Money

Missing are the $1000 bill and $10 coin

I am wondering if I will ever stop converting from Hong Kong dollars to U.S. dollars when buying things.  The exchange rate is approximately $7.75hk to $1us.  We round and call it 8 to 1.  I have found that appliances are very reasonably priced.  I believe furniture is also, but I am so used to buying used furniture that I can't say for sure.  Clothes are about the same as well.  Groceries is where it gets tricky.  If you are buying Chinese, they are very reasonably priced.  I have been doing this with vegetables and fruits, but not with meat or eggs.  I can't bring myself to pay for U.S. meats though ($10us for 2 chicken breasts).  So I buy Australian or Brazilian, closer to the price of the Chinese.  The restaurants we have been to are similar in price to eating in most big cities in the U.S.  We haven't ventured out to any small local restaurants yet, so I'm not sure how their prices compare.  Transportation is very reasonable. Bus fair from here to Stanley is less than $1us, bus fair downtown is less than $2us.  Taxi fare is about $4us to Stanley and about $13us to downtown.  The mtr is less than $1us per trip.  I'm not sure I will ever drive!  I haven't looked at the cost of gas since we don't have a car yet.  Real estate is ridiculously priced!  Hong Kong makes New York City look reasonable.  Cell phone cost is difficult to tell at this point.  The start up fee for buying an iPhone and signing a contract was definitely more expensive.  It appears that the monthly cost will be about $50/phone.  This includes unlimited data, but there are limits on sms messages and phone calls.  

At one of the many back to school orientations one of the high school counselors said that one of the challenges moving here is to not think of the money as play money.  This is true.  When PJ went down to Stanley last weekend we handed him $200hk like it was nothing.  

There is a lot of money in Hong Kong.  This will be one of the challenges in raising kids here...keeping them grounded in reality.