[Sem2006]

Dear all

First of all, I must thank all of you for sharing your experiences.

I'm currently considering to move to HK but I've some doubts on my ability to meet the family expenses and as well make some savings.

I've been offered a permanent job on local terms with a salary of HK$45K per month gross of tax. I'll be coming with my wife and little son aged 2 yrs old.

I understand that I can find an apartment for rental at Tung Chung for about $10-13K p.m. Given that we do not speak Mandarin, I will need to put my son in an English kindergarten. I've been told that there is one near Caribbean Coast. Can you please tell me how much it costs and is it of good quality? I've budgeted $3.5-4k per month.

I think that my wife will not work at start,so she will be basically cook food. How much can we spend on food on a monthly basis? Are baby milk and nappies expensive? I must say that we live a simple life here, i.e. no cinema, restaurant dinner (very rare), not happy hours, etc.

I'll be working in Olympic, so I think that I will basically spend some $700 per month.

Based on my assumptions, I should be able to make a savings of about $6.5k per month. Is that sufficient.

I'm currently in mix feelings, so if someone in almost the same situation as us can share his experience, that would be great.

Thanks

[Sleuth]

Unfortunately, this will all depend on what your current lifestyle is. We are in about your situation and that would not have been enough money (because you are paying for school and housing). We save a lot more than you are proposing, though.
If, by baby milk, you mean that powdered formula it runs $150 HK for a 2 year-old at Park and Shop. Formula by Abbott.
Nappies are all over the board as you have them from US, Japan, Toys-r-US, etc.... And they aren't all the same and some work better than others, but it seems to depend on your child.
If you have to have specific, Western brands of food, that will cost you. Local brands aren't too bad in cost. Wet markets can save you money, but not in every case.

[PDLM]

And, by the way, the local language is not Mandarin.

[Sleuth]

Originally Posted by PDLM

And, by the way, the local language is not Mandarin.

Don't tell Beijing.

[Sem2006]

Thanks Sleuth

My budget is as follows:

Household income: $45000
Rent:$13000
Tax:$1800
Pension:$1400
Kindergarten:$4000
Transport:$1500
Water,electricity & gas:$2400
Telephone, mobile, internet & cable tv:$1000
Food:$5000
Miscellaneous exp. for Mtius: $4600
Investment in shareoptions:$1050
Miscellaneous exp for baby:$3000

For your info, I currently live in Mauritius where I'm actually contributing for a life insurance/pension plan, so I have to budget for both my wife and myself.

My lifestyle here is quite simple, only work and home. We rarely eat in restaurants and rarely go to cinema or bars. We used to shop in markets and cook at home. We intend to have a similar life style, so I guess that the budget of $5k for food is quite lot.

Kindly give me yours views and advise if I missed any other expenses.

Many thanks

[chowfun]

I honestly think $45k a month is tough for raising a family. I'm sure you can make do with that income, but it'll be tight. If you are currently living paycheck-to-paycheck already, then it won't be a huge downgrade.

[gilleshk]

I think your budget is fair, a little high for transportation. You can easily pay less with public transport. Food seems on the low side, not too many nights out with that budget. Electricity shouldn't cost you that much unless you have the aircon on all the time. You won't be tight but you won't be living in luxury either...

Keep in mind that most local people live on half that amount...

[psampras88]

I am wondering why you are interested in leaving Mauritius for HK on HKD 45k / month.
It would be OK if you were single, but with a little family, it will be tough.
I have always thought that one would need to make sufficient money in HK (at least double what you have been proposed) to bear with the lesser quality of life...
Unless you are confident that 45k is only a start and you can rapidly make more than that, I would not recomment you leave such a paradise to live cheapely in a place like HK.....

[Sleuth]

Water and gas hardly cost anything, electricity will be high in the summer, low otherwise and depends on your apartment size.
You should have enough money, though.

[Tulip]

Sem2006,
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