[Paul Slezak]

In my life I have spent 9 hours in Hong Kong on a stop over so I know absolutely nothing and I have been offered to potentially move there.

If I ask you a few questions, you might be able to shed some light!

• I am single – so what sort of relocation package would be reasonable?
• What are rentals like? 1 or 2 bedroom / ideally fairly modern and close to the city? Our office is on Gloucester Road if that is still "city"
• How does the taxation situation work for ex pats?
•*How much more expensive is it to live in HKG than Sydney?
• Can one really rely on the taxi and train network without a car?
• Is it resasonable to negotiate x number of trips back to Sydney each year?
• Are ex pats able to negotiate gym memberships in to their packages that you know of?

Thank you!

[KnowItAll]

>> How does the taxation situation work for ex pats?

Depends on where you're moving from, you may or may not have to pay taxes on your Hong Kong income in your home country.

You can calculate your Hong Kong taxes here - http://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/ese/ind_stc.htm

>> Can one really rely on the taxi and train network without a car?

About 95% of Hong Kong relies on the public transportation network (bus included) to commute.

>> Are ex pats able to negotiate gym memberships in to their packages that you know of?

Depends on how good a negotiator you are. Some have been able to negotiate open bar tabs at the country clubs.

Gym memberships generally cost less than US$100 a month at the top end .. so I'd not be too worried about it if I were you. Negotiate hard on the bigger picture (tickets back home for example)

[greentea]

• What are rentals like? 1 or 2 bedroom / ideally fairly modern and close to the city? Our office is on Gloucester Road if that is still "city"

Ans: if you office is located in Gloucester Road, you would probably look for the apartment in Causeway Bay or Wanchai for relatively cheaper, or Happy Valley. Of course, it is also nice to look for any apartment located in Hong Kong Island side. So I would assume you can prepare for $10,000 to $12,000/month for housing.

[nattitatti]

Hi Paul,

I moved from sydney about 6 wks ago. Rent here is much higher than sydney, as is alcohol - but other than that things are cheaper. You can spend anywhere from 10k -30k a mth on rent - depending how nice you want it and location. Oh and places are way smaller than your used to in sydney.
Definately try for flights back to Oz, but remember flights from HK are cheaper than flights from Oz. If you have any other qs feel free to email me.

Nat

[lynx_virux]

• What are rentals like? 1 or 2 bedroom / ideally fairly modern and close to the city? Our office is on Gloucester Road if that is still "city"

Gloucestor Road is definity in the city! The district is a combination of modern commerical buildings and old residential buildings. There are some apartment buildings nearby.

• Can one really rely on the taxi and train network without a car?
Sure. The public transportation is really well developed in HK. Most local people here rely on it. We go everywhere by MTR (metro), buses and mini-buses.

• Are ex pats able to negotiate gym memberships in to their packages that you know of?
If you join California fitness centre which has a branch in Gloucestor Road, you can try bargaining about HK$300-400 per month! Don't trust their plan with HK$599/month!!! Acutally many locals said it's not a reliable shop but I still join this center (HK$399/month, one club and alternative days only. Its not the best offer from them.) . I've to tell you that salespersons there are really very cunning and I've asked about the memberships three times before really joining them. There are many other gym centres for you to choose.