Cost of Living
After having been whacked with a massive electrical bill, i thought I might out lay a few of the examples where the cost of living in HK is out of control.
My power bill was $11,000 for 60 days and we weren't home for 4 weeks of that! is anyone else seeing massive hikes in their power bills? Is there any ombudsman to complain to, or an independent way of verifying we are using the power they are billing us for?
Anyway, to make this relevant to aviation, lets start listing what things cost here, it might allow new hires to at least apply for work up here with their eyes wide open. We will never stop 'kids' coming in wanting the shinny jet upgrade, this isnt aimed at them, it is aimed at the guys that think they can support even the most basic standard of living for their family, my honest observation is you cant support a family here on CX or KA c scale, let alone the sub standard packages offered by HK express or airlines.
If you come here expecting to live a completely western lifestyle, of course it is going to cost you. But having said that, no one comes here and becomes 100% localised either, so lets look at some basic prices.
Food quality is an issue. With so many food scares, plastic in milk, cancerous die in eggs, re labelled expired meat, fake baby powder, cooking oil made from effluent, fake eggs, lamb seasoned with rat, river swine, yes, most of these are mainland examples, but where are the farms in HK? So where does our produce come from? These are just a few examples form the past few years, so eating local has its risks.
You will pay through the nose. HK prices are high and going up fast.
$30 western loaf of bread
$70 tub of yoghurt
$15-20 UHT liter of milk
$30 fresh liter of milk
$120 for 30 nappies
$60 250gm of cheese (basic nz cheddar)
$50 200gm ham
Feel free to add to this ladies and gents.