Expat Community > England

gator1f
Joined 2007
Posts: 2

Possible move from Hong Kong to London

17 years ago

Hi all,

So I have been checking out this forum for a couple of weeks and have found the information useful. As many others, I am in a position of possibly having an opportunity to move to London this summer, from Hong Kong.

I have been offered a position and we discussed a possible package. At first they were going to pay me US$190,000 per year plus US$24,000 housing allowance per year. I currently make US$140,000 with no housing allowance or other benefits. This opportunity is not with my current employer but a competitor. I am married but have no kids, live in the mid-levels and am in my mid thirties.

I told them that this offer was too low as from what I understood the cost of living was high in London (I know it is expensive but how does it compare to HKG??). I am still waiting to hear their counter offer but expect to in the coming week.

I know that they are going to come back to me with a higher offer and provide me with some additional benefits, but to what extent I am not sure. I have asked for a higher base, the same housing allowance, tax equalization (US vs UK, as I believe my tax in the UK would be higher after my US FEI exclusion and housing deduction...not sure if they can do this). Also asked for private medical insurance payment (full or partial), a couple of trips back to the US a year for my wife and I, plus of course the usual 100% payment for all moving related expenses.

Since I have not seen other posting of people moving from Hong Kong, I wanted to see if there were some opinions out there on the cost of living as compared to HKG and if the initial package would have been enough compared to what I am paid today.

My concerns are the apartment rent (I am currently paying just over US$4,000 per month for a decent 2 bedroom) and the daily expenses such as eating out, tube ride, utilities, etc...

My office would be very close to Tower Bridge and I would not like to live too far out. We like to be in the middle of things, but don't have to be in the "hottest spot" (we lived on the UWS in NYC for several years and now Mid-levels in HKG). For our apartment we would like to have a 2 bedroom and approx size of 800 - 1,100 square feet.

My wife would be starting her own business so for the first 12 months, we would not be able to rely on any additional income from her.

Well, I hope that someone can help shed some light on my situation...I know it is difficult as no one situation is the same as another, but at least I want to see what opinions are and if there are things I am missing/not considering.

Thanks!

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