The International Schools Review Forum

Hi, I have a question about salaries in Hong Kong. I am a frugal person, single, do not need a big expat lifestyle etc. I know that HK can be expensive. I would like to know if a salary around US60,000/year with[u] no[/u] extra bonuses such as housing would afford someone an opportunity to live comfortably as well as save some money at the same time.

Any feedback would be much appreciated as I know there is a very broad range of salaries in HK.

Thanks

Yes that's waaaay plenty!! Speaking from experience and far less money, I've saved nicely over the last six months!
Alhough if you wanna live in a "real house" then you could spend a good portion of that a month on your rent.

Powderfinger,

60,000us is DEFINITELY enough for the HK lifestyle. HK is really not that an expensive place to live as many people are led to believe.

Trust me that on this kind of salary, you will be able to travel, drink, eat and shop.

Best of luck.

Actually, I miscalculated the salary, it is more like 55k/year (after tax) with no benefits except flights and some medical. Still seem ok?

Thanks for the replies.

I am finishing a 2 year contract in HK on US$ 65,000 per year, including bonus and in two years I managed to save US$50,000. I have a non-teaching wife and 2 kids, which doeasn't really hurt because my total tax burden for 2 years was just HK$ 700.
I'm also frugal and I live on Lamma Island so my rent is roughly 1/2 of what other teachers pay and of course Lamma is a paradise. But my commute time is roughly 3hours per day.
Hong Kong is an excellent city in many ways but polluted and it gets hot, humid. The people are great.

Thanks for the reply.

I have been in HK now for about 9 months since the original post. In case anyone else is reading this thread, I am also able to save money on my salary.

The saving took a while though. When I first got here, I had to borrow quite a bit of money to cover initial set-up costs regarding rent, furniture etc. After about 4 or 5 months, I was saving.

[quote="higgsboson"]I am finishing a 2 year contract in HK on US$ 65,000 per year, including bonus and in two years I managed to save US$50,000. I have a non-teaching wife and 2 kids, which doeasn't really hurt because my total tax burden for 2 years was just HK$ 700.
I'm also frugal and I live on Lamma Island so my rent is roughly 1/2 of what other teachers pay and of course Lamma is a paradise. But my commute time is roughly 3hours per day.
Hong Kong is an excellent city in many ways but polluted and it gets hot, humid. The people are great.[/quote

Wonderful! At what school are you teaching? Is it family friendly? Have your children adjusted well?
Thanks!