[prophet40]

Hello folks. My wife and I are thrilled to be moving from the US to HK this fall! Very overwhelming and exciting. Couple of quick questions for this helpful board:

1. We have two small dogs and a cat we'd like to bring along (my wife is a Vet so no parting with them). Would like to live on the island and have around a $80k housing allowance. Any specific recomendations? I've seen the "pet friendly" list but just curious about ideas.

2. We'll be there for 2 years and don't want to bring too much furniture. Do people rent furniture here? We figured we'd buy some things here and bring home after.

3. Silly question, would a TV we bought in the US work in HK? Assuming I would need a converter for the power plug but wondered about the cable/sat hookup.

4. Do most people not have cars?

5. Tax question which I am having our accountant look at but just curious. Is the Housing Allowance tax-exempt? I think the US exemption for HA in HK is $110k but not sure.

Most concerned with the pets/living situation...

Thanks a ton for any answers! We're thrilled to arrive.

[Juny]

Welcome to Hong Kong!

1) Check on this forum: Bellagio - Sham Tseng

Bellagio at Sham Tseng is really a nice place and dogs / animals friendly. Transportation is convenient, 180 degrees sea view, fresh air, not crowded.... etc. I won't feel sorry about it!

2) There are some with ready furnitures, you just need to tell all your request to real estate agent, and they will find you your ideal flat.

3) TV in Hong Kong is really cheap, cheaper than your freight charge, so why not buy a new one? Or maybe your rented flat already supply you one.

4) Most people don't have cars. HK transportation is super convenient, but finding a car park will consume most of your time, and costly too.

5) Not sure.

Enjoy your thrill to move to HK.

Originally Posted by prophet40

Hello folks. My wife and I are thrilled to be moving from the US to HK this fall! Very overwhelming and exciting. Couple of quick questions for this helpful board:

1. We have two small dogs and a cat we'd like to bring along (my wife is a Vet so no parting with them). Would like to live on the island and have around a $80k housing allowance. Any specific recomendations? I've seen the "pet friendly" list but just curious about ideas.

2. We'll be there for 2 years and don't want to bring too much furniture. Do people rent furniture here? We figured we'd buy some things here and bring home after.

3. Silly question, would a TV we bought in the US work in HK? Assuming I would need a converter for the power plug but wondered about the cable/sat hookup.

4. Do most people not have cars?

5. Tax question which I am having our accountant look at but just curious. Is the Housing Allowance tax-exempt? I think the US exemption for HA in HK is $110k but not sure.

Most concerned with the pets/living situation...

Thanks a ton for any answers! We're thrilled to arrive.

[gilleshk]

It is possible to have part of your housing allowance deducted from tax, it depends on how your company handles it not you.

If you have a moving allowance then you can bring furniture but it's easy to deal with that here too and many flats have the basics. Many electronics now have a converter built in and you'll just need an adapter.

[Sleuth]

In some places in HK you will need a car, in other places you won't. For instance, Sai Kung, Stanley = probably going to have to have one. Mid-levels, probably not necessary.
I think the TV in the US operates on a different technical standard and won't work here. Plus our moving company told us putting a big TV on a boat is just a future insurance claim.

[Lammarite]

I'd ignore the Bellagio link- I think Juny's on commission!

Furniture is really easy to pick up here, new or second hand as it is a very transient city.
Forget about bringing your TV here- get one when you arrive would be my advice.
Cars aren't necessary and, if you are just arriving, the roads will be pretty intimidating anyway. If you choose a green area to live in and commute you don't need a car but they come in useful- that's th etrade off between spending all your allowance on a 1,000sqft flat 10' away from your neighbours flat on the 65th floor of a building which has no natural light or living in a large house with a garden and the beach at your door. (Guess which option I chose!!)

[Juny]

I am not in commission, nor a real estate agent.

It's just i live in this area, & love it! that's all! But you can ignore it too. No big deal. From what Lammarite judges, then everyone into the said topic forum are into commission. hahaha.... relax! Don't judge so quickly and wrong.

[prophet40]

Thanks for the feedback so far. From all accounts, it sounds like we'll likely need to be on the Southside b/c of the pets. Thinking Repulse, Stanly or Redhill. Although redhill seems pretty far and i'm not sure if there are any restaraunts/stores there. I assume Stanley and Repulse have enough nearby for daily needs...

[MovingIn07]

For 80k (that's 80kHKD per month, right?) you can live just about anywhere in a nice big place (well, big by HK standards anyway!). With the pets you might want to find something low rise or pet-friendly, like a village house. In which case it's possibly you will need a car, depending on where you find eventually. Generally people here don't.

I'd leave the TV behind - there is a good range of TV's in the shops etc. We purchased new when we got here. We brought abit of furniture with us that we liked and purchased the rest here - but I have seen people rent it.

No idea about US tax.

[gilleshk]

These are excellent choices, you could also consider Shouson Hill. Red Hill and Stanley are a bit more of a commute and you can get stuck badly on occasions if there's a problem on the road and there are often road closures which slow things down quite a bit. On the other hand, it's very pleasant out there, close to HKIS if you have kids and the American Club is also very nice.

[prophet40]

Yes, i've heard the America Club is nice. Any sense on the pricing for a US citizen?