I am moving to HK soon and am looking for some advise. Once of my primary concerns is around getting access to the internet.  I am sure my company will have a vpn, but don't want to use that for this activity.  Should I look to setup one here in the US at a relatives home, or are the vpn services good enough?  Are there any other things that I should be doing in preparation?

Thanks

You have many choices. One is to use a VPN service such as hidemyass.com

Another is to obtain a cellular USB stick, and use that to access the Internet from your laptop.

A third is to use the "Wifi Hotspot" feature of whatever cell phone you buy.

Gherk

Depends on where you will live, if in an apartment then maybe a local isp will be ok

teltel

This doesn't answer your question directly, but in the case of wanting net access on the go...

If you have an out of contract smart phone from the USA (e.g. say with AT&T), you can contact the provider (e.g. ATT) tech support and get an unlock code with a set of instructions on how and where to enter the unlock code. Not sure how it would work with Verizon, Sprint, or other carriers in the USA.

With an unlocked phone, you have a couple options I can think of:

1) Purchase a pre paid SIM card from any 7-Eleven or Circle K in Hong Kong. If you need additional minutes, you can buy them in increments of HK$100, they give you a receipt and you enter a code to activate. People's is what I used in HK, which is tied to China Telecom. You would have to either contact their customer service center or go to a shop, and have someone configure your phone to deduct airtime for internet bandwidth usage. This is not exactly a cost effective option, but at least you can surf the net on your phone (and this site for info).

Ideally you would want an Android or iPhone since this website does have apps for them, but you're SOL if you are on a Windows Phone...

2) With an unlocked phone you can go to any PCCW and purchase a special SIM card that will allow you access to WiFi hotspots (e.g. 7-Elevens, most MTRs, a number of coffee shops) but the range is limited. PCCW does offer a few other options.

You could configure your phone for internet connection sharing (assuming the unlocked phone is fairly up to date and has that functionality), but it would consume more power. This means you can use your phone as a router, so your tablet or laptop can connect to wireless via your phone.

You and your company don't need a VPN in Hong Kong.  So I wouldn't be too sure your company will have one.  If you want one for whatever reason, I reccomend Expressvpn.

A mongering only phone is always a good idea, however this website DOES NOT have an iPhone app.  You can get a cheap used Android phone once you are here.