Friday, September 02, 2005
Latest Report from Hong Kong
Today, I had another phone conversation with S, my consultant friend who just returned from a business trip to Hong Kong. It's always interesting to compare notes with him to get the latest report on HK. Here is some of what S told me:
It was raining most of the time that S was there. For 3 or 4 days, it rained non-stop.
The heavy rainy season in HK is July and August. For that reason, many expats leave in August, vacationing in the UK, Australia, or elsewhere.
The expat community in HK is dominated by Brits and Aussies. There aren't many Americans.
Most expats go to HK to make some money, planning to spend about 4 years there. Once there, they tend to fall into two categories.
The first group gets fed up with the lifestyle (constant drinking and dinners, rampant consumerism, etc.) after about 2 years and leaves.
The second group, which typically is married with kids, tends to stay about 10 years before leaving. The thing that eventually leads them to leave is their kids' educational needs.
There has been a greater exodus of expats from HK within the past several years. With the transition to China, more Chinese resources are available, and the easy money has gone away. A lot of expats have left for Australia, the UK, and Dubai.
The expat community in HK is strong and pretty tight-knit, partly because there is such a division between expats and locals.
The highest concentration of expats is in Central. Generally, the farther one gets away from Central, the less expats there are, except for a few places like Stanley and Repulse Bay. Because of language difficulties, most expats tend to hang together and do not frequent places with a high concentration of locals (e.g., Causeway Bay).
From June to September, HK is really humid (about 80%). For a good part of the year, it's too hot to spend much time outdoors. People tend to stay indoors where it is air-conditioned. Windows are always closed, and there is little fresh air.
With so much time spent indoors and the constant drinking and eating, it's easy to get overweight. People aren't as healthy.
Expats are very social and are happy to get together with other expats. It's easy to meet people and make a network of friends and business contacts. If you connect with one person, you will be amazed how fast the web grows.
In the hot weather, most people work out indoors in gyms. However, there are many trails and paths in the Shatin area, which probably would offer good opportunities for jogging.
*Note: S is familiar with the expat community and lifestyle. The above comments probably apply only to expats.
S cautioned me to carefully check out HK before deciding to live there. As he put it, "Don't sell your house and all your belongings and just take off without making sure that you really like the place." Specifically, S strongly urged me to hit the pavement for a week or two as a non-tourist to visualize whether I could tolerate living there day in, day out. Next year, when I go to HK to study advanced Cantonese, I plan to spend a couple of months checking the place out in more detail. With my knowledge of Cantonese, I already know that I will not be affected by the "comfort zone" that limits most expats. What I don't know is how people will treat me when I'm on my own, what job opportunities there are, how much the hot weather will affect my outdoor activities (trail jogging, hiking, etc.), and what it's like to live in a crowded building (noise, insects, etc.). I really like HK and am ready to give it an honest chance. I just hope that HK will meet me half way. If I can meet one or two sincere friends in HK, that should guarantee that I will have a good time and may well convince me to spend a longer time there. ¶ 9:00 PM
It was raining most of the time that S was there. For 3 or 4 days, it rained non-stop.
The heavy rainy season in HK is July and August. For that reason, many expats leave in August, vacationing in the UK, Australia, or elsewhere.
The expat community in HK is dominated by Brits and Aussies. There aren't many Americans.
Most expats go to HK to make some money, planning to spend about 4 years there. Once there, they tend to fall into two categories.
The first group gets fed up with the lifestyle (constant drinking and dinners, rampant consumerism, etc.) after about 2 years and leaves.
The second group, which typically is married with kids, tends to stay about 10 years before leaving. The thing that eventually leads them to leave is their kids' educational needs.
There has been a greater exodus of expats from HK within the past several years. With the transition to China, more Chinese resources are available, and the easy money has gone away. A lot of expats have left for Australia, the UK, and Dubai.
The expat community in HK is strong and pretty tight-knit, partly because there is such a division between expats and locals.
The highest concentration of expats is in Central. Generally, the farther one gets away from Central, the less expats there are, except for a few places like Stanley and Repulse Bay. Because of language difficulties, most expats tend to hang together and do not frequent places with a high concentration of locals (e.g., Causeway Bay).
From June to September, HK is really humid (about 80%). For a good part of the year, it's too hot to spend much time outdoors. People tend to stay indoors where it is air-conditioned. Windows are always closed, and there is little fresh air.
With so much time spent indoors and the constant drinking and eating, it's easy to get overweight. People aren't as healthy.
Expats are very social and are happy to get together with other expats. It's easy to meet people and make a network of friends and business contacts. If you connect with one person, you will be amazed how fast the web grows.
In the hot weather, most people work out indoors in gyms. However, there are many trails and paths in the Shatin area, which probably would offer good opportunities for jogging.
*Note: S is familiar with the expat community and lifestyle. The above comments probably apply only to expats.
S cautioned me to carefully check out HK before deciding to live there. As he put it, "Don't sell your house and all your belongings and just take off without making sure that you really like the place." Specifically, S strongly urged me to hit the pavement for a week or two as a non-tourist to visualize whether I could tolerate living there day in, day out. Next year, when I go to HK to study advanced Cantonese, I plan to spend a couple of months checking the place out in more detail. With my knowledge of Cantonese, I already know that I will not be affected by the "comfort zone" that limits most expats. What I don't know is how people will treat me when I'm on my own, what job opportunities there are, how much the hot weather will affect my outdoor activities (trail jogging, hiking, etc.), and what it's like to live in a crowded building (noise, insects, etc.). I really like HK and am ready to give it an honest chance. I just hope that HK will meet me half way. If I can meet one or two sincere friends in HK, that should guarantee that I will have a good time and may well convince me to spend a longer time there. ¶ 9:00 PM
