yes bambi, I have been to Honkers, many many times, both to visit (often) as my wife is from there (born/raised 30 years), and for work. (layovers)
The cost of living in HK is very high, no matter how you paint it. Anybody can confirm this by research. Check out cost of living charts. Yes, you are right about SOME things being cheaper, but overall people will spend more money in HK then you would if you are a Yank from the US, to live a western lifestyle.
For example, maybe you should post what your rent was over in Dis. Cov. bay since if you are an expat with decent seniority, that is probably where you lived. I know my wifes' family apartment (really old/sort of run down) in Kowloon which is approximately 3,500 square feet (4 bedrooms and 1 bathroom) , is worth 25,000,000 HK dollars ($3,225,000 USD).
All this aside, Cathay IS a good employer, and is much better than most places to be in the USA. except FedEx. I chose to stay in my country flying for my countries Flag Carrier. I fly wide-body equipment, the exact same equipment Cathay flies. My flight salary is higher than many Cathay B scale pilots on the same equipment. However my taxes are WAY higher of coarse.
I think pilots on this forum should be correctly informed of facts. The facts are, Cathay=good company, and overall good job......HK=very high cost of living. (research to confirm, and talk to people who are NATIVE to the region. Now if you want to live like a local, then the cost comes down obviously.)
Best of luck.
Last edited by looking_around; 02-20-2006 at 09:26 AM.