Moving to Hong Kong: Salary, Rent & Costs

Hello,

Considering I don’t know what kind of job you’ll be doing, your level of experience or where you will be working in the city I’ll try to do my best.

First of all as a salary for one person 23,000 is very reasonable depending on how you spend it, but I will let you know ahead of time I wouldn’t expect to save much unless you plan on eating ramen for the whole year. At the same time I would let you know that HK is a place that rewards hard work and talent, you could see a rise very fast if you stand out. If you are two people living on that single salary I would say you would need to live extremely frugally.


Rent is obviously the most expensive and if you are working in the island and don’t want to commute for an hour or more you will need to spend some money. I would say for one room in a shared apartment or a small studio (very small) in places like shueng wan, mong kok, Kennedy town or quarry bay (which aren’t top tier for HK standards) you’ll be looking at 6-8K (you could go up to 10k depending on the street or building quality)

You can get better deals but you’ll need to get far from the city center. Groceries and laundry are not particularly expensive and if you use public transport don’t expect to spend more than 500 per month commuting. Cell phone bill maybe 250. Eating out, going out, movies or having drinks are super expensive. A dinner at a nice (not fancy restaurant) for two people maybe 300-500 depending on what you order and if you have alcohol it could be more, much more. Average drinks at a nice bar is between 75-120 (happy hour maybe 60)

As a closing argument I would like to tell you that you should try to make it work, because experience in HK boosts any cv immediately and can lead to better opportunities.

Thanks AlonsoOdria,
Your perfect and informative reply.
Because I'm still talking with the company, I just want to hide my job before confirmation. They said workplace would be around Tai Ping Shan area. My job would be beginner research position there.
I don't expect much to save much money. Anyhow, I hope to save around 7000 to 10000 HKD per month.
If my wife is with me, she is sure to work there. If not, twos depending on that salary only is quite hard as you said. For rooms, distance would be not a matter. Because I used to spend 1 hr to get the work when I was in Tokyo. I just prefer fair condition and cheap price room with private kitchen and bathroom for two of us. I'm wondering to find one bed room or studio type anywhere rather than shared rooms. Is it possible with cheap price?

Thanks AlonsoOdria,
Your perfect and informative reply.
Because I'm still talking with the company, I just want to hide my job before confirmation. They said workplace would be around Tai Ping Shan area. My job would be beginner research position there.
I don't expect much to save much money. Anyhow, I hope to save around 7000 to 10000 HKD per month.
If my wife is with me, she is sure to work there. If not, twos depending on that salary only is quite hard as you said. For rooms, distance would be not a matter. Because I used to spend 1 hr to get the work when I was in Tokyo. I just prefer fair condition and cheap price room with private kitchen and bathroom for two of us. I'm wondering to find one bed room or studio type anywhere rather than shared rooms. Is it possible with cheap price?

Hi Kai,

I am by no means an expert but regarding what you said I would comment on 3 things

First, a 7-10k saving on a 23k salary is far too optimistic. When I did my research I found that most people that get their first job after Uni get payed around 14K-16K and they usually still live with their parents until they get more, which already tells you can expect to spend at least that if not more on living expenses. I would say you should set the goal at 3k for the first month and see if you can save more from then on, so you don’t stress too much.

Secondly, I got to be honest, what you describe as your ideal apartment is a palace by HK standards, I only know one couple who have their own place and covers all your descriptions and they live near Tai Po and still pay like 9k which is cheap by HK standards. Most studio apartments don’t even come with a kitchen (a western style kitchen anyway) in fact a lot of people in the city don’t cook at all. But I would suggest you do your own research, a bunch of people post they’re apartments in YouTube and of course if both of you work that’s 46k and you can get a decent place and safe money on that number.

Finally and on the good note, you are getting a starting position, which means you could see an increase in pay after your first year. The sky is the limit here and as such, I would tell you to enjoy the city and don’t be too stressed about saving on the first year, for real if you start counting every dollar you are going to go crazy, save your stress for work and get to enjoy things, Hong Kong is unfortunately expensive in many things even when compared to Tokyo! Best of luck!

Thanks dear!
You explained deeply, and made me clear.
The rent made me so exhausted.
Anyway, I'll prepare my mind and do my best to face HK.

Educated in the UK, I was born and raised in HK and fortunately owned a few estate properties to lease before, thus I am qualified to tell you the truth and only the truth. HKD23,000/month is not too bad for locals but for expats it's...hum...say the starting point on your promising career (normally expats should earn a little higher cos if you do not possess skills and experiences that are not available from locals, you would not have been invited to come with all the contractual nitty-gritty). The rent in Hong Kong will surely eat away a large chunk of your income, say just under HKD10,000. That is likely a tiny studio flat in a less crowded district in the city (say Sheung Wan). Forget about the heart of the city like Wan Chai or Causeway Bay. (I once leased a decent apartment of 430sqft to a French girl in Wan Chai and the rent is HKD28,000). Let's make it HKD10,000 for you for ease of calculation cos there are electricity and water bills anyway. You will then be left with HKD13,000 (with income tax exclusive). The income tax in HK is capped at 17.5% but yours may be slightly lower. I would say you will live with HKD10,000/month. If you want to save HKD4,000 per month, it will mean you have to live on HKD200- per day (transportation cost inclusive). Transportation cost in HK has been getting expensive these years, it can cost you up to HKD30-40/day on MTR (bus is cheaper). I will suggest you to buy a second hand tv cos your entertainment and relief will probably rely on it (before you go crazy) cos you will not have much money left for material entertainments like going to the cinema. I can't imagine when your wife comes unless she also gets a job. Good luck bro. My sympathy.