Im currently living/working in TW, and have been negotiating with company in HK for last few months. Was offered a salary of 65k hkd per month, but am making decent salary here in TW of 140k twd per month. 65k hkd sounds pretty good but not sure if worth relocating for, after factoring in cost of living. im womdering at the end of the day, will i even save more in HK on that salary, without downgrading lifestyle/apartment etc if i were to make the move. Just wanted to get some opinions from people who have lived both places or are familiar with TW and HK. Thanks
You need to figure out what type of housing you want in HK and its cost. You can then make a proper comparison. Aside from housing, things in HK aren’t that much more expensive than TWN and many things are cheaper (mid-market to premium imported goods for example). Highest personal income tax rate is 17% in HK (most people pay less on an effective basis).
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Have you been to Hong Kong much?
Unlike @fanglangzhe I spend more on food in HK than in Taiwan. Depends on whether you eat out a lot. I think your TW salary is better overall.
It’s all about your career chances and your life outside work in my opinion.
Are there more jobs there than here ? How about networking?
Do you get a buzz in HK or do you prefer more relaxed Taiwan ?
Have a gf here ?
If you don’t care either way and only in Asia for a few years max maybe check out HK.
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65,000 HKD = 256,000 NTD vs current 140,000
Income Taxes are lower in HK
Even if your HK house cost 100000k NTD per month you’d still be saving more there since food is similar price and western items are cheaper in HK. Also fights to other parts of Asia or the world is cheaper out of HK.
If I were you I’d definitely move to HK, but I really like HK food better than Taiwanese Food
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That must be a real nice place!
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NT 100K/month for rental in HK is nothing too luxury, certainly can get something decent but nowhere near luxury. Now if you really mean NT 100,000 K (NT 100 million), than thats something else.
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65k in HK isn’t bad, your biggest expense will probably be rent.
I visit HK a lot on business trips as it is and since I work in the Accounting field, the opportunities are much bigger there for me than in Taiwan.
I would probably go depending on your line of work, if your sector has a a bigger market in HK (eg. something like Finance, Banking etc) then it would be a world of opportunity.
Thanks for all the responses. i have a gf here in Taiwan, but she’s open to moving to HK. I’ve been to HK only once, but from what i saw it seems ok, just more congested and not as clean. I think in general there are more opportunities there in the long run. I honestly don’t think I would need to spend 100k twd (i guess about 25k hkd) on rent haha, actually 15k hkd would be about equal to my apartment in TW from what I have seen.
You definitely need to spend at least 25 to 30k per month for rent if you want anything comparable to decent Taipei 2-3 bed rooms apartments on Hong Kong island.
In general, cost of living if you enjoy Western creature comforts are cheaper in Hong Kong (Apart from alcohol and smokes).The downside is the added work environment pressure/stress and competitiveness. I know alot of few Taiwanese people who quit/get fired after a few months in the finance sector because they can’t handle these factors. (Something to consider if your partner plans to work in HK)
If you buy wine from a shop or online, its cheaper in HK. Zero import duties for wine here. Hard liquor - then no and UWD is right.
if you are injecting heroin its probably a good choice or if you are on poppers.
But otherwise, I think it depends on what city you you want to be in because the HK salary is objectively higher even after rent. But not hugely so.
I was shocked at how much my life potion Jim Beam costs in HK.
You’ll be ok in HK. Take my word for it, I lived there for 14 years and I believe that the money you’ll make there will be sufficient. You’ll probably pay between 20- 30 K -hk dollars for rent and the rest should be enough to live an exciting life there. However, unless you are willing to live on a more local rather that an expat lifestyle, you won’t be able to save much. Hong Kong its a delightful city to live in compared to Taipei- well, that is if you want excitement, a real international city and more opportunities for work. If you are 100% happy in Taiwan that probably means that you won’t like Hong Kong as much as these are cities with very different values. Good luck with your decision.
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