I would rather be treated in an NHS hospital than the private hospitals in HK, and I've seen a fair bit of both so private medical plan is simply necessary, certainly not a bonus. In fact, if you work for CX then you also need to buy your own gap insurance for spouse and children as the cover Cx offer is inadequate and could leave you with a big medical bill should a problem arise for a dependent.(I don't know if the same is true for KA, but it probably will be soon!)
In your home country private education is a luxury item, in HK it is essential (with a very few exceptions). As such, it certainly isn't a bonus of being an expat. In fact I see it as what we'd call a "stealth tax" in the UK. The company pays either 50% or 75% of basic school costs depending on your children's age. You are taxed on the amount they pay you and you have to top up the costs out of your own pocket.
I have a few friends who live in LA and their family choose to stay there for the summer. I have many friends who live in HK and most of their families choose to go home for the summer if they can. This is a very expensive pastime. Either they still have a house at home that they can use so they're paying an extra mortgage over and above accomodation costs of living in HK throughout the year, or they don't, in which case they have to find somewhere to stay. This is not cheap, particularly in Europe in the summer.
The basic tax rate is about 16% in HK, but once you add on the "stealth taxes", by which I mean the additional costs involved with being an expat, the real cost is very similar. In fact, a fairly extreme example is a friend of mine who had to move back to the UK about 6 months ago simply because he could no longer afford to live in HK. His multiple children now enjoy free schooling and he's paid in stirling so he can afford to pay his mortgage again.
There are benefits to living in HK, but getting rich is not one of them any more!
Last edited by Loopdeloop; 13th Jul 2007 at 17:12.