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Compared to HK, What is Better Where You Live Now?

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  1. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pauljoecoe:
    it does surprise me how many people post here when they have left. I am not sure I will. Do they regret leaving maybe?
    I do miss living in Hong Kong but also miss life in Singapore where my husband was transferred to after his ( now former) company changed their regional HO from HKG to SG. We basically had no choice.

    One thing we do have better here in Sweden is the quality of housing. The rest, the jury is currently out on that one. Maybe our government gives too much freedom here as deaths from the COVID have risen even further to well above 3000 now. Much less pollution, yes. Quieter? Yes, but then again we live semi rural.
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  2. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by merchantms:
    I'm curious to know how many people who think "home" is better than Hong Kong, are a member of the majority ethnic group in the home country. For example most Asian-Americans I know, if they have good jobs here, are much happier living in HK than going back to the US. Because they don't have to deal with a lot of discrimination and othering. Some are even happier living in PRC than in the US.
    After the massive exodus of HK people pre '97, In the first decade of the new millenium, more people came back to HK than people leaving demonstrating that indeed for some life in western countries weren't necessarily better. However the trend reversed again in the last few years where more left than came back. I'm not particularly optimistic for the future of HK with the current political situation and I will be very surprised if more unrest isn't in the cards. In the end, there are some that will always prefer to be home wherever that may be and what makes each individual happy and comfortable is different. I know quite a few people nearing retirement and there's a lot of head scratching going on as to what to do and where to go.

  3. #33

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    Interesting thread, in that I have no plans to leave HK but I'm putting my brain in 10+ years into the future. I'm struggling to find enough things that outweigh the reasons why I like Hong Kong. One day I will leave HK and if I feel then how I feel now, I'll sorely miss the place, even for all its perceived faults.

    The biggest pro for moving back home (assuming that's where I go) is probably that groceries and meat are cheaper and are of higher average standard. That's quickly outweighed by higher other costs of living, taxes, primitive technology and public transport, more dangerous society and an even more useless, toothless government.

    Perhaps I haven't been here long enough, perhaps I still have my rose coloured glasses on, but I'm genuinely happier here, even if I struggle for income more here than I would back home.


  4. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by imparanoic:
    HK has advantages, processing a cheque in UK takes 4 to 5 working days, only 24 hours here
    Whether or not that is an advantage certainly depends on your point of view! When I worked in logistics purchasing in the UK, cheques got quite a lot of business done, a lot of wheels turned because of those processing times!

  5. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by imparanoic:

    banking, HK has advantages, processing a cheque in UK takes 4 to 5 working days, only 24 hours here,
    Never seen a cheque before I came to HK. Or a fax machine for that matter.
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  6. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Chips:
    Whether or not that is an advantage certainly depends on your point of view! When I worked in logistics purchasing in the UK, cheques got quite a lot of business done, a lot of wheels turned because of those processing times!
    Hadn’t seen a cheque for years before I came to HK, in this respect HK is weird. More advanced technology than UK and and at the same time very backward.

  7. #37
    Quote Originally Posted by merchantms:
    No - I meant majority. In other words, how many of the people here writing poetically about how great UK/Australia/etc are, are middle aged white guys with cash that they made in Hong Kong and which they wouldn't have made in the place they're glorifying in their pockets. I would guess most.
    FIFY.
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  8. #38

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    Quote Originally Posted by civil_servant:
    FIFY.
    No - I meant majority. In other words, how many of the people here writing poetically about how great UK/Australia/etc are, are middle aged white guys with cash that they made in Hong Kong, in exchange for not having retirement benefits and social security, and which they wouldn't have made in the place they're glorifying in their pockets. I would guess most.
    The average pension back home is 18k Euro per year, that's about 600k Euro if it were a retirement fund. Most expats make above average salary though. On paper I'm more wealthy than my friends back home, but I have to pay for my own health insurance, retirement benefits and unemployment. There is a downside to not having to pay taxes. Based on the average pension I would have to pay 1350 Euro for health insurance were I insured back home. Not having government insurance means I will probably have to pay 10 times as much for private insurance when I'm 65.
    Last edited by mrgoodkat; 08-05-2020 at 10:45 PM.
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  9. #39

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    Things that are better: schools, housing, air quality, the beach, nature in general, weather, space, lack of crowds, food quality, live music, stable political situation, pace of life.

    Downsides: pace of life (it cuts both ways)


  10. #40

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    Quote Originally Posted by civil_servant:
    FIFY.
    More racism.

    Anyway, please look at the title of the thread for clues...

    Here's help:

    Compared to HK, What is Better Where You Live Now?