utility bills

[WICKED]

Can someone tell me if the utility bills in HK are printed in English alphabets, or Chinese characters?

[Cpt. Underpants]

The default is in tradional Chinese, but you can opt for English.
Most utility bills have a paperless option - emailed to you instead of post.

[hschol]

What is the average Utility bill? Gas, water, electricity, rubish removal?

Thanks H

[jacobus]

Hschol, Depends on what style of dwelling your contemplating and it is highly seasonal...I should say electricity certainly is...Summer..say May to October, quite high due to aircons/dehumidifiers etc..certainly in a village house..Brief respite November to December, then a spike again as you turn on those oil fired heaters, for the 5 weeks or so that it is cold..(It isn't actually that cold, however Hong Kong properties are built of pre-stressed concrete and are neither heat or cold resistant, in the main have no double glazing, and are therefore good for f#ck all apart from vastly inflated prices) Water, surprisingly reasonable, considering how much of it the locals piss away by washing their cars every day..It is metered, but is surprisingly cheap, by say, European standards.. Gas, bottled or Town, not too bad. Now TV, expensive, repetitive, with a **** interface, and crap programmes...PCCW..local calls free, IDD (depending on where you dial out to in the world) not too bad, there are ways around it of course..SKYPE/FREECALL/other Internet options etc. To quantify the above, family of 3 or 4. Village house, relatively sensible use of aircons/washing machine on the whole time etc. then say $50000 pa..I havent' included immoderate use of phone etc. from your better half ringing her Mum back home because you've pissed her off.,nor factored in running a car here etc.(a big cost in Hong Kong) If all of you are bunked up in a 700' job/cable thrown in etc. etc. then it will obviously be a lot less. Perhaps the biggest single difference you'll notice is the price of your daily/bi/tri-weekly shop..All of the supermarkets (you can't really call them chains) are monopolized, and owned by the usual suspects that own everything else in this town..ie car franchises/ IKEA franchise etc. etc. Everything here is virtually flown in, (well, the stuff that appeals to Western pallets is) and as a result we have a global footprint like a Yeti, and pay the cost accordingly..so be prepared for a shock down Park'N' Shop/Taste/Welcome..Hard to quantify; I'd hazard a guess at around 40% on Brit prices; can't comment on the US/CAN etc.

[junior_man]

I used to pay about $10 USD for water
About $50 a month for elec
Gas was probably around $10 a month

all in USD, 2 bedroom apt

[the reo]

or if you have a larger family with a larger apartment you could see an electricity bill over $3000 HKD for two months during summer.
just like anywhere its all about your usage.

I'd suggest 50 USD is for a working couple that spend most of their working day at someone else air conditioned premises

[moosp]

And keep an eye on your water bill if the next door neighbours have extensive renovations/remodeling.

Not unknown to tap into your supply to keep their bills down.

As an irate skipper ranted one day, "someones put an illegal tapping into my illegal tapping!"

[hschol]

Thanks

thank you for all the information!!!

[Lowkoon]

It wont be the utility bills that kill you, pray you dont need to use medical. Noticed you are from the US, so you might be used to it. Plan for over a month of your salary to go to reasonable coverage that is transferable back to your home country for a small family. Company medical is more than adequate for bumps and sniffles. Anything more will leave you way out of pocket. Many examples of people having to go home to get medical attention, because it would have bankrupted them to stay and get it here in HKG. That may be ok if it is you, think about if it was your kids. Want to send them OS when they need you most?