letdown

No I dont want to know if I can get a dump valve cheap out there!

Well after living in Tokyo for 4 years I ve been given the chance to go live in Honkers. Any advice? Where to live ? Cool places ?

I really dont know anything about the place so was hoping someone on here had maybe lived over there?

It worked out quite well really as I only had to stay in London for a total of 2 months !!

Ta

Ray_li

depends where you will be working and your budget

Leslie

Great place and lots to do providing you have decent accommodation, maybe your firm will find that for you as they usually do.

Les

Chris L

One of our guys is moving out there in a couple of months to set up our new office - I'll have a chat and see what information he's got.

Chris

SiPie

Only visited...never lived

Loved it......but not the smell

SlimJ_2005

Spent about 2 weeks there round a gap year to Oz, fantastic place and wouldn't mind spending time there for work or something, probably not forever, but a year would be nice for the experience.

People are great, very friendly and helpful. The smell isn't too good in some parts like Kowloon but you get used to it.

Chris L

Had a chat with my colleague Alex. Here's what he came up with:

Property sites:

Hong Kong Homes - has a good section that includes what you need to know about renting there (2 months up front, agent fee, bond, lease
agreements)

Gohome - Good for building ratings and reviews

Preferred areas are Sheung Wan, Mid levels, Central, Happy Valley or Quarry Bay. Budget around HK18000 - HK20000 per month (£1,300.00 - £1450.00) for these areas. Utilities are a big cost on top of this apparently - around the £200 mark per month. This should get about 700-1000sq feet of floor space - but this includes elevator and lobby area space fairly often for some strange reason. It is possible to get places that are smaller and not as nice starting as low as HK$9000 per month (£650).

That should get you started

Cheers
Chris

Chris L

Handy map for you

clarence

Depends on ur housing allowance. If u can stretch to 3k pounds per month (abt HK$40k), then u can rent a 1,700sqft flat (gross floor area, 80% utilisation) in Tai Tam, on the South side of HK island with full seaview. If all u can afford is 1-2k pounds per mth, then u can still get a nice, but smaller, place within HK island. Nearly all developments built in the past 5 years have club house facilities (i.e. gym, swimming pool, etc). One thing to note is that management fees & government rent & rates are paid by the landlord on ur behalf, so u'll only need to pay for water, gas, electricity, telephone line rental etc on top of ur rent. Not sure abt comparison of those costs between UK & HK, but telephone line rental is way cheaper than it is in UK, & local calls are free as well. International calls are dirt cheap, & broadband internet is much cheaper than in UK too (6m connection, with unlimited upload/download, costs 12 quid per mth).

amazinggrace

Does anyone know how difficult it would be to get married in Hong Kong?

Its just a dream of ours, wondering how practical it would be.

Ben WRX Bug-Eye

I've travelled out to Hong Kong on several occassionals and did some contracting work out there for 3 months.

It is a fantastic place and there is a great ex-pat community. The best things about it are that everything works, it's clean, the public transport is fantastic and cheap and it's very easy to get by there as they pretty much all speak english as you might expect.

I had some amazing nights out there although it can be an expensive place. There are very classy bars and members only night clubs - meet the right people and you'll 'discover' them . You never get any trouble, appart from off other drunk westerners, and feel completely safe almost anywhere you go. There is no vandalism etc.

Worst things are that it is pretty damn busy in places and accomdation as mentioned above. I'd definately go out to work there again. I don't think I'd like to live there permanently, but it's a great experience for a short while atleast. You will certainly view the UK differently when you come back.

scoobyJR

Hey, Hong Kong is amazing!
If you have kids/family that are going with you try looking at a place to stay in Discovery Bay, its a little island off mainland hong kong, about a 25min ferry ride away, its a lovely bay where all the people who have emirgrated live, and everyone is soooo friendly and will help you out!
try these websites for help: http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/default.asp
http://www.geoexpat.com/
you will find alot of info there and in the forum you will find most of your answers.

STI VI

Glad I logged on and saw this post! Ok I have lived in HK for over 20 years, and better still drive a Subaru in Hong Kong, so i think i am your man for any advice you need!! I am also in the property field so if you PM me with your budget etc, we can send you some listings within your budget.

**Warning subaru ownership is even more costly in this city, fuel is more costly than the UK, and the average MPG is horrific, since it is mostly city driving!

Saying that, took my Sti6 out to Sai Kung last night which was such a thrill! Was having a little bit of fun with the new Honda Accord Euro R, and before anyone asks, yes you can drive fast here!

It is quite simple to get married in HK through a HK registary, see website: http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/bdmreg_4.htm

PM me Adrian

clarence

Why are u asking abt how easily it is to get married in HK?? The laws here are exactly the same as UK laws, i.e., minimum age is 16 & marriage must be held at a licenced premises (usually the marriage registry or at a licenced church), although there's talk of relaxing the law so that it's the person conducting the marriage that needs to be licenced & not the place itself.
This is in contrast to mainland China, where the minimum age for marriage is 29 & u must obtain permission from ur local communist party unit.
Btw, regular fuel here costs HK$12.5 per litre (abt 90p), & premium costs HK$13.8 (1 quid), but both regular & premium are 98RON.