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Is the UK better than HK for a retired 60 years old?

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  1. #1

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    Is the UK better than HK for a retired 60 years old?

    So, my dad bid adieu to his work ten years ago when he was 50 . He and my mother have been, since then,living alternately in the UK and Australia. While my mom thinks Hong Kong might be a cool place to live in for retirees ( because of the super convenient transportation system and easily accessible nearby shops and restaurants) , dad is non chalant about it . His source of concern is medial expenses that is sky-high in Hong Kong (but excuse me, isn't it the same in the UK as well?)

    I haven't lived long enough in any of these three countries ( HK/UK/AUS) to weigh on the good and the bad for 'em retirees. What would be your ultimate choice ? Any retirees here ?


  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by hannah01:
    So, my dad bid adieu to his work ten years ago when he was 50 . He and my mother have been, since then,living alternately in the UK and Australia. While my mom thinks Hong Kong might be a cool place to live in for retirees ( because of the super convenient transportation system and easily accessible nearby shops and restaurants) , dad is non chalant about it . His source of concern is medial expenses that is sky-high in Hong Kong (but excuse me, isn't it the same in the UK as well?)

    I haven't lived long enough in any of these three countries ( HK/UK/AUS) to weigh on the good and the bad for 'em retirees. What would be your ultimate choice ? Any retirees here ?
    Medical treatment is free in the UK and almost free in Hong Kong. As a retiree I would choose the UK over HK but that is because I would prefer to live in the UK all things considered. Personal choice.
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  3. #3

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    I think it is hard to compare HK to UK/Australia. A retired person's experience will be a lot different in a small village to Melbourne and London.

    HK is great because it is a big city so there are plenty of convenient and cheap (discounted with pensioner cards) options. But that would also be the case in London.

    One consideration is what your parents like doing. If they are traditional Chinese and prefer eating dim sum and playing mahjong, they may have more options in HK. If they are quite western and rather go to the pub, go bowling or do some ballroom dancing, they may find more suitable activities in UK or Australia.

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    Quote Originally Posted by UK/HKboy:
    I think it is hard to compare HK to UK/Australia. A retired person's experience will be a lot different in a small village to Melbourne and London.

    HK is great because it is a big city so there are plenty of convenient and cheap (discounted with pensioner cards) options. But that would also be the case in London.

    One consideration is what your parents like doing. If they are traditional Chinese and prefer eating dim sum and playing mahjong, they may have more options in HK. If they are quite western and rather go to the pub, go bowling or do some ballroom dancing, they may find more suitable activities in UK or Australia.
    I would avoid a small village because of transport issues and lack of services in rural areas. I never understood this idea of retiring to the country. I lived in a village when I was younger then moved to the city.
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  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    I would avoid a small village because of transport issues and lack of services in rural areas. I never understood this idea of retiring to the country. I lived in a village when I was younger then moved to the city.
    I do advice them against taking a fancy for a cute little village. Fancy because they seem to be fascinated by the idea of living in a surrounding full of greenery. Not saying it's bad, but like you said, transportation and many other service factors have to be accounted for.
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    Quote Originally Posted by hannah01:
    I do advice them against taking a fancy for a cute little village. Fancy because they seem to be fascinated by the idea of living in a surrounding full of greenery. Not saying it's bad, but like you said, transportation and many other service factors have to be accounted for.
    People also seem to think because they are fit and healthy at 60 they will be fine at 75. Not always the case.
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  7. #7

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    Bit hard to compare a city(Hong Kong) and countries(Australia and UK) which offer a great variety of differences. Living in Hobart is quite different than living in Sydney. In any case as was pointed out, it really depends what they value. If it's space, they will hate HK in a hurry, if it's fast pace life with convenience, they might not like the countryside. Weather is another significant consideration, HK is hot and humid from April to October. the UK had a nice summer last year, it was on a Tuesday and Australia has everything from snow to boiling an egg on a sidewalk heat depending when and where you are and you gotta learn to love flies.

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  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by hannah01:
    His source of concern is medial expenses that is sky-high in Hong Kong (but excuse me, isn't it the same in the UK as well?)
    Is this his serious source of concern? Or a straw horse? If the former, it's easy - you sponsor them, they are residents, and medical care is basically free. My experience with public hospitals in HK has been that you're well taken care of medically but in little comfort. But cost, seriously, is seriously low.

  9. #9
    The answer is mixed among the HK Chinese There are people retiring in the western countries such as the UK, Canada, Australia and NZ. There are also old people returning to HK after living in western countries. There are also HK people retiring in Mainland China.

    Being a westerner or asian and languages are not the most important factors from peoples' experiences.

    Most educated HK Chinese are a mixed of traditional chinese and western lifestyles. HK is the best for these people. Living in western countries or Mainland China will miss a lifestyle of the two. Traditional Chinese and western people without the experience may have harder time adjusting after moving.

    There is no doubt the NHS is better than HK's public system. HK's private system is good but very expensive. HK is no good except having Chinese medicine in addition to the western medicine. In Australia they have to pay more than the UK for things like ambulances and many people also have private health insurance in addition to being covered by cheap public system.

    HK is becoming a more ageing society, old people here can survive living in cheap public estates and buying cheap food from wet markets. Except more senior retired civil servants, the gov does not give them enough money and people have a tight budget when spending. They get their help by receiving money from children, grand children and other sources of income they personally have or collect papers in the streets or do cleaning jobs or drive minibuses. Western countries are not the same.
    Last edited by lighthse003; 25-04-2019 at 12:34 PM.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    People also seem to think because they are fit and healthy at 60 they will be fine at 75. Not always the case.
    And also people think they will be around forever. It can be idyllic early in retirement, but if one person dies or is less able as they age, then it becomes difficult and lonely in a village, especially if they don't have other friends or family there.
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