[sppedbird_indi]

Just recieved a contract form a large HK company offering me HKD$40,000 per month with housing at a base rate of 24K, childrens allowance and air tickets.
Just worried that this will sustain and maintain a heathly lifestyle for my family and I. Taking into consideration higher rates for electricity, gas and of course tax at 15% or is it that I will have to pay 30% (paying for 2 years)????

My wife will be unable to work in HK and my daughter will need to go to a british school, secondary.

We are a typical middleclass UK family with both partners working and the average 2 cars and 3 bed hse in UK, lots of bills and looking forward to living abroad again, to enjoy the new culture and sunshine!!

Just bit anxious if I am getting a good deal for my family as we will need to sell most of our possessions, house etc before coming over and starting again.
I think I read somewhere that if you going to KH from UK, not to sell your property, just to rent, is that wise??

From an anxious reader, looking forward to your personal responses and any advise you may be able to provide.

Regards

[berryplucker]

If "childrens allowance" means school fees then it should be OK so long as you realise that the accommodation will probably an apartment of less (perhaps a lot less, depending on location) than 2000 sq.ft. There is no real reason to run a car here - you can take taxis and public transport everywhere for less than it would cost you in car parking fees each month.

The advantage of being in the British school system is that you can use the ESF (English Schools Foundation, http://www.esf.edu.hk ) schools which are about half the price of full-blown independent schools.

Gas and electricity are not significantly more expensive than the UK per unit. The only problem will be if you want to run aircon and dehumidifers 24*7*365.

Tax is 16%, and the "two years up front" thing is a myth as I explained in my reply to another thread. You just need the discipline to put the money aside each month.

I can't really advise on UK property. When I moved here I was effectively emigrating, so I sold mine. But obviously that doesn't work if you only see yourself being here for a year or two.

Make sure you get a reasonable relocation allowance to cover the shipping whatever belongings you want to bring with you.

[crossecottage]

I totally understand your dilemma as we have been through the same! Having made the move under similar circumstances to yours about 6 months ago, My 7 year old son settled in really quickly, but our 17 year old daughter found it much more difficult to transfer as she was in the middle of her first year of A levels, and, although the ESF schools here follow the English curriculum they do not necessarily use the same examining bodies as these are chosen by the individual schools in the UK.

Consequently she had to drop 2 subjects, pick up a new one and struggle to cope with mis-matched modules on the remaining 2 subjects. However, she tells me she is still glad she came.

It can be quite expensive living in Hong Kong, but a lot depends on your life style. You can live very cheaply if you are careful. Running a car is horrendously expensive - though they are cheap to buy - and the only reason we have one is because we live quite a way off the beaten track. If we lived on the main transport routes I would not bother with one - and to be honest we are considering getting rid of ours. If you can avoid car ownership you would be very wise as the public transport is amazing - so cheap and frequent, and no worries about trying to find a parking space!

To be honest we have struggled a bit with the financial side. We paid for a container to bring our belongings over from the UK and although this was quite an expense it was worth it from our point of view to have all our home comforts.

We have rented our house in the UK out - as have most of our freinds here - and would advise you to consider very carefully the consequences of getting off the property ladder in the UK - with house prices rising all the time you may find you won't be able to afford anything by the time you get back again! Besides if you really hate it here (unlikely) you can always go back!

All that said we have a wonderful life here and I have not regretted for one moment the move - although in retrospect I think perhaps we should have demanded more money and a decent relocation allowance! Only you can make the decision, we consider it an opportunity too good to miss and a chance for us to have an adventure and that is exactly what we are having. Mind you we haven't had a tax bill yet..... (Education and housing allowances are taxable remember!!) Good luck with your decision!!!

[murtster]

The package sounds like a CPA ENG ground expat contract.
Normally the education allowance will only cover 75% of the fees, so you will have to top up the rest yourself. The medical has a ceiling, so if you get seriously ill, you will soon find yourself in a public hospital in Hong Kong or on a plane back to the UK for treatment.
Your wife will be able to work so long as she is sponsored by the employer, who usually have to show a shortage of equivalent skills in Hong Kong. Typically this would mean that she could do english teaching and the like. Things tightened up about a year ago in response to increasing unemployment rates.

$24k will get you about 1500sqft in places like disco bay or Sai Kung.

[berryplucker]

Originally Posted by murtster

The medical has a ceiling, so if you get seriously ill, you will soon find yourself in a public hospital in Hong Kong or on a plane back to the UK for treatment.

Er, unless you have medical insurance in the UK then you'll end up in a public hospital there as well, and if you do have medical insurance there why not cancel it and get a decent package here? And in any case the best emergency medical care is in the public hospitals (in UK or HK) - in this case all that private health care is paying for is a more private room rather than a ward; the medical care is the same.

[kevin]

Agree it is better to get a fully comprehensive medical package, not one that may have limits on the levels of cover.

There have also been some major changes concerning UK nationals and the NHS.

<snip... snip snip>

[shri]

Sorry Kevin, we don't need any advertorial FUD from insurance companies. do let us know when you have more specific information with valid govt sources ...

[kevin]

http://www.publications.doh.gov.uk/o...tors/index.htm

Quite from NHS web site:

"Hospital treatment is free to people who ordinarily live in the United Kingdom (UK). If you do not normally live here then you may be required to pay for any treatment you might need. "This is regardless of whether you are a British citizen or have lived or worked here in the past

Also, http://www.publications.doh.gov.uk/o...tors/rules.htm

"If you are not ordinarily resident or exempt under the Regulations, charges will apply for any hospital treatment you receive and cannot be waived. If this is the case you are strongly advised to take out private healthcare insurance that would cover you for the length of time you are in the UK. There is no facility to purchase healthcare insurance from the NHS therefore any necessary insurance must be organised privately."

You may only qualify if you have been outside the UK for less that 5 years, otherwise no free treatment anymore.

K/

[shri]

Ok.. we both answered at the same time.

Thanks for the links. Better to have govt sources than some err .. travelling insurance salesman's newsletter.

http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidan...711&chk=whW6Pd