Hong Kong: the most expensive city in the world for expats

The biggest expense of living in Hong Kong probably is rent...

Hi Veedushi,

Yes I read about the latest ratings on the news. Hong Kong has always been considered an expensive place to live even going back 20 or 30 years, due to it's limited land size and proximity to China and being one of the most important trading ports in the world. As Jane says, this is due largely to the high price of property and rentals, for both residential and commercial property.

But as with other expensive cities in Asia, you don't need to spend a fortune on food or household items or clothing. Hong Kong has plenty of shops that sell inexpensive household goods, it has a lot of factory outlets where you can buy inexpensive clothes, and of course you can eat local food on the streets. And of course it depends in which part of Hong Kong/Kowloon/New Territories that you are living.

I would say that ideally expats should have a package that includes accommodation, but if not there are always ways to survive as many people share apartments too. Expats tend to prefer to live in the more expensive areas such as Mid Levels, Central, Wanchai, Causeway Bay or Discovery Bay which are all expensive as far as rent is concerned.

But personally, I believe that many people are willing to pay those higher prices in order to live in one of the world's most exciting and vibrant and business oriented cities which I believe Hong Kong is.

Regards,
Hansson

There are other areas such as Park Island which is 25 minutes by ferry and will probably shave 30% to 40% off your rent costs if you dont want to live on the Island. You can even head out to Quarry Bay or Tai Koo to save some money on rent costs.