I understand your point Giant, we have only been here six months so I might have a different view on things in a few years' time. But I tend to be optimistic and flexible in my thinking. We just hope our family will still be enjoying Hong Kong as much in two or five years time as now. "Standard of living" is hard to define, or debatable perhaps. We are from The Netherlands, a very wealthy country with no real poverty among it's inhabitants. Still, I wouldn't necessarily say that my "standard of living" has dropped thát much here. Okay we went from big house to (relatively) small apartment, from three cars to no cars and from superior healthcare to "just good" healthcare etc. The thing is, it doesn't bother us, we don't care that much eventhough it took some adjusting the first two months. So many good things have replaced all this which make it all worthwhile for us. The excellent food and eating out opportunities, warm climate, beautiful countryside, bustling city "which never sleeps", great public transport, no major crime and feeling very safe all the time, excellent quality of international schools, our wonderful helper who has made life a lot easier for all of us...just to name a few things. We see our time here in Hong Kong as big adventure and wonderful learning opportunity for ourselves and our children, we are determined to enjoy and have a good time! I have lived in various countries and still have to come across the "perfect" place to live.....