CO129-504-14 Surveyors- vacancies- training and conditions of service 6-5-1927 - 22-2-1928 — Page 23

23

Clothi

Cost of

Living et o

The summer climate is hot and somewhat

damp, but not actually unhealthy.

Winter clothing should be obtained from home and should be such as could be worn on a mild winter day at home Many people feel the cold of a Hong Kong winter almost as much as at home. Summer clothing should be obtained in the Colony where it is fairly cheap.

It is impossible to give a satisfactory estimate of the cost of living in Hong Kong, because so much depends upon the tastes and habits of the individual. But the following information is taken from a Handbook on conditions and cost of living in Hong Kong compiled by the Colonial Government from records up to 1925;-

The Cost of hotel accommodation for a

The

single person varies from $145 to $250 a month, not inclusive of drinks, electrio fans and fires. rates of a married couple would probably be from $240 to $500 a month.

Boarding House accommodation for a single person may be put at $125 to $200 a month; for married couples, perhaps $200 to $400 a month.

Wages of Native servants vary from 12 to

$30 a month.*

Other expenses would include laundry (say $10 a month) transport (say $15 a month), and holidays spent outside the Colony etc.

The entrance fees to the best social club in Hong Kong, a good golf club and the best cricket club amount in all to about $150, Club subscriptions to about $20 a month. But it must be borne in mind that attendant expenses, especially in the case of golf, are likely to involve a considerable addition to this sum. Other clubs such as the yacht club and the polo club, are cheap of their kind, but must be regarded as expensive luxuries.

There is at present no Income Tax in the Colony and there are no rates or taxes in the usual English sense.

On the whole it may be said that an un- married master on a three years' agreement can save money if he wishes to do so, and still live on a scale which would probably content him at home.

School holidays in Hong Kong give special facilities for visiting neighbouring countries. Japan, North and South China, Indo-China, Malaya, the Dutch East Indies and the Philippine Islands are all within reach at a cost which should be within the cfficer's means.

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