COS18 one year on!

[Jnr380]

Well it hasn't been a full year yet, but according to the business check in CX be will going on a recruitment drive apparently next year, and once they have exhausted the local talent, they'll set their eyes again at attracting expats. Here is a rundown of what to expect as an expat, the figures will be quoted in USD as this is a 'universal currency'. The figures will be based on FO 1 with a wife and three kids, if you’re FO2 expect things to be slightly better, if you’re SO1 expect things to be a lot more worse. If you're Captain then you'll have it good
but not that great!

Now this is what the DFO has described as a "Competitive" package.

BASE PAY AND PILOT ALLOWANCE AND EDUCATION ALLOWANCE
Base Pay and Pilot Allowance - $8790 USD per month.
Education allowance per child in Hong Kong - $860 per month.

Your Total base wage will be $9650 USD per month! Yes its a lot of money for a First Officer, and on paper it looks very tempting but once you move to Hong Kong, you'll realize how quickly you'll burn through it. So lets start by taking tax out at about 15% so the net income will be about $8200 USD per month

EXPENSES

Rent - Well with three kids, you'll probably need at least a 3 bedroom, If you want to live in DB, expect to pay on average $4000 USD for rent per month, if you want live in Tung Chung, expect about $3200 USD per month for rent

So now you're left with $4700 USD after you put a roof over your family’s head. (I used $3500 as the mean cost)

Education - That $860 USD per month should cover school costs! well yes it does if you send your kids to a local schools who teach kids to be more robotic than free thinkers, so you look for an international school, good luck finding one that will charge less than $1200 per month, so now to give your kids a decent education you'll have to pay an extra $322 USD per child per month, don't forget about the debenture and capital levy fees which is an added extra and not part of the tuition fee that can range from $5000-$50,000 USD per annum

So the balance is now $3730 USD left, yeah not bad at all

Medical - Good luck if you end up in hospital under the CX benefits, the hospital will chew through your "benefits" on the first day! so now you'll need to get extra private insurance which can run you up to $400 USD per month per family for decent cover

Balance: $3330

Food - If you don't have a local palate, expect to pay about 2-4 times the price of the same item you regularly buy back home, expect about $2000 USD per month on food

Balance: $1330

Utilities - Between internet subscription, phone plans, electricity and gas, it'll cost about $290 USD per month

Balance: $1040

There are other things you can tack onto that, like extra curricular activities for the kids, family activities, clothes and even a helper, all this must fit within the $1040 left over and that doesn't get you far in Hong Kong, so, if you move to Hong Kong, you can be saving as much as $1000 USD if you have a strict budget and don't let your kids enjoy life! Otherwise expect to break-even every month or end up being in debt.

So, yeah it all looks good on paper, but once you break it down, realistically you'll end up in a debt cycle that you will struggle to get out of and the company's care Factor is ZERO!

I hope this provides prospective to expats who are considering this "Airline" as a viable option. Unless you have an absolute death wish to come here and live in debt.