# Dubai or Hong Kong



## prahladagarwal (May 28, 2014)

Hi,

I am being given option to re-locate to Hong Kong or Dubai for about 3 years in corporate banking division of an Indian Bank. Please help me select the best geography in terms of my:
i) career progression (financial services) - ability to shift jobs, annual hike in salaries or getting relocated to better financial destination like Singapore, etc
ii) Ease of getting job for spouse - currently she is working as product manager in food industry in India
iii) cost of living and ability to save with a conservative lifestyle - getting weekend teaching assignments (CFA classroom coaching, etc)

Please help - your replies will be highly appreciated!

Cheers


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

If it comes to personal preference, having lived in both HK and Dubai, I would prefer HK over Dubai. However, Dubai is a very practical place esp for Indians.

1. career progression - I am not sure why you say that Singapore is a "better" financial destination than HK. Both HK and SGP are important global financial centers. HK is a slightly more focussed towards China. So without Chinese language skills you would focus mostly on South East Asia and sometimes North Asia (along with regional offices). In Dubai, generally speaking, language is not an issue. So you could easily change jobs. If you ultimately want to move to Sgp then HK is probably better than Dubai.

2. really depends on luck and her skill set

3. You can't teach part time legally in Dubai (and almost sure you can't do that in HK either). Just don't think in terms of "savings" - think of this as an opportunity. in HK the cost of living (e.g. food) is similar, but housing is more expensive. For the same rent you will get much smaller places in HK. HK has a 15% tax but Dubai is tax free if that is a consideration.

If you are vegetarian, then you will have more options in Dubai than HK. HK is more cosmopolitan than Dubai and more "westernised" though very Chinese at the same time. Owning a car in HK is very expensive (but they have a good public transport system). Owning a car is almost a necessity in Dubai. If you have a child, then getting school places in HK in international schools apparently is even more difficult in HK than in Dubai.

I would love to again go back to HK (though I am sure I will miss a few things from Dubai). But then its all a matter of personal preferences, lifestyle etc.


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## prahladagarwal (May 28, 2014)

rsinner said:


> If it comes to personal preference, having lived in both HK and Dubai, I would prefer HK over Dubai. However, Dubai is a very practical place esp for Indians.
> 
> 1. career progression - I am not sure why you say that Singapore is a "better" financial destination than HK. Both HK and SGP are important global financial centers. HK is a slightly more focussed towards China. So without Chinese language skills you would focus mostly on South East Asia and sometimes North Asia (along with regional offices). In Dubai, generally speaking, language is not an issue. So you could easily change jobs. If you ultimately want to move to Sgp then HK is probably better than Dubai.
> 
> ...





thanks for your wonderful advise!


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