[mercedes]

I’ve been offered a job in HK and have a few questions. Have been looking at this site for the last little while and would really appreciate some advice from any of you out there.
First, if someone could offer their opinion of the following… it sounds good to me but is it ? ...or do I need to question any of it?
The Company will:
- pay for "required work permits"
- pay my air fare and provide an annual ticket
- pay for a flat and utilities, broker&management fees and security deposit.
(Am assuming utilities = gas, water and electricity)
- provide medical insurance.
- provide a cell phone and pay airtime (for work calls).

Second, the salary they’re offering (aside from the above) is HK$20,000. Oh! And I don't pay taxes. I’m guessing this is enough to live on and save (I’m on my own) and figure it will go as follows… any opinions?
Restaurant dinner: HK$400 - 600 (mid to high end restaurants)
Lunch from a local restaurant: HK$30 - 40
Groceries: HK$2500/month
(including such western frivolities as Sara Lee Cheescakes and Heinz Baked Beans!!!)
Mobile: HK$200/month (for personal calls since they pay for the line and work calls)
Transportation: HK$600/month
Home Phone: HK$200/month (Does one pay for local calls in HK? If so, would 200 be just the line? Or would it cover local calls?)
Internet connection: HK$400/month
Bars/Clubs: HK$4000/month (3 or 4 times a month)
Miscellaneous: HK$2,000/month

And finally, can anyone tell me the cost of: novels (can you get recently published ones?) / Magazines (ex:Times/Newsweek) / Hair cut / Leg wax (!?!)

Thanks in advance to any and all who can offer advice!

[Max]

That should just about do it.....provided if you dont have any financial 'obligations'...

As for these,

Novels: anywhere between 70 (paperback) to 200 (hardback)
Magazines: get a subscription, you'll knock off nearly 40% off the newsstand rates.
Haircuts: well, depends what you need,..going to a decent hair salon will cost you anywhere from 60-250
Leg wax: sorry, can't help you there, .....absolutely no clue....

[shri]

Make sure you budget for taxes.

(no clue how much tax you pay at 20K/year, I'm assuming its about 7-10%)

On an offtopic note, HK$20K/month might not pass immigration's scrutiny these days, unless your company knows how to work the system.

[rani]

Max,

If you're interested in getting your legs waxed in can cost you as little as $150 at an Indian salon like Khoobsurat http://www.geoexpat.com/Khoobsurat_L487

Or you can splurge at one of the Central salons and spend as much as $1000.

Rani

[rani]

Haircut for a woman is $350 min at a decent salon.

[Hiten]

Originally Posted by shri

On an offtopic note, HK$20K/month might not pass immigration's scrutiny these days, unless your company knows how to work the system.

I am guessing here that it should not be a problem since the 20K/month is not a gross figure.

Merc won't pe paying any rent so that effectively adds another 15K to the monthly salary. + no taxes on that salary + several other perks are included(Another 3K I guess). For someone whose single I think its a pretty ok deal.

Not sure how the immigration takes it though but in my view won't the package count as roughly around 40K/month when the perks are taken into consideration as well? Jus wondering!!

Hiten

OUCH....YEAUUU....HELP.....
If you're wondering whats wrong with me....well thats just the thought of getting my legs waxed..

[mercedes]

Hey, thanks everyone. That's great.
And, yeah, I thought I might get some comments re the leg wax thing!
One more question though... am I missing something?
If my company is paying salary tax, why should I be worried about taxes or what immigration will think of my overall 'salary'? Is there some other tax I should be budgetting for???
Thanks
mercedes

[_WPE_]

Originally Posted by mercedes

Hey, thanks everyone. That's great.
And, yeah, I thought I might get some comments re the leg wax thing!
One more question though... am I missing something?
If my company is paying salary tax, why should I be worried about taxes or what immigration will think of my overall 'salary'? Is there some other tax I should be budgetting for???
Thanks
mercedes

if your company paying your tax, then you will have less monthly income as required and you will not get a working visa.

[mercedes]

Sorry to keep harping on this but I'm getting confused.
My company is paying me HK$ 20,000 and whatever tax there is will be paid by them and will not come out of the HK$20,000.
So...
a) is there some other tax I have to worry about?
b) do I need to know anything about immigration and what they view my 'salary' as
c) why on earth should I not be able to get a work visa? (although I'm not so concerned about this as it is a reputable company and they have told me they will sort out the work visa. I have to assume they know what they're doing as they have several other foreigners working for them).
Thanks again,
mercedes

[_WPE_]

Originally Posted by mercedes

Sorry to keep harping on this but I'm getting confused.
My company is paying me HK$ 20,000 and whatever tax there is will be paid by them and will not come out of the HK$20,000.
So...
a) is there some other tax I have to worry about?
b) do I need to know anything about immigration and what they view my 'salary' as
c) why on earth should I not be able to get a work visa? (although I'm not so concerned about this as it is a reputable company and they have told me they will sort out the work visa. I have to assume they know what they're doing as they have several other foreigners working for them).
Thanks again,
mercedes

sorry to say, but a reputable company should pay more as this 20000 penuts. why on earth you SHOULD get a visa. do you have special skills which a local poeple not have? did your reputable company adverse 3 times in local media and couldn't find any suitable person? this are the questions which the immigration department will ask.

wpe