# Moving to HK soon!



## DogChops (Oct 25, 2014)

My wife has just landed a job in HK and we're taking the plunge. Salary of 20k, so it's time to figure out accomodation options.

I've heard there are loads of resources on this site so I'm going to check it out. Presumably it's not difficult to secure a place from the UK?

I'm wondering what length of contract you can get too. I figure we'll live in minimal accomodation for a few months until I'm working too, then upgrade.


----------



## Capstan (Sep 22, 2015)

20k is HKD / month? Honestly, that is extremely low to support two expats. What will your wife be doing, if you don't mind me asking?

Other question would be what you do that you expect to get a job in? 

If you don't speak Mandarin or Cantonese then outside of a few specialised industries you will have a hard time persuading employers they should hire you over a local. 

As far as accommodation goes, your budget would be maybe 6k per month, assuming you need to eat. 

I honestly don't know what that would get you, but I would imagine not much. Take a look on Squarefoot.com to get an idea. 

Most rental contracts are 24 months, with a 12 month lock-in, followed by a 2 month notice period. So you can expect to pay at least 14 months rent. 

Remember you will also need to pay income tax at the end of the year - and you might get hit with 2 years worth of bills, since the govt likes to collect a year in advance -along with a mandatory pension deduction.


----------



## DogChops (Oct 25, 2014)

My wife is an English teacher, I'm an IT project management consultant.


----------



## Capstan (Sep 22, 2015)

I suspected that was probably the case. I have to admit I know very little about teaching salaries, so I can't comment on that. My opinion stands though, two expats will struggle on that little per month. Are they not offering any accommodation benefit at all?

As far as renting a place goes, there are short term lets available, although they may well eat up a large chunk of that salary each month. 

Take a look at Buy & Rent Homes - Square Foot - Hong Kong Apartments, Homes, Real Estate for Sale to get some idea of rents and districts.

The IT market is in reasonable shape, although you will be much better placed if you speak Mandarin or Cantonese.


----------



## HKG3 (Jan 11, 2015)

HK$20k/month is not a lot for two people to live on given the high housing cost. The locals managed this as they are entitle to low cost government housing.


----------



## Freemonti (Nov 10, 2015)

DogChops said:


> My wife has just landed a job in HK and we're taking the plunge. Salary of 20k, so it's time to figure out accomodation options.
> 
> I've heard there are loads of resources on this site so I'm going to check it out. Presumably it's not difficult to secure a place from the UK?
> 
> I'm wondering what length of contract you can get too. I figure we'll live in minimal accomodation for a few months until I'm working too, then upgrade.



Housing is rather expensive in Hong kong. First you will need to figure out what location your wife will work, to understand her travel options to work. Secondly, you will need to figure out if she can access her work by MTR if there are cheap apartment options in the north of Hong Kong, which still make it accessible enough for your wife to reach work on time. Suggest you opt for a short term lease of a small apartment and decorate it with some basic but good furniture Hong Kong. Once you tested the life in Hong Kong, it will be time for you to find yourself a job. Scan JOBSDB, this is a good website for job hunters.


----------



## ATSC (Nov 9, 2015)

Umm....
Housing will definitely a great problem for you.

If you have some basic geological concept of HK, it's mainly composed of HK Island, Kowloon and New Territories, in the order of living cost as well.

If you are really depending on the $20k from your partner before you can secure a job
Some rough indication is that for the very rural NT area, it costs you about 6k-10k for a 700 sq ft flat of village houses, which are far from MTR and mostly you have to walk a while or even have to take mini-bus before you can get to MTR and major bus stations and travel to CBD. (which takes about 1-2 hours for single journey)

For the same 6k-10k money, you may get a 2-300 sq ft of old buildings in Kowloon and HK Island.

Try Rent Property in Hong Kong - 28Hse , its quite updated


----------

