My name is Nicolas and I live in Antwerp, Belgium. I have been
running an one man show as jewelry designer, goldsmith, setter,
caster, modelmaker, for the past 12 years of my life.
I have found a job opening as jewelry designer, in Hong-Kong. I am
busy momentarily negotiating on how and what and when.
Now they are asking me which salary I expect to receive ; but I have
not a clue what is happenng there. I do not have an idea how
expensive is life there,
As housing, medical care, travel, basic needs etc,. Does anybody had
worked there as foreign national designer, and have any experience
in order to advice me in which salary would be exceptable and not
unrealistic.
I do want the job, but I don’t want to work for a honger salary.
Maybe others will have better answers for you, but I found a couple
of resources on the internet to help with finding out what the cost
of living in HK would be as compared to Europe or the USA.
I worked and lived in Hong-Kong for 5 years, from 1995 to 2000. I was
working in a Gemstone company as a sales person and traveling to
Europe and the US. I was making around US$ 80,000 per year
(including commission). I was traveling so intensively that most of
my expenses were paid by the company. I was 3 weeks home and 5 to 6
weeks away. and still I didn’t save any money. It was just enough to
live well. There is not much to do in HKG after a while except going
out for drink and dinner and of course shopping is a must in every
day life of a Honk-konger.
The price of living is really high in Hong-Kong. Rent is expensive
especially if you want to live in a nice neighborhood. The kitchens
are really small so you will probably eat out most of the time.
Most companies offer medical insurance.
I am sure in 5 years the price of living went up.
I am not sure if this is going to help you or not.
Hong-Kong is a fascinating and really exciting city to live in. I
wish you the best of luck. Get ready to be amazed.
back in the nineties i lived in hong kong for five years, after
traveling there for more than 10 years as designer for various
companies. this can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but
proceed with caution.
i recommend you ask the prospective employer those questions
regarding cost of living before establishing your salary. if possible
they should provide the apartment as part of the compensation, that
was pretty standard for most of the expats that had not already made
there way to hong kong to seek work. make sure the apartment is in a
decent area.
you should also try to get an employment contract that details your
responsibilities and protects you from a sudden release. i have seen
occasionally a designer build up a body of work and be summarily
dismissed and the company kept the books, and gave them to the local
designers to develop. (it even happened to me, working for an
american company with an office in china.)
they should also provide heath care and at least one yearly vacation
including air ticket.
i don’t know what the cost of living is currently, but following the
above steps will take the risk out of the equation, since the day to
day expenses were low if you avoid the touristy areas.
your salary should reflect the sacrifice for living in unfamiliar
surroundings far from family and friends, and the talent and skills
apparently unavailable locally. some people i know actually had their
entire family relocated to hong kong to live together with them when
the contract renewal came up as part of the new contract.