If you had a choice: HK or Singapore ?

[HKFella]

is that his "nick"name in Singapore now?

[expat sam]

government required ?
well, u are given around 20~24 days, depending on banks...
in hk you are required to take at least 7 working days in a row, the rest u might or u might not take it, depending on your boss.
in sg the government do not mandate how many days you have to take for your vacation.
however, most banks do have an internal compliance requirement for you to take at least 5 or 7 or 10 working days leave in a row to make sure you don't do anything like lee nickson.

7 days in a row?? HK required law?? This is the first i've heard of this! Maybe it differs from divisions - but in IBD, you're lucky to get 5 days in a row before being called back to duty... however, you can roll over your remaining leave and it gets paid out if and when you do leave.

[goodkarma]

Well, I'm currently in London, and like to go out now and then but I'm not a raging night owl. I like nice bars, but I'm not really into the club scene.

I'm more concerned about diversity of other expats to hang out with, fun stuff to do. I like horseback riding and travel, theatre and ballet and opera.

I also have a large dog - don't know if one or the other is better for her?

Singapore would be my choice but I'm pretty glued to HK because of business.
Having described yourself, I'd say SG for sure. You can always travel it's an easy place to travel to and from.

Good luck.

[HKFella]

A plus for Singapore in OP's circumstances: probably better quality and abundance of self-improvement courses in English (executive programs, training courses, IT management and technical courses, euromoney, etc.). More schools from the English-speaking world set these up in Singapore rather than HK where it's either exec MBA or bust, and most of the other courses - HKU Space, local universities etc - are not that English-friendly even if they claim to be conducted in English, because of the make up of the faculty and vast majority of students).

[Cassandra86]

I would say definitely Hong Kong (may be being biased but overall I just can't see why Singapore would beat Hong Kong especially if this concerns your career, having been to Singapore frequently all my life too). I can only guarantee your social life would also be so much better in Hong Kong. The community is far more vibrant and multicultural in my opinion plus, the cuisine in Hong Kong is giving cities like London a real run for its money. The soho in HK has more to offer in my opinion than London's soho. Personal expenses (apart from housing) in comparison to London are far cheaper in Hong Kong in terms of buying electronics, groceries etc.
It's funny because I've now moved to London (been here for 2 years with holidays in HK) and find its more polluted here than back home
I don't think you should worry about your breathing problems. I was born in HK, grew up there for 18 years and have had asthma all my life, apparantly it was hereditary, but anyways I don't feel the air pollution has made it any worse, in fact the air pollution has been improving due to closure of some mainland factories over the border.
Some people hate the humidity in Hong KOng but personally I love it, for the reasons like my skin never gets dry, and hence why people in Hong Kong tend to look younger overall!
Anyway I'm glad you're leaning towards Hong Kong, because I 100% guarantee you will have a great experience there.

[poogleypie]

thanks cassandra - that is actually really helpful to hear from someone with the same condition. does hong kong have a lot of respiratory specialists and clinics - i'm guessing there is demand for that? (when i first moved to london i was a student and stuck on NHS - they totally screwed up my meds)

and i agree with your opinion on humidity! i grew up in the south of the US, in a humid subtropical climate - my skin misses that, especially during the london winters.

my friends are all pushing me towards hong kong instead of singapore - they say i'll have more fun in HK.

plus looks like there are more job opportunities there, within my current firm and also externally.

[freeier]

the flow of thoughts doesn't seem logical.
if you want humidity then all the more u shld choose an equatorial country like singapore when u have moisture in the year all year round instead of in hk where u get dry weather 2/3 of the year.

another thing i am not convinced so far is the food offered in hk. i suppose if u are going to spend 1k hkd per meal u can get very good stuffs and choices, but at lower price level 100~200hkd i'd say hk food is not really that fantastic. i suppose alot might be due to the high overhead cost and the lack of good supply of fresh food. of cos food wise most places pales in comparison to japan on a tier by tier comparison, but of cos the price in japan for the same tier of food is much different.

[Cassandra86]

the flow of thoughts doesn't seem logical.
if you want humidity then all the more u shld choose an equatorial country like singapore when u have moisture in the year all year round instead of in hk where u get dry weather 2/3 of the year.

another thing i am not convinced so far is the food offered in hk. i suppose if u are going to spend 1k hkd per meal u can get very good stuffs and choices, but at lower price level 100~200hkd i'd say hk food is not really that fantastic.

And what you're saying doesn't seem logical either, do you even know Hong Kong? Humidity levels are high all year round too, usually at 90% or more for most of the year. When Hong Kong is having a dry spell it does not last very long at all, maybe 2 months tops but certainly not 2/3 of the year. And this 'dry spell' is hardly that dry at all either, it's more like London when its considered very humid.

Another thing is the food in HK DOES have a good reputation for whatever prices there are, you mention paying a grand per meal, thats unrealistic for those of us out there who are not rich, I am well off myself but I don't need to pay that much money to have a great meal. I think all Hong Kongers KNOW they have the cream of the crop when it comes to cuisine, it just probably doesnt tickle your fancy.

And poogley, no probs
You may be glad to hear that the NHS is quite a terrible and inefficient health service in comparison to the health service in Hong Kong. In fact the health service in HK is great and is now often praised especially since its improved drastically after SARS.

Good Luck!

[mjk]

Have now lived in both places and must say that both have good and bad. Nightlife you get in both places if you know where to go. HK wins for me in weekend and outdoor activities like hiking, beach, etc. Singapore wins in living space (just can't get used to the shoeboxes here), and food (agree with freeier, even on the low end it is much cheaper and you get much more variety in Singapore. and it's not so "plain". Singaporeans are just more food crazy, it's a national past time there). Otherwise I think PDLM has summarized it pretty well earlier on. Language can be a quite a barrier in HK, especially if you want to go "local".

And if you are really looking for humidity its defenitely Singapore. Of course HK is very humid compared to what you get in London, but in Singapore you get it all year round (freeier is again right with the equator thingy). Right now I can feel it getting really "dry" here, wife is already complaining about it...

[freeier]

ya cassandra maybe i haven't been in hk long enuf, just close to a year, so at least i went thru the seasons. but i do know the difference between humidity and dry.. and i have experienced extreme humidity and dryness. let's put it this way, in singapore u never need to use lip palm.. one might feel more humid in a seasonal country because u go thru the dry spell and then the wet spell. in singapore its common to have humidity up to 120%. all year round.

even now, in hk, current weather, compared to sg, its much dryer. and we are not even in mid autumn.

i personally don't pay much for food.. but i am beginning to feel that certain things are overrated. despite having started from hk, i have not tasted decent dim sum. maybe i shldn't have gone to the local restaurants that put a 'xiu long bao' on the banner... but most of their dim sum are prob frozen food steamed to serve.

u can prob get interesting street hawkers selling stuffs like claypot rice (in mong kok area) etc.. but the overall density of low cost large variety good food in hk is much lower i'd think.


i am just giving an objective comment. if i am so bias i wldn't have came hk to work.