Would you move to HK again?

We have lived in Hong Kong for 3 years and are relocating back to Australia this month.

As you said, it does come down to personal choice, what you are used to, and what lifestyle you want to lead (I have never been to Florida so can't compare).

Is it possible for you to do a trip here before making your decision - I would strongly recommend that as it will provide you with a good feel for the place. If you get that opportunity, get a property agent to show you properties in your price range, recommend schooling, walk through supermarkets, baby stores etc. And ask yourself - what is your reason for moving, adventure?, financial?, career opportunities?.

There are many pro's, and many cons of Hong Kong (like many other places I guess). Pro's - Hong Kong has offered us a lifestyle we would never have had in Australia, we have a wonderful network of friends, we have home help which allows us to have a night life, and makes life generally easier at home. We have been able to experience a very different culture (we love the locals), international travel is so cheap (compared to Oz) and such beautiful locations close by like Thailand, Japan etc. And of course, everything is so convenient (taxis are cheap, everything is close by, delivery everything, internet shopping for everything etc).

The biggest con is definitely the pollution. We live in a large complex which looks out over the water and sometimes I can't even bear to look out the window a I still can't get over how polluted it is and it makes me feel guilty that I am exposing my children to it (they are 2 and 3). Also, as it is all vertical living, and such a huge population in such a small space, for me my children are so sick, all the time. I have been told by the doc that it must be environmental (we are honestly in there at least fortnightly, if not more often) and when they get a cough for example, it lasts for weeks. We have taken them to Europe and back to Australia for large periods of time and they all of a sudden get better and not sick again until we return here. To be honest, I know so many people who have left here due to their childrens respiratory problems. Other small cons is that HK does feel quite congested (it is so busy and built up), the only way to escape is by plane, or a train into China, no road trip holidays. And I really don't like the quality or range of food. Plus, compared to many other western cities I have been to, I feel it is quite dirty (maybe it's not, but it just feels that way with the pollution and smelly streets).

Would we do it all again?? Although we have enjoyed our time here, and are grateful for the 'adventure', knowing what I know about my child's health here, the answer is No. And my husband is on a pretty generous package where we get decent accommodation (2300 sqf), full schooling covered, private health etc, along with a max 15% tax rate (compared to 45% in Australia) not even that would keep me here. If you asked my husband though, if it wasn't for the kids health, he wouldn't have left. HK is buzzing with business opportunities and growth, all my girlfriends husbands love it here and never want to leave.

Sorry to be so blunt and maybe a little over negative, but just my thoughts. I really look forward to returning to clean air, blue skies, walking my children down the road to parks with green grass, large supermarkets with amazing selection of products (and regular stock), being able to see the stars and moon every night, reasonably priced products (I find everything here extremely over expensive), back yards, nice (pollution free) beaches, road trips and a variety of stores catering to all walks of life (not just the choice of Market quality vs top end 'LV & Bulgari' options, and nothing in between).

good luck with the decision - try and get here beforehand for your own personal thoughts! It is upto you and you will find many differing opinions here.
 
i moved here 16+ years ago as a single, just out of university girl. i am now married to a local, run/own 2 playgroup centres, own a dog boarding business and have 2 wonderful kids.

would i move here again? in a heartbeat without a second thought!
do i miss "home"? every day (especially miss my mum!)

for living, i could NEVEFR live on hk island or in the built up areas anymore. i've been there, done that and grown out of it.
we're now about to sign a lease out in the new territories (we've lived everywhere) about 39 minutes from central by MTR (subway) that has a 4000' garden & a private swimming pool. the rent is crazy expensive (for us) but compared to what friends pay on hk isalnd, it's cheap! ~ $40k/month. we are not on a local package or an expat package. we are both self-employed and only get paid when business is good. we don't have private med coverage. we are happy to utilise the gov't medical services that are virtually free (once you have a HKID then you are eligible to use them too!), we have no housing allowance whatsoever and we pay for our kids edcuation ourselves, so we've again decided to make use of the local system and so far are extremely happy with the choice.
 
Wow! Such a great collection of replies. Thank you all so much for your opinions. My husband is meeting with the HR group tomorrow so I am hoping to have more info. We have been told we'll get a trip over to check things out if things progress (my husband has been before, but not me) and I had already thought of checking out some places, walking around as if I was living there, going to the store, etc. and would love to visit some schools (I already have a list going) since my little one will turn 3 in August.
Definitely an exciting time! I feel a lot better knowing that meeting some great moms won't be a problem!
Thanks again.
~wendy~
 
Hi wendy how did the meeting with HR go, I am originally from The UK I went to university in Florida moved to hong kong seven years ago and now have a 9 month old daughter and am still here. Would I do it again definitely. You'll definitely find it different from Florida although the temperatures will be similar for you. But it's easy to meet people, how much you choose to spend on living is more flexible than most imply. After seven years we have just moved to Clearwater bay to have more space and a back garden. Thus makes the commute to work 45 minutes which I'll bet is better than your commute in Florida. The large international supermarket is 10 mins away. If you want to live on the island house prices are high but you'll find you spend a lot of time out.
 
Remember it doesn't have to be forever if you like it you can stay otherwise you head home with two years or experience you wouldn't have had otherwise . Good luck
 
"Other small cons is that HK does feel quite congested (it is so busy and built up), the only way to escape is by plane, or a train into China, no road trip holidays. And I really don't like the quality or range of food. Plus, compared to many other western cities I have been to, I feel it is quite dirty (maybe it's not, but it just feels that way with the pollution and smelly streets)."

this is so not true and unnecessary (the part that you need to escape by plane or train). there are MANY, MANY places to live in hk that are NOT built up at all! we just signed a lease for a place and from our window we can see: huge fields, jungle, mountains....only 2 small (3 story) village houses!

of course, if you choose to live on hk island it will be built up, but to make it sound like that is all there is is not true and does hk a huge dis-service.

as for pollution, i agree, it can be absolutely disgusting. but then there are times like this past week where it's been absolutely beautiful out! the worst pollution is in the winter as the winds come from the north and bring all of the pearl river delta pollution with it. in the summer, the winds shift and come from the south, from over the south china sea and they bring lovely, but hot weather.

the other reason that your kids might be sick more often is simply the population density in hk. there are a LOT of people in hk and most are crowded into a tiny area. but it IS possible to escape that simply by moving to the new territories.

don't get me wrong, you do raise some valid issues but to imply that it is impossible to circumvent any of them is not accurate.
 
We have moved back three times and this is our first on an 'expat' package of any kind. My answer is yes. Even on most local packages tax in your home country means you will get more here!

With a two year old you don't have a lot more time left before you need to stay put for education purposes (we don't want to moving when the kids are in school). Again, another reason to give it a go now.

My two cents! Good luck with it all.
 
if your child turns 3 in august you better start emailing all the schools you have your eye on now! applications for K1 were last year!
 
I came to HK 10 years ago and lived here for a year as a single university student. After returning to the States (where I'm from) I ended back in China a couple of years later and re-met my now-husband, a HK local. We married in HK, lived in Mainland China for awhile and have been back in HK for about 5 years. HK has been a big part of how my life has turned out so far so I wouldn't have not come here if I could do it all over again. We now have two small children--3 1/2 and 3 months-old.

Although HK has been good to us in many ways--my husband's family live here and we are able to earn a better living than we probably would if we were in the States, we plan to leave HK as soon as we are financially/practically able to. The pollution is getting really bad and we just feel like the quality of life our children will have here isn't what it could be elsewhere--we're not talking about money issues here--it's more like grassy public parks, blue skies all year round and stargazing anytime. We are dependent on public transportation which sometimes can be scary (I have a post here you can see about our village mini-bus problems). Also, maybe it's because we live a very local lifestyle, but we both just get fed up with how rude people can be here. Even my husband who spent his entire life in this city is pretty fed up.

For financial reasons we haven't been able to travel around Asia like some other posters on this site and we haven't been back to the States in over 3 years because whenever we get a chance to fly (usually in the summer) the airline tickets for our family are extremely expensive and we simply don't have the money to go. I often have the feeling that HK is a playground for rich people--in order to really enjoy the "finer things" you've got to have money. Where I'm from there is a lot of public space--like green parks that are free for use--but those types of places don't really exist in HK. That's my perception, though based on our particular circumstances. So, we do deal with the feeling of being "stuck" in this city. However, if you're being brought to HK through your husband's work and the company guarantees housing and travel then these might not even be issues for you at all.

But, the nice thing about HK is that you can come and go as you please. People move in and out of this city all the time--the population is always in flux so it just seems easier to come and try it for a time and if you find you want to go back then you just feel open to that option.

Good luck with your choice!
 
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