I would agree with parrothead and say that you could enjoy a high quality lifestyle.

I'm assuming you're single with no dependants?


You could cut down on the rent by going for a flatshare but you're spot on with the range you mention. Usually that would get you a 2nd floor village house which means you get the rooftop as well.

Depending on what you've done before, I would say that you could save a lot in your first year here. After that people tend to start buying things and doing things that cost money. Shows, gadgets, vacations, drinking - these can eat into 30K and leave you with next to nothing BUT you would have great time.

For a sobering experience I would suggest you type in the same question on a s i a x p a t . c o m. h k (we'll see if the mods leave that one on) and see how they laugh at you and tell you that their laundry and expense budget is that AND they need to contribute to it out of their own pockets just to "make it through the month" because you just have to have certain things don't you know?

It's all BS though - average salary for Joe Blow in HK is around HK$ 8000 and that's supporting a family as well - to be fair there would probably be another breadwinner in the family but you would have 6-8 people living off it.

[Horizontal Hero]

It all depends what your liabilities (expenses) are. I have been earning a little more than that and have been in HK over a year. In my first year I saved nothing, and was actually in debt after a year (if you consider an upcoming tax bill). Did I live an extravagant lifestyle? Not at all. Indeed , the set up costs were great, and it took me about nine months just to start breaking even. My expenses included university fees, rent (8500/month), visa, plane fares and hotels for my wife who is mainland Chinese and ineligible for a HK spouse's visa, books for study, hospital bills for my wife (mainlanders are ineligible for hospital cover - HK12 000 in less than a week at one point for some basic hospital treatment).

I'm now living in a village house in the sticks. No choice really.

But the good thing is that now that we are starting to get ahead. Still, it seems that every month or two there is some MAJOR financial cost incurred.

But if you are single it would be much easier. If you have kids and a wife, your salary will be just enough to live on.

By the way I haven't been back to my home country in four years. Just can't afford it. This Christmas is no different. But some NETS seem to JET off 2-3 times a year. Not sure how they do it.

As for HK people, the average pay is not 8000. That is absolutely the bottom of the pay scale. There are people in HK who live on that. But they just exist. They certainly don't consume (if consumption is your kind of thing). Most HK people live at home with family until they get married. I know two HK guys at my school in their 50s who never married, and you guessed it, both still living with Mum. HKers are very conservative when it comes to cash. They save, save, save. They work like dogs in a machine society so that they have enough money to die with dignity. Just look at the long, exhausted faces on the subway. When I first came to HK I stood in a KCR train and in rather arrogant fashion looked around and thought what a sad bunch HK people are. Lighten up! I thought. Today I was on my way home from work at 8pm (after having left home at 6.30am that morning) and was so exhausted I could barely stand up. It suddenly occurred to me that I had become another cog in the machine.

But the NET who lives the floor below me gets home at 4.20pm every day, and has 2-3 hours a day with nothing to do at school. Maybe you'll be lucky.

[lastmanineurope]

Thanks for the replies so far.

About my expenses - I am single and have no children. I might be working in the New Territories. Would it be worth living there - is there things to do there? Or perhaps live in a nearby area and commute? Perhaps HK$ 7-12 000 for an apartment would get me a decent place in Kowloon or the New Territories?

I don't expect an extravagant lifestyle - just a reasonable furnished apartment. I am not a big partier or flashy-liver. Maybe eat out at a cheap restaurant occasionally, have a couple of beers at the weekend.

Would HK$ 30 000 mean I could do these? Thanks for your advice.

[Horizontal Hero]

Should be no problem. The further away from central, the cheaper the housing, generally. Tai Po area is really cheap. I pay only HK$4500 for quite a nice village house. Much better than the usual highrise apartment. If you are not a big spender and you have no great expenses or debts you should be able to put away 10-15 000 a month. maybe more if you live frugally. I have just had a lot of expenses. But generally set up costs are more than you think.

[shmeagain]

Sorry, by "Joe Blow' I meant the guy on the street doing construction or some upper level manual labour, not the average "suit".

Having said that, I think you will find that on average for "everyone" it's still below HK$ 10 000 per month.

When my wife and I were making decisions on whether to come to HK or not, we said that if the locals could survive off HK$ 8000 per month (as the delivery guys at her job do with kids to support) then we could do it on HK$ 11 000.

Again, that's living, travelling (work related) and eating for 2 people - no more, but it was up to a standard that we felt comfortable with. No use in burning out after a year or two but you've saved a bit.

Like HH said - the city will suck you dry and spit you out. That's why people start spending on things they normally wouldn't buy thinking that this would improve their quality of life.

I'm thinking of buying that I-pod nano and I've never even owned a walkman or mp3 or listened to music on the go - but I think it will make me happier on my way to work and back.

[Welshguy]

Hi,

Yeah you can live comfortably enough as a single person in the NT's for that sort of cash. The NT's are also by and large cheaper than places on the island for social purposes and you are much less likely to end up in one of those overpriced concrete caves in central. Rents in the NT's start from about 4500 for a small village house and 7-8 will get you something decent with a little luck. You could do worse than have a look at Sai kung and the surrounding areas, I enjoyed my time there a lot. Flatsharing is common and should you end up with someone on a large-ish housing allowance the cash can go straight in their pocket and you can live larger than you thought possible. Of course this is possible but not guaranteed!!

12-15000 is a very common wage in HK so obviously not everyone is earning Goldman Sachs money and you have no dependants so happy days.

W

[ciao_bella]

$30K is a very good pay indeed - actually, I am making a few thousands over this sum.

If you live in NT (say TaiPo), the rent is cheap. I am sure you will be able to get an offer of $4K ~ $5K per month but of course, you need to consider the travelling expenses. If you teach in NT, then it's definitly OK but if you teach on HK side, you have to spend around $50 per day in travelling. No worry on food, fuel, medical, entertainment (if you don't have plan to buy a car and never have this plan because the monthly exp of a car will consume around 10% of your salary!) they are really cheap in HK.

[JZer]

A question about the NET Scheme, does it matter what your B.Ed is in? I am interested in doing the NET Scheme but I need a B.Ed. I am just trying to figure the easiest way to get teaching certification. I have an M.A. in Foreign Language Pedagogy.

[lastmanineurope]

Thanks for the replies. So it sounds like I could live quite well on the salary of HK$ 30 000. How does this sound as a breakdown of basic expenses? Does it seem realistic (particularly the tax):-

* HK$ 30 000 wages per month

(to be taxed at 16%? = about HK$ 25000 after tax. Or will it be a lower tax rate?)

* Apartment in New Territories (HK$ 7-10 000) (furnished!)

* Utilities e.g. electricity, water, air conditioning - a few thousand?

* Travel, phone calls, internet connection - couple of thousand?

That might leave 10 000 or so for food, going out, travelling etc?

Am I missing out any other major costs? I might have to pay to ship books, some appliances from England.

Does this seem realistic? Thanks.

[JZer]

lastmanineurope, do you have a PAGE? are you getting paid 20,000 HK + the 10,800 housing allowance?? I am just curious since I want to apply for the NET program next year.

[lastmanineurope]

A PAGE? What is that? I don't think I do. There is no housing allowance with the job - just HK$ 30 000. Everything has to come out of that. I don't know much about the NET programme - that is not my prospective job. Cheers.

[JZer]

lastmanineurope, oh I thought that you were on the NET scheme. I was asking about have a B.Ed inorder to get into the NET scheme.

[shmeagain]

Utilities would be about HK$ 1000 per month on average - more in summer, less in winter due to your new best friend, your air-conditioner.

Electricity is the most expensive. Gas is about HK$ 40 per month and water is a couple of hundred every few months. Broadband internet (including cable TV) is dirt cheap as are mobile phone bills about HK$ 300 - HK$ 400 for both should be more than enough - they DON'T include a phone with the contract as they do in the UK.

Depends on how much you travel and where you will work and how many days a week, but HK$ 40 per day should be more than enough so that would be 6 x 4 x 40= 960 - roughly.

If you've never been to HK before I would suggest booking in to a long stay hotel or serviced apartment for a month or two. This way you can give yourself a chance to figure out how everything works before you need to start buying stuff.

Also, your idea of furnished and your landlord's idea of furnished might not exactly be the same thing.

However, if you're into peach coloured leather, you're in for a treat...

You can furnish your whole place for about HK$ 5000 and then you have chosen everything yourself.

You buy it second hand and hire a man with a van to go around and pick it all up for you. Every year thousands of people leave HK - so you get the whole IKEA range on the internet - people even include the page numbers of the catalogue for easy reference.

If I knew then what I know now, I would never have spent money on a bed, mattress or sofa - most of these you can get free as long as you're willing to pick it up.

Most of the stuff is a year or two old. Same website I mentioned before - go to trading post.