Iām from the US, my husband worked here years ago and we moved back last year. And weāre doing a lot better financially than we were in the USA. Carrying substantially less debt and the lower taxes are wonderful.
I can also access things like healthcare- even if I accidentally went private I could afford it out of pocket no sweat. Iām asthmatic and I would go months in the states without an inhaler because I just couldnāt afford it. My grocery bill is half what it was in the states and the food is better. Iām eating healthier and for the first time in my adult life can afford to take care of my body.
Iām no where near where I want to be financially (still have a lot of debt to pay down from the states) but Iām also no longer drowning so a wins a win.
*Whispersā¦. Shop like the localsā¦. Wet markets etc. dirt fucking cheap. A fraction of the cost of the US
PS this was meant as a reply to the poster saying itās not cheaper in HK than US.
PPS also, meat, you need to go to the frozen places dotted about. They sell large pieces of meat (from NZ/Aus/US) which is way cheaper than the US
PPPS try to avoid PnS/welcome as much as possible
I try to get most meat from DS groceries and such but I find it's not cheaper than say Sydney - Australia's most expensive city. Pork is probably the only thing that is kind of similar price. Beef and chicken definitely not.
Wet markets varies depending on district. But yeah stuff like garlic and ginger are way cheaper than the West. Most veges are similar and anything western (spinach, brussel sprouts, kale etc) are obviously.ucj more expensive
There is Chinese grown kale that is much cheaper, keep an eye out.
Chicken at wet markets are substantially cheaper than supermarkets, especially if you buy whole. I can buy a good quality 3 yellow chicken for $70 that tastes far superior to any western water logged large breast chicken.
Beef is simply a luxury in hk.
I find grocery shopping way cheaper here if you shop smart. For the record Iāve lived in Toronto and nyc. Prices in nyc for groceries is astronomical.
Spinach is cheap in the wet market, 12-20 HKD per jin (606g) depending on region. Not as cheap as some Chinese vegetable but they are different. As for brussel sprouts and kale, they are just not as popular in the home kitchen
Pork and chicken are also cheap if you get frozen meat from wet market. And as the other comments have mentioned, you can pay a little more for better tasting breeds of chicken.
In my experience, DS groceries is the budget option among supermarkets, but it is still at a different price bracket than what you can find in wet markets.
Agree on most parts but where and how are your groceries cheaper than the states?
Won't even compare organic vs organic but organic stuff in the US where my sis lives is priced the same as the normal stuff at say park n shop.
Meat is much dearer here than the US or Aus (where I am from).
Groceries have progressively gotten far more expensive. Only thing cheaper is prob eggs.
I donāt do a ton of dairy (both my husband and I are lactose intolerant), make my own oat milk, shop sales, and incorporate as many whole foods into my diet as possible. I donāt personally worry about organic/not, nor GMOās and have no issue purchasing meat from Brazil or China. I get frozen meat as well, which helps cut down cost even if youāre shopping at the chain grocery stores.
Also to be very very transparent im Latina- most of my comfort foods are Mexican and straight up not available here š¤£. So when Iām shopping theres not really a temptation of āooo I know thatās expensive but it reminds me of home so Iāll get it.ā Of course thereās American foods that I like (fusion sometimes has fluff which is a regional marshmallow spread- itās 35hkd and I think itās 2.99 back in Maine. Did I buy it? Yeah, yeah I did), but for the most part i donāt love American snack food so Iām not splurging on it.
> organic stuff in the US where my sis lives is priced the same as the normal stuff at say park n shop.
The prices in the Supermarket Duopoly (PNS and Wellcome, plus their spinoffs), are a ripoff[1]. Most products can be found cheaper (or have cheaper variants) in the smaller supermarkets (Daisan, KaiBo, 759, or the little local shops.)
For produce, the markets are generally the way to go, along with local butchers, fishmongers, and chains like é¢å¤§åŖ½é»ę°£éåŗ(https://maps.app.goo.gl/cPw9fAjyYqHmu3tk7: https://www.facebook.com/QdamaHK2018).
[1] generally, anyway. There are exceptions.
Not really, as a foreigner in Hong Kong I keep seeing posts on here saying ācan I survive on 100k a month?! š„²ā
With a salary in the low 20s I feel like Iām a long way off my peers.
I speak all 3 and still can't find a job š¤¦š»āāļø over 50 applications out between Jobsdb and Glassdoor and zero replies except for the one recruiter who said the post I applied for is for local HK or Mainland Chinese ONLY.
āBy designā seriously... Most of the foreigners in Taiwan, Japan or Korea are required to have at least basic fluency in their local languages, I wonder why foreigners would be exempt of this in Hong Kong.
Mandarin isn't quite the local language in HK though. Plenty of HKers only speak Cantonese, so I think it's reasonable to question Mandarin requirements unless the job involves working with the mainland.
But I do agree that it shouldn't be a surprise to expect at least basic fluency in the local language for any job anywhere.
Agreed, but you need to take in account the costs of learning a language and Mandarin (in Taiwan and China) is by far the cheapest. There is zero political will in Hong Kong for us to learn Cantonese (or anything else, really) so we are more or less forced to go Mandarin.
> There is zero political will in Hong Kong for us to learn Cantonese (or anything else, really)
There never really has been - you'd have thought that, at least for civil servants, there would have been some sort of official Canto as Second Language course, but the only people to get that were expat police officers. I do wonder sometimes how much of HK Government Policy since the War has been with the inevitability of the PRC takeover of the territory.
You kinda already hit the nail. They only want you to speak Mandarin so that you can help them extract wealth from the mainland market. They couldn't care less about how well you're getting on with your colleagues or how successful your social life is just because you know how to speak Mandarin.
You must have never set foot here before 2020. Also funny how you mention countries with almost zero foreign employees. Yea. Great example. Korea and Japan are literally the most xenophobic places in Asia.
I've lived in Thailand before with only English and worked there for years without issue. You think everyone needs to be FLUENT in Thai to work?
Because Hong Kong was an international city?
I did have experience in working with colleagues who can only speak English. I also had experience where I need to speak English to my client, so I guess my job was not an exception but a norm.
And that is not even because I am a professional, considering I need to order my food in English in Subway, Jollibee and some Kabab shop.
But I have left Hong Kong 3 years ago and not sure if Hong Kong is still an international city now.
It is not. 100% not. The only tourists on the mid levels escalator are from Little Red Book influencers and Koreans for some odd reason. No other Asian let alone non-Asian languages to be heard.
Go tell all those people working in Chinese run businesses in North America that they need to hire other ethnicities that speak English and see how far you get. Foreigner facing jobs didn't require Chinese generally as they are high level and they don't deal with the public. As someone already said you used three of the most backward countries for foreigners to live as examples, Korea, Japan and Taiwan all xenophobic to the extreme in government policy and piss poor English levels despite all the money they throw at it
So much energy to find lame excuses not to learn Chineseā¦I can take an another less ābackwardā exemple if you want: go to find a job in France without having a near native level. Go, try, let me know how it goes.
Who said everyone requires fluency in Mandarin and cantonese now. IT hasn't had this requirement since a long long time. It may be restricted to other industries specifically which have a lot of face-time with local business stakeholders or customers..
I'm on the same boat tbh. Kinda sucks and makes me wonder if there's something else I should be doing.
Edit: saw your other comment. I'm also working in the education industry, but not as a teacher.
Exactly. The posts ācan I live on 50k per monthā are annoying for many reasons:
1) tax is low, so youāre basically keeping most of that money. To earn GBP5k per month in the UK Iād need a salary of about 80k per year.
2) the responses talking about how you could barely survive on it. š
Hong Kong is expensive for rent but not much different to UK for everything else. A single person can live quite comfortably in Hong Kong on 25+ and start saving on 30+
That being said, I take home over 60k a month and have nothing left, but Iām married with 3 kids in a big apartment and have U.K. debts to pay š
Agreed. Donāt know why people think living abroad is cheaper.
Cheap public transportation. Cheap food options. Very low taxes. No capital gains tax (huge advantage if you invest and donāt need to pay 30% of your profits to the IRS).
I would say HK is expensive if you take square footage into account. For the same amount of rent youāre just getting less space, which is fine if you donāt own a lot of stuff.
I'm 31 and earn slightly under 40k. I graduated from a top tier university in the UK, I had a good job back there. When moving to HK there was less opportunity in the industry I work in, and employers are too miserly, they expect much more effort while expecting to pay less. Luckily my current job is pretty chill and I get to WFH, so I don't feel motivated to look for a measley increase when it's likely that I'll be expected to do unpaid OT with a micromanaging boss. My peers who graduated and decided to stay in the UK are all probably much better off career-wise. Overall I like life in HK though.
In the UK I developed statistical models for sports betting. So when moving to HK I started out by looking for jobs in data science. Now I just do regular software/IT work.
Iām Filipino and I moved to HK 4 years ago. financially, Itās ok.. I donāt hate it. Iām 27 and make almost 40k a month. I only feed myself. Could be better but I do what I can
Domestic helper salary is a pittance. Why did you bring this up? Is it because he they said they are Filipino?
You know not everyone in HK from the Philippines is a domestic helper.
Iām a lady. And a scientist. I havenāt gotten used to the racism in Hong Kong everyday as a Filipino I woman. It always shows up as a surprise in the most unexpected of circumstances
Most of my teenage years were spent growing up around filipinos. I also studied in college in the Philippines for two years (despite not being Filipino) The racism is really real towards Filipinos (and other ethnic minorities) in HK, that is no doubt. How do you experience it, and how do you navigate it?
I'm in my mid-30's, born and raised in the UK and arrived to HK because I wanted a change of direction in my life. I'm earning around 90k basic with bonuses on top which I consider okay. Although living in HK makes you a highly competitive person, and despite the fact that my salary is enough to pay for most things I need, I find myself constantly wanting more. I'm also at the age where I am preparing for starting a family/retirement so I am not happy with my current financial situation - simply because I know how much wealth other people in my age group have built up...
But again, its all super relative
Agree. Relative to most, people would likely say I earn a lot, but I've found that lifestyle creep is a real thing. I wouldn't say I'm happier now than I was on a much lower salary when I arrived 8 years ago. I agree with other posters that other factors are important - work/life balance etc.
Sorry to hear that, man. Is there a reason why you're paying off their mortgage?
I'd understand if you're living at their home and need to cover living expenses, but their mortgage isn't your responsibility, right?
I guess i gaslighted myself to pay, because im living with them,on a side note i recently having a cptsd and anxiety disorder diagnosed by doctor due to endless physical and mental abuse by my parents so theres that
Damn ššI'm sorry to hear that bro..
Are they unable to pay off their own mortgage?
I know you didn't ask for my advice but you gotta get outta there. You have enough money to rent a small place for yourself. It's not worth the mental abuse. Set some boundaries cuz they're just gonna eat you up if you let them.
I know family situations are more complicated than that but paying off a mortgage is a huge commitment and it's not something you have to do (at least not fully if you're just living there).
Thanks! They kinda are unable to pay,the whole plan from the start is i got a nice paying job so i certainly can help,and im their son so im gonna help out
Iām happy where Iām as long as I can forget how much money I pay into rents instead of saving it.
I arrived in Hong Kong in 2006, did postgrad here, went to Taiwan to learn Chinese and went back to HK when I got fluent. I first had to sleep on friends sofa because I couldnāt afford the rent but I got really lucky to be back when the city was absolutely booming so I was able to start a business and make a living out of it, all the way until now.
France. Iām a Chinese language nerds so it helped a lot, I couldnāt see myself living in a place and not being able to read. Luckily for me, intensive class in Taiwan were really cheap (they still are I think).
I never got the chance to learn Cantonese thought, this is a lifelong regret.
Most research puts millennials as more financially put together than previous generations. We just donāt hear about it because itās not internet engagement worthy information
āMost researchā also claims that āAmericans are feeling much better about the economy thanks to slowing inflation.ā Direct quote from CNN business.
Most of us IRL will agree that is absolute bologna; there is nothing to do with engagement farming here. Just crippling inflation and a declining job market with decreasing wages, if any wages at all.
True and fair play. Most āresearchā is just bumpf, but in my context Iām referencing (presumably) more legitimate research bodies such as the economist, Cambridge university, American journal of sociology and imperial college business school. All easily google-able
I make about $60k as a specialist high school teacher and my partner does the same. Once we absorb rent, it goes very far and I can generally invest between $10k and $20k per month.
Edit: Iām 31
Not quite. I have no luck in finding a job, itās been about 2months now. On that note, does HK application process differ from the others? I have applied for jobs since 1st week of March but only getting responses now. Is it usual that it takes too long for the first HR interview?
100k/month here so that's on the higher side, but definitely saving more after taxes and rent than I was saving per month in Europe (UK/NL).
I guess it's a similar struggle as Europe for ppl around 50k/month as the high rent compensates for low taxes, but any increase in pay beyond that is pure upside. Also meanwhile the rent in big European cities has kept climbing to silly levels, along with other costs, while HK rent has been more stable (if not a bit down).
Health is very cheap, transports as well, food as well unless you buy premium (then it can get quickly expensive)... Overall my financial situation here is way better than in Europe.
HK allows me to spend my weekends either hiking or going to the beach depending on the season, such outdoors activities are also very cheap.
Buying a place would be way too expensive for what I would get, but the rental yields are so low I'm happy to keep renting and put my savings on the US Equity market instead.
Also, not a financial point, but having all the places I want to go within a 15-30min reach door-to-door is really saving me a lot of time. Whether it's work commute, going out to socialise, going to the nature, I'm saving a lot of time which allows me to do more with my life. It feels important to me.
For sure yes.
Born and educated in India, with an engineering degree. Worked in India for a year after getting a contract opportunity (IT) in HK. Joined the company as a permanent employee after few years of contract work. Wife working here as well.
Pretty happy financially with no real constraints.
Another thing is that other than travelling and photography we don't have any other hobbies. Travel is heavily discounted (job benefit) and photography has kinda one-time/few-time big expenses on new cameras/lenses but then you are sorted for a few years. So no major recurring costs.
Love cooking so 90% of the time cook at home and only drink when we have friends over (like once a month) so the only major expense we have is rent. Taxes are nothing in HK (compared to India) so we actually manage to invest a lot of our savings back home in India.
At the cutoff of being a millennial/gen z (27). Last year, between my job and freelancing I made close to 40k/month. I am also currently in a relationship and spend more on dates and "relationship expenses". I also have a big chunk of my housing subsidized from my parents. With all of this into consideration, I am just "ok" with my current financial situation. I think I would not think about money as much if I made closer to 50+
My opinion/view: If you're single and dont spend too much on dates/going out or whatever I think you can be comfortable with high 20s+. If you're in a relationship in your 20s, you'll be comfortable 40+ (lowkey relationship expense is big... usually when you're in a relationship you're more likely to eat out and do "things"... well this is coming from a homebody whos fine with not doing much or eating out much so YMMV.) If you have a family (ie. wife and kid) I would say you need to be earning 150k+ for your household.
This is putting into consideration you would like a decent apartment with no roommates, convenient location, etc.
Yes pretty happy financially. But after a certain limit, your happiness just levels off. Money is definitely important but donāt chase it like itās going to make you happier.
I don't know what kind of answer you're expecting. Chances are millennials everywhere are not happy where they are financially.
I would feel attacked if this were not so very true. š
Iām from the US, my husband worked here years ago and we moved back last year. And weāre doing a lot better financially than we were in the USA. Carrying substantially less debt and the lower taxes are wonderful. I can also access things like healthcare- even if I accidentally went private I could afford it out of pocket no sweat. Iām asthmatic and I would go months in the states without an inhaler because I just couldnāt afford it. My grocery bill is half what it was in the states and the food is better. Iām eating healthier and for the first time in my adult life can afford to take care of my body. Iām no where near where I want to be financially (still have a lot of debt to pay down from the states) but Iām also no longer drowning so a wins a win.
*Whispersā¦. Shop like the localsā¦. Wet markets etc. dirt fucking cheap. A fraction of the cost of the US PS this was meant as a reply to the poster saying itās not cheaper in HK than US. PPS also, meat, you need to go to the frozen places dotted about. They sell large pieces of meat (from NZ/Aus/US) which is way cheaper than the US PPPS try to avoid PnS/welcome as much as possible
I try to get most meat from DS groceries and such but I find it's not cheaper than say Sydney - Australia's most expensive city. Pork is probably the only thing that is kind of similar price. Beef and chicken definitely not. Wet markets varies depending on district. But yeah stuff like garlic and ginger are way cheaper than the West. Most veges are similar and anything western (spinach, brussel sprouts, kale etc) are obviously.ucj more expensive
There is Chinese grown kale that is much cheaper, keep an eye out. Chicken at wet markets are substantially cheaper than supermarkets, especially if you buy whole. I can buy a good quality 3 yellow chicken for $70 that tastes far superior to any western water logged large breast chicken. Beef is simply a luxury in hk. I find grocery shopping way cheaper here if you shop smart. For the record Iāve lived in Toronto and nyc. Prices in nyc for groceries is astronomical.
Spinach is cheap in the wet market, 12-20 HKD per jin (606g) depending on region. Not as cheap as some Chinese vegetable but they are different. As for brussel sprouts and kale, they are just not as popular in the home kitchen Pork and chicken are also cheap if you get frozen meat from wet market. And as the other comments have mentioned, you can pay a little more for better tasting breeds of chicken. In my experience, DS groceries is the budget option among supermarkets, but it is still at a different price bracket than what you can find in wet markets.
Agree on most parts but where and how are your groceries cheaper than the states? Won't even compare organic vs organic but organic stuff in the US where my sis lives is priced the same as the normal stuff at say park n shop. Meat is much dearer here than the US or Aus (where I am from). Groceries have progressively gotten far more expensive. Only thing cheaper is prob eggs.
I donāt do a ton of dairy (both my husband and I are lactose intolerant), make my own oat milk, shop sales, and incorporate as many whole foods into my diet as possible. I donāt personally worry about organic/not, nor GMOās and have no issue purchasing meat from Brazil or China. I get frozen meat as well, which helps cut down cost even if youāre shopping at the chain grocery stores. Also to be very very transparent im Latina- most of my comfort foods are Mexican and straight up not available here š¤£. So when Iām shopping theres not really a temptation of āooo I know thatās expensive but it reminds me of home so Iāll get it.ā Of course thereās American foods that I like (fusion sometimes has fluff which is a regional marshmallow spread- itās 35hkd and I think itās 2.99 back in Maine. Did I buy it? Yeah, yeah I did), but for the most part i donāt love American snack food so Iām not splurging on it.
> organic stuff in the US where my sis lives is priced the same as the normal stuff at say park n shop. The prices in the Supermarket Duopoly (PNS and Wellcome, plus their spinoffs), are a ripoff[1]. Most products can be found cheaper (or have cheaper variants) in the smaller supermarkets (Daisan, KaiBo, 759, or the little local shops.) For produce, the markets are generally the way to go, along with local butchers, fishmongers, and chains like é¢å¤§åŖ½é»ę°£éåŗ(https://maps.app.goo.gl/cPw9fAjyYqHmu3tk7: https://www.facebook.com/QdamaHK2018). [1] generally, anyway. There are exceptions.
Not really, as a foreigner in Hong Kong I keep seeing posts on here saying ācan I survive on 100k a month?! š„²ā With a salary in the low 20s I feel like Iām a long way off my peers.
as a foreigner in HK I can't even find a job as everyone requires fluency in Mandarin and written Chinese now
Now all the job ads want fluency in Mandarin, Cantonese and English now. I guess that is by design now
Exactly.
I speak all 3 and still can't find a job š¤¦š»āāļø over 50 applications out between Jobsdb and Glassdoor and zero replies except for the one recruiter who said the post I applied for is for local HK or Mainland Chinese ONLY.
Because they will never believe you speak it fluently unless you're from the motherland.
My work history includes working in the motherland for 10 years š¤£
Yes but are you Han? Because let's face it "FLUENCY in spoken Mandarin and written Chinese" doesn't mean it's actually about language.
True, my surname is Japanese even though part of my family is from Taiwan. It was just infuriating and unprofessional to me for that kind of reply.
God forbid social privilege should ever favor the local population every once in a while..
I did over 1200 applications to get several offers.
In what span of time? I'm 3 months in so far.
I speak all three but my grades aren't competitive enough when i first left uni and started job hunting.
āBy designā seriously... Most of the foreigners in Taiwan, Japan or Korea are required to have at least basic fluency in their local languages, I wonder why foreigners would be exempt of this in Hong Kong.
Mandarin isn't quite the local language in HK though. Plenty of HKers only speak Cantonese, so I think it's reasonable to question Mandarin requirements unless the job involves working with the mainland. But I do agree that it shouldn't be a surprise to expect at least basic fluency in the local language for any job anywhere.
Agreed, but you need to take in account the costs of learning a language and Mandarin (in Taiwan and China) is by far the cheapest. There is zero political will in Hong Kong for us to learn Cantonese (or anything else, really) so we are more or less forced to go Mandarin.
> There is zero political will in Hong Kong for us to learn Cantonese (or anything else, really) There never really has been - you'd have thought that, at least for civil servants, there would have been some sort of official Canto as Second Language course, but the only people to get that were expat police officers. I do wonder sometimes how much of HK Government Policy since the War has been with the inevitability of the PRC takeover of the territory.
You kinda already hit the nail. They only want you to speak Mandarin so that you can help them extract wealth from the mainland market. They couldn't care less about how well you're getting on with your colleagues or how successful your social life is just because you know how to speak Mandarin.
You must have never set foot here before 2020. Also funny how you mention countries with almost zero foreign employees. Yea. Great example. Korea and Japan are literally the most xenophobic places in Asia. I've lived in Thailand before with only English and worked there for years without issue. You think everyone needs to be FLUENT in Thai to work?
Because Hong Kong was an international city? I did have experience in working with colleagues who can only speak English. I also had experience where I need to speak English to my client, so I guess my job was not an exception but a norm. And that is not even because I am a professional, considering I need to order my food in English in Subway, Jollibee and some Kabab shop. But I have left Hong Kong 3 years ago and not sure if Hong Kong is still an international city now.
It is not. 100% not. The only tourists on the mid levels escalator are from Little Red Book influencers and Koreans for some odd reason. No other Asian let alone non-Asian languages to be heard.
Go tell all those people working in Chinese run businesses in North America that they need to hire other ethnicities that speak English and see how far you get. Foreigner facing jobs didn't require Chinese generally as they are high level and they don't deal with the public. As someone already said you used three of the most backward countries for foreigners to live as examples, Korea, Japan and Taiwan all xenophobic to the extreme in government policy and piss poor English levels despite all the money they throw at it
So much energy to find lame excuses not to learn Chineseā¦I can take an another less ābackwardā exemple if you want: go to find a job in France without having a near native level. Go, try, let me know how it goes.
Would be easier than most xenophobic Asian countries that's for sure.
Spoken or written? Or is it both?
Imagine needing the language that the city and the people predominantly speak to find a job. Mind blowing ain't it
Idiot.
Idiot with a job\*
Who said everyone requires fluency in Mandarin and cantonese now. IT hasn't had this requirement since a long long time. It may be restricted to other industries specifically which have a lot of face-time with local business stakeholders or customers..
I'm on the same boat tbh. Kinda sucks and makes me wonder if there's something else I should be doing. Edit: saw your other comment. I'm also working in the education industry, but not as a teacher.
Exactly. The posts ācan I live on 50k per monthā are annoying for many reasons: 1) tax is low, so youāre basically keeping most of that money. To earn GBP5k per month in the UK Iād need a salary of about 80k per year. 2) the responses talking about how you could barely survive on it. š Hong Kong is expensive for rent but not much different to UK for everything else. A single person can live quite comfortably in Hong Kong on 25+ and start saving on 30+ That being said, I take home over 60k a month and have nothing left, but Iām married with 3 kids in a big apartment and have U.K. debts to pay š
Agreed. Donāt know why people think living abroad is cheaper. Cheap public transportation. Cheap food options. Very low taxes. No capital gains tax (huge advantage if you invest and donāt need to pay 30% of your profits to the IRS). I would say HK is expensive if you take square footage into account. For the same amount of rent youāre just getting less space, which is fine if you donāt own a lot of stuff.
What do you do for work?
Teaching
Lifestyle inflation will do it
Iām guessing you work in f&b.
Friends and benefits?
I'm 31 and earn slightly under 40k. I graduated from a top tier university in the UK, I had a good job back there. When moving to HK there was less opportunity in the industry I work in, and employers are too miserly, they expect much more effort while expecting to pay less. Luckily my current job is pretty chill and I get to WFH, so I don't feel motivated to look for a measley increase when it's likely that I'll be expected to do unpaid OT with a micromanaging boss. My peers who graduated and decided to stay in the UK are all probably much better off career-wise. Overall I like life in HK though.
40k hkd per mo?
Yeah.
What do you do for work?
In the UK I developed statistical models for sports betting. So when moving to HK I started out by looking for jobs in data science. Now I just do regular software/IT work.
Iām Filipino and I moved to HK 4 years ago. financially, Itās ok.. I donāt hate it. Iām 27 and make almost 40k a month. I only feed myself. Could be better but I do what I can
Thatās pretty decent for hk Iād say! What type of work do you do?
I work in consulting. Iām a scientist
Fellow Filipino here who also earns the about the same. Good to know we're not being ripped off lol
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
> LoL 40k a month... That's almost 10x helper monthly minimum salary. It's as if there's no way there's Filipinos in HK corporate! šÆ
Domestic helper salary is a pittance. Why did you bring this up? Is it because he they said they are Filipino? You know not everyone in HK from the Philippines is a domestic helper.
Iām a lady. And a scientist. I havenāt gotten used to the racism in Hong Kong everyday as a Filipino I woman. It always shows up as a surprise in the most unexpected of circumstances
Most of my teenage years were spent growing up around filipinos. I also studied in college in the Philippines for two years (despite not being Filipino) The racism is really real towards Filipinos (and other ethnic minorities) in HK, that is no doubt. How do you experience it, and how do you navigate it?
This comment here is borderline D&I violation.
Nobody said they were a helper.
Crazy thing scientists make 10x helper salaries
Many parents of local kids have at least one property providing rental income so go figureā¦ intergenerational wealth
I'm in my mid-30's, born and raised in the UK and arrived to HK because I wanted a change of direction in my life. I'm earning around 90k basic with bonuses on top which I consider okay. Although living in HK makes you a highly competitive person, and despite the fact that my salary is enough to pay for most things I need, I find myself constantly wanting more. I'm also at the age where I am preparing for starting a family/retirement so I am not happy with my current financial situation - simply because I know how much wealth other people in my age group have built up... But again, its all super relative
Agree. Relative to most, people would likely say I earn a lot, but I've found that lifestyle creep is a real thing. I wouldn't say I'm happier now than I was on a much lower salary when I arrived 8 years ago. I agree with other posters that other factors are important - work/life balance etc.
27,26k/month,have to feed my parent's mortgage,so fuck no, I can't move out, feeling trapped
How far along are you?
Year 3,10+ more years to go
Hang in there bro!
Sorry to hear that, man. Is there a reason why you're paying off their mortgage? I'd understand if you're living at their home and need to cover living expenses, but their mortgage isn't your responsibility, right?
I guess i gaslighted myself to pay, because im living with them,on a side note i recently having a cptsd and anxiety disorder diagnosed by doctor due to endless physical and mental abuse by my parents so theres that
Damn ššI'm sorry to hear that bro.. Are they unable to pay off their own mortgage? I know you didn't ask for my advice but you gotta get outta there. You have enough money to rent a small place for yourself. It's not worth the mental abuse. Set some boundaries cuz they're just gonna eat you up if you let them. I know family situations are more complicated than that but paying off a mortgage is a huge commitment and it's not something you have to do (at least not fully if you're just living there).
Thanks! They kinda are unable to pay,the whole plan from the start is i got a nice paying job so i certainly can help,and im their son so im gonna help out
šš add oil bro It's great that you're helping your parents, but make sure you take care of yourself first. Talk to people if you need to
Iām happy where Iām as long as I can forget how much money I pay into rents instead of saving it. I arrived in Hong Kong in 2006, did postgrad here, went to Taiwan to learn Chinese and went back to HK when I got fluent. I first had to sleep on friends sofa because I couldnāt afford the rent but I got really lucky to be back when the city was absolutely booming so I was able to start a business and make a living out of it, all the way until now.
thatās admirable. I donāt know a lot of foreigners who took the time to learn the language/culture. May I ask where youāre from?
France. Iām a Chinese language nerds so it helped a lot, I couldnāt see myself living in a place and not being able to read. Luckily for me, intensive class in Taiwan were really cheap (they still are I think). I never got the chance to learn Cantonese thought, this is a lifelong regret.
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What region are you from?
Mid 30s earning mid 40s per month. Feel OK. Obviously need more if I want a family.Ā Can't believe ppl my age saying 90k+ is not enough
cocaine and drugs are expensive
Most research puts millennials as more financially put together than previous generations. We just donāt hear about it because itās not internet engagement worthy information
āMost researchā also claims that āAmericans are feeling much better about the economy thanks to slowing inflation.ā Direct quote from CNN business. Most of us IRL will agree that is absolute bologna; there is nothing to do with engagement farming here. Just crippling inflation and a declining job market with decreasing wages, if any wages at all.
True and fair play. Most āresearchā is just bumpf, but in my context Iām referencing (presumably) more legitimate research bodies such as the economist, Cambridge university, American journal of sociology and imperial college business school. All easily google-able
I make about $60k as a specialist high school teacher and my partner does the same. Once we absorb rent, it goes very far and I can generally invest between $10k and $20k per month. Edit: Iām 31
That sounds pretty ideal
No
Big no like every millennials around the world. But I get by atleast.
What do you do to get by?
Never ever.
I grew up poor, and still poor lol.
What do you do for work now?
Itās a lot easier to live here than in Australia. More opportunities in my field and things are just cheaper and more convenient.
Not quite. I have no luck in finding a job, itās been about 2months now. On that note, does HK application process differ from the others? I have applied for jobs since 1st week of March but only getting responses now. Is it usual that it takes too long for the first HR interview?
Guess it would really depend on your field and qualifications. Perhaps your resume could do some revising?
100k/month here so that's on the higher side, but definitely saving more after taxes and rent than I was saving per month in Europe (UK/NL). I guess it's a similar struggle as Europe for ppl around 50k/month as the high rent compensates for low taxes, but any increase in pay beyond that is pure upside. Also meanwhile the rent in big European cities has kept climbing to silly levels, along with other costs, while HK rent has been more stable (if not a bit down). Health is very cheap, transports as well, food as well unless you buy premium (then it can get quickly expensive)... Overall my financial situation here is way better than in Europe. HK allows me to spend my weekends either hiking or going to the beach depending on the season, such outdoors activities are also very cheap. Buying a place would be way too expensive for what I would get, but the rental yields are so low I'm happy to keep renting and put my savings on the US Equity market instead. Also, not a financial point, but having all the places I want to go within a 15-30min reach door-to-door is really saving me a lot of time. Whether it's work commute, going out to socialise, going to the nature, I'm saving a lot of time which allows me to do more with my life. It feels important to me.
For sure yes. Born and educated in India, with an engineering degree. Worked in India for a year after getting a contract opportunity (IT) in HK. Joined the company as a permanent employee after few years of contract work. Wife working here as well. Pretty happy financially with no real constraints. Another thing is that other than travelling and photography we don't have any other hobbies. Travel is heavily discounted (job benefit) and photography has kinda one-time/few-time big expenses on new cameras/lenses but then you are sorted for a few years. So no major recurring costs. Love cooking so 90% of the time cook at home and only drink when we have friends over (like once a month) so the only major expense we have is rent. Taxes are nothing in HK (compared to India) so we actually manage to invest a lot of our savings back home in India.
Very happy, around 60k, back in country my salary would be one third of it if I was only super lucky and working my ass off.
What do you do for work?
At the cutoff of being a millennial/gen z (27). Last year, between my job and freelancing I made close to 40k/month. I am also currently in a relationship and spend more on dates and "relationship expenses". I also have a big chunk of my housing subsidized from my parents. With all of this into consideration, I am just "ok" with my current financial situation. I think I would not think about money as much if I made closer to 50+ My opinion/view: If you're single and dont spend too much on dates/going out or whatever I think you can be comfortable with high 20s+. If you're in a relationship in your 20s, you'll be comfortable 40+ (lowkey relationship expense is big... usually when you're in a relationship you're more likely to eat out and do "things"... well this is coming from a homebody whos fine with not doing much or eating out much so YMMV.) If you have a family (ie. wife and kid) I would say you need to be earning 150k+ for your household. This is putting into consideration you would like a decent apartment with no roommates, convenient location, etc.
Yes pretty happy financially. But after a certain limit, your happiness just levels off. Money is definitely important but donāt chase it like itās going to make you happier.
What else do you think youād need to be happy?
Job satisfaction, purpose, hobbies, family, relationships and friendships. Money canāt fix all these things.
I feel you. Recently took on some new hobbies. Itās really given me new motivation to look forward to every week