@OneBarWonder:
I think you said a key phrase in your post and that is “minimum you would want as a Westerner…”
In my post above, an iCadet package is around HK$500,000/yr before bonuses and taxes. This is twice the GDP per capita of HK$250K/yr. Another words, you are making twice what an average person in Hong Kong is expected to make.
With working and living overseas, one has to be prepared to embrace the culture and living standards of that country. If you go anywhere outside N America/Europe and expect to live as a westerner, you are going to pay through the nose. In reality, it is not the company’s problem one refuses to live the local standard as an expat. It is really difficult to say you cannot “survive” or “live” in HK on the current iCadet package as you are already being paid twice what an average person makes. The iCadet package is doable, the question is, are the wannabes prepared to live like they are a local, eat the street vendor foods and put aside their western expectation?