Most of the numbers talked about above have changed significantly. As of May 2008 the cost of renting a Flat in Macau has gone up. The average cost of Western style Flats ( read---- under 10 years old with ammenities such as pool & health club, examples are Supreme Flower City, Nova City, Kingsville) are 12,000 to 16,000 MOP. Now, you can still rent a flat much less than these previous numbers, but you will not have a new apartment with western style kitchen and the nicer ammenities. If you're bringing the wife and kids over 10,000nm from home you should consider this seriously. I go by the old adage, " Wifey not happy, then nobody happy".A small flat in a non Western style complex can run you 8,000 to 10,000 MOP/month and I'm sure there are cheaper ones, however I am not aware of them. This gets into the personal taste issue and everyone has there own. I moved my wife over here and I prefer the Western style and thus, have to pay a higher rate.There are a couple of airlines, a helicopter company and a charter company in Macau and the charter outfit has the largest housing allowance and pay scheme. Food is still inexpensive and hasn't changed much in a few years, however there is MSG in almost everything, not good for the blood pressure. There are more taxi's now, however they can still be difficult to obtain during peak hours. Buses are cheap and plentiful albeit sometimes very crowded.
Most expats don't have cars but I have noticed that the majority of those that do have kids. This helps in shopping and getting them off to school. Cars are inexpensive however parking is an issue. I was happy to get rid of mine. I also hear that the Macau drivers test is harder than your conversion exams. You'll do just fine on taxi's.
Maybe I should define Western Style Flat. This term was used by several realtors I dealt with and have a somewhat loose meaning but the generalization is that there are a lot of expats living in a complex. Also these apartments tend to come with a washer/dryer, larger living rooms and bedrooms with one being a master bedroom and adjoining bathroom, kitchen to include built in gas burner stove, large sink, cabinets and if lucky, an oven. Large fridge and appliances that are new usually come with it also. If you can fit a king size bed, dresser and other bedroom furniture and still walk around, then you have a large room.
Last edited by hawkerjet; 11th May 2008 at 01:02.