Hong Kong Life?

[stormcloud]

Would anyone care to share their personal experience of taking the family to HKG? I hope to be on the way soon and would appreciate any info, good or bad.
Family social scene, schooling, healthcare, actual cost of living compared to expectations, pre-conceptions good or bad etc, etc.:D
Thanks

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[stevieboy]

stormcloud, your race is not so important. If you are a human and obtain a resident or citizenship status in Hong Kong, I don't see a problem of you applying for the CX cadets scheme.

Check out http://www.cathaypacific.com for more information.

[Fly747]

Unfortunately race is important, if they can class you as local and therefore locally employed then the package is not the same as an expat one. If HKG born no matter what your colour then you may be regarded as local.

[ronnie123]

horace17 give me your e mail, I will try and update you as Iam indian too, with right to live in HK.

[Alpha Leader]

stormcloud: looks like none of the follow-up contributors has actually bothered to answer your questions.

First and foremost, the days of the generous expat packages are all but gone unless you're at very, very senior level in your company (across all industries).

Salaries are generally high, reflecting the high cost of accommodation. If you want to live in the traditional "expat" areas of Repulse Bay and the Midlevels, you're looking at paying an average monthly rental of HK$40,000 (US$5,000) for a 2'000sq.ft. apartment. Please note that upon signing the rental agreement, you will have to pay 2 months rental as deposit, plus the first month's rent plus half a month's rent as real estate agent's commission up front - that's a total of HK$140,000 using this example.

Schooling: unless your kids speak Cantonese, you'll have to select one of the (usually good) private schools. My experience was that the cost of a private day school in HK equates roughly to the cost of a boarding school in Australia, so given the quality of life and the opportunities of sports overseas, it makes more sense to board. An alternative is the English School Foundation http://www.esf.edu.hk/ which charges more moderate fees and, whilst not providing the "status" of a private school, offers quality education.

When renting an apartment, you might want to make sure that it offers a clubhouse (usually with gym and pool). Club memberships (unless provided by your employer) are - like everything that confers perceived "status" in HK - very expensive.

Healthcare: up to you - no Medicare or similar in HK, so you have to go private.

Actual cost of living: this depends entirely on you and your family. If you go local (meaning you go to the wet market to buy your meat and vegetables), you can live quite cheaply. Supermarkets are obviously more geared to expats and more expensive. Here are some supermarket prices:

(HK$7.80 = US$1.00)

Bread (sliced, for toasting): HK$ 7.50
Milk (one litre, fresh): HK$15.00
Orange juice (1.25 litres, freshly squeezed): HK$ 24.00
Grapes (seedless, one pound): HK$ 9.00
Breakfast cereal (corn flakes, 600g): HK$ 25.00
Crab (live): HK$50 to 75 per crab
Beer (local supermarket brands): HK$3.50 per can
Beer (international brands): HK$6.00 per can

There is no sales tax. The only taxable goods are alcohol and tobacco. I know a Nepali grocer in Mongkok who still manages to sell a bottle of Gordon's Gin for HK$75, though.

Big Mac Meal: HK$19.60

If you need any additional info, please email me.

[christep]

Some additional data (from the perspective though of a late-30s single guy rather than a family)...

There are many expats living in other cheaper areas - HK is not heavily "ghetto-ised" like a lot of cities with expat communities. I find this actually makes it a little harder to get into a social scene since being an expat doesn't automatically confer "membership" as it might in other places (in my experience including Taipei & Moscow). However, if your kids are schooled here then there is automatically a social scene attached to that I guess.

It seems that many expats move first into one of the areas Alpha Leader mentioned (also Discovery Bay, which in my view is a weird place that isn't really HK - it reminds me of "The Prisoner" - but it is very convenient for Chek Lap Kok), but often move out to other areas after a year or two when they have found their feet. Rentals in places like Sai Kung will be dramatically cheaper, and you might even be able to find a place with something that approximates to a small garden!

If you live on Hong Kong Island itself you will probably find running a car prohibitively expensive - the parking space in some apartment blocks can cost HK$4,000 per month to rent, and then you have to pay to park everywhere you go as well. However, the public transport system (underground & overground rail, various types of buses, and ferries) is the best I have seen anywhere in the world and very reasonably priced. Taxis are also plentiful and fairly cheap.

The other thing you will find is that almost all families here with kids take on an "amah" - a full-time, live-in maid. These work in a regulated way with employers paying a fixed wage of just under HK$4,000 per month plus room and board. Most are from the Philippines, with some from Thailand, Indonesia, etc. They will do all the shopping, cooking, cleaning etc for you, leaving your wife free to have her own career or brush up her golf!

Happy to discuss by email if you want more.

[Chimbu chuckles]

What about the pollution.........everytime I fly past it looks bad....everywhere else on the Eastern and Southern side of China is terribly polluted and hazy! Have seen some beautiful places out in the SW of China though, near Laos and Tibet etc!!

Can't be good for you, or your children, long term.

Chuck.

[Alpha Leader]

Whaleoilbeefhooked: yep, that's why the one of the most commonly heard sounds is that of phlegm being drawn up from one's big toe and the splattering sound of street oysters being plastered all over the pavements.

:D

On a less serious note: the education environment, particularly if your kids are into sport, is obviously deficient, which is why many of them go off to boarding school once they reach Year 7.