Should I move to HK?

[Gababa88]

Hi everyone, I know these general questions are repeated often on the forum but I would love some input. I’ve been active on various sites and apps hoping for guidance. A little about me, I was born in asia (Singapore) to be exact and I was raised in Canada. I have a Canadian passport and my bachelors degree in nursing from Canada. I have extensive work experience in critical care (5 years)and received my masters degree in science from usa adding more work experience and in both the hospital and the American university system. I was hired immediately (Day after I graduated) I now have a green card or permanent residence for usa and I’ve worked as a full time professor in nursing for 3 years making my total work experience 10 years (approximately). I’m in my 30s and just getting bored of being in usa. I know I can easily get any jobs in usa university system since I’ve researvhed and published many journals or my current employer or previous employer in Canada would want me back at anytime. They provided great references for me and I have a terrific relationship with my employer but I like being challenged and would love to see the world. I constantly moved around growing up and basically would like to consider hk for work mainly for a change and resume development. Back to my questions, I’m wondering as a 30 something year old going to apply in the hk market if I will have any opportunities I think my experience is vast but I could be completely off? I am also hoping to meet someone for potential long term relationship. Is this a bad idea? I don’t speak Cantonese but I can get by with mandarin and proficient with English. would my work place help sponsor my visa process? Do I need Cantonese to teach nurses in hk? I should also add that I’m licensed in both usa and Canada as a nurse. Please let me know what you think. I have no family in usa making it lonely and hard since my family lives in Singapore. Yes, Singapore is also another option but I’m holding off since I would be expected to live with my parents and that’s not enticing me at the moment. Thank you!

[orel100x]

Jobwise - I hear that HK universities are quite keen on foreign lecturers, so that's one place to start. If you find a job with them, or any serious employer, there would be no problem in terms of visas - fortunately, the immigration rules here are much more human-friendly than in the US of A. Some universities teach in English, so no problem with no Cantonese. Others do teach in Cantonese however (Chinese University?). I don't know if you can be a nurse yourself here, without an exam - maybe Google will help you here. Teaching strikes me as a better option, less demanding schedule and no malpractice claims

With relationships - many local Chinese who you would probably consider eligible (30-es-40-ies, reasonably educated and having reasonable jobs) will speak English, maybe Mandarin as well. Plus plenty of more or less cute gwailos However, you will no longer be considered an exotic oriental flower as in the US, so will have to compete with the rest of local girls as well for the (hopefully) best male candidates.

[Kowloon Goon]

Hong Kong universities are keen to hire people that have good track records of publication. The value of being a "foreigner" in a HK university is debatable.

Nursing/medicine is not my area, so I don't know if they only hire professors/teaching staff that are able to work (or have worked) locally. That should be one of the first steps in your research.

If you come here, your green card may be invalid after two years, which is a good thing for tax purposes!

[MandM!]

I'm not in the industry but I'm pretty sure nurses in HK do not earn much money. They are mostly canto. Plus the public hospitals are probably not somewhere a pretty girl like you would want to be. I was at a private hospital recently and everyone was local.

The teaching in university sounds like a good idea.

[rs4]

Since you are looking for a challenge, I'd say yes to HK. Otherwise, def a no!

[Golem]

Well, in my opinion, it's an interesting experience and you can make and save more money than you would in North America with the low taxes but you can expect your standard of living to go down significantly. You'll either spend a lot of money if you want to get a fancy car and/or apartment and eat and go out. You can however live reasonably cheaply if you chose to and use public transport and taxis, eat local food, travel to interesting places that are inexpensive and your bank account will be very healthy. I agree that your best route would be working in a university and definitely not in a hospital. HK is still somewhat old fashioned and I think the doctor/nurse relationships are probably more like what is was 30 or 50 years ago in North America. There are plenty of female doctors but the hierarchy between doctor and nurse is quite far apart.

There are many outdoor activities available in HK that are not expensive or free, weather is great in winter and you get get out in the summer and go to Europe or back to North America. Another thing of note, I have a few expat asian lady friends and they find HK difficult in terms of finding appropriate companionship. Some don't feel completely at ease with the locals and often find expat men to be a bit too loose with their morals. As always, some find what they want and not others...

[Gababa88]

Does it make a difference if I said that money is not a factor?

[MandM!]

For someone with your work ethic and background, money and status most definitely matters.

The concern is more about your future and career. I'm guessing that as a nurse you could take time off and jump right back in. Not sure how your licenses work.

Depends what you are looking for. If bouncing here with no job, you'll be living in a space the size of your closet, no joke. Unless you intend to blow through couple hundred thousand (and I mean USD).

Maybe share more about your expectations for working and living standards then people can chime in. There are other places in Asia too. But if we don't know what you like then our comments are pure speculation.

[orel100x]

Does it make a difference if I said that money is not a factor?

If money is not a factor just come here for a few months and see if you like the place.

[MandM!]

Being here as a tourist and working here are different things. Working for someone can be hell but if you can do your own thing / set up your own business. Then you've found the sweet spot.