Originally Posted by
nicoli
I get the frustration and annoyance that the salary got drastically reduced,
but :
- where are you guys coming from complaining about paying taxes ? And 15% is relatively low worldwide
- Where are you going on holidays ? 5 stars palace in Bali ?
- How old are you to have your partner idling at home ? In 2023 it’s kinda normal that both have steady job
- You can’t complain about paying tax and getting a limited medical coverage otherwise France is the exemple to follow with 40% tax rate
15% is low comparatively to other states, but that is usually offset by the cost of living in HK. For example a 3 bedroom 700sq ft apartment will set you back about $3000USD, the short fall in education as well is about $500 USD per month per child. And this is for an average international school. Also, you’ll need to cover extra curricular activities for the kids.
Partners - Unless they are specialised in a certain skill set (teacher, the medical field, CPA, finance etc) they will struggle to find employment in HK, as most jobs now require you to fluent in Mandarin/Canto.
Company provided medical coverage is very low with multiple caveats and Medical costs in HK are astronomical. The public system, as I said, often mis-diagnose symptoms so chances are a person is not getting proper treatment, you will NEED extra coverage for a family of four, that’ll run you about $250 USD a month to get adequate cover.
The take home pay is $9000 USD gross for a FO1, so let’s do the maths for a family of four.
Tax* - $1350 USD per month
*Company currently paying a crew’s US tax if you operate in US airspace but they can change this policy at anytime, and they will require you to pay your own US taxes
Accommodation - $3000 USD per month
Utilities- $300 USD per month
Groceries- $1500 USD a month (and that is on the low end)
Transport - $100 USD a month
Medical coverage - $250 USD a month
Schooling - $1000 USD a month
School Bus - $160 per child per month
Extra Curricular - $700 per month (2 activities per child).
Total: $8520 USD
Total savings is: $480 USD per month
This is not an exaggeration of the costs. It’s the reality of living in HK
Maybe if you save for a year without any unexpected expenses, you might have enough money to holiday somewhere like Japan for 5 nights.
There is a website that compares the cost of living in France to HK.
Here is a summary from a website that compares living expenses:
”Consumer Prices in
Hong Kong are 1.3%
lower than in
Paris(without rent)
Consumer Prices Including Rent in
Hong Kong are 16.5%
higher than in
Paris
Rent Prices in
Hong Kong are 50.7%
higher than in
Paris
Restaurant Prices in
Hong Kong are 24.3%
lower than in
Paris
Groceries Prices in
Hong Kong are 7.2%
higher than in
Paris”