Is Quality of Life better in HK than UK?

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  1. #31

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    Guys, maybe it's time start another thread about supermarket food?


  2. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by jgl:
    Hmm... if you include breathable air in "quality of life" then be aware...
    ...it is what I'd call 'just passable' when it comes to outdoor activities, and pretty low down on the scale for quality of life.

    The place has it's upsides, but if you move to HK, do it for the travel, career or excitement. Don't do it for the quality of life.
    Agree. The "air quality" issue sticks in my mind a bit coz my throat gets somewhat phlegmy & breathing somewhat shallow, esp. when the weather, half the year, is horribly humid & sticky, making most outdoor pursuits not so easy. (Unfortunately, I'm stuck in built-up urban areas most times!).

    But then again, air-con MADness in HK does help with day-to-day living at the height of summer. Tho'... that adds to the overall pollution / "haze", which in turn sparks a touch of guilt 'bout my turning it too much (BUT can't put up with the noise of traffic coming thru open windows, & books & papers getting limp!).

    Other from that, love that unlike in the UK, HK is still bright & buzzing right up to & past eleven, 'most everywhere.

    Strangely enough, tho' I moan 'bout the lack of airflow ilow-down in dusty districts, busy places on the island, or TST & even trendy but WAY-crowded Mongkok, can be full of life & COLOUR.

    Once you mix with a few in-the-know & willing locals, they'll lead you away from touristy spots & boring malls, & into the curious nooks 'n crannies of Canto / Chi. culture - giving you a sense of how things are viewed or done here - a bigger, diverse version of life here, whether you like what you see or not.

    Communication, style & approach, may be different to start with, & can take some getting used to. To be expected as knowledge / backgrounds can hugely differ, so making time & effort exploring a little of this is worth it.

    Tho'... beware of living in a bubble of "little West" while here, i.e. mixing with only others of the same background. 2-3 years of mostly such an existence here would be all too easy (& bit of a shame).

  3. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boris:
    Why do you continue to talk out of the orifice you spend most of your day sat on????
    ... ...

    I don't believe you travel around and have an understanding. The details you give are truly bogus.

    I am off to Jusco now, so if you want another go at this leave it until later and I'll show everyone what a idiot you are with up to the minute facts !!!!
    While I find this little tit for tat argument entertaining, don't think anyone should go ballistic over the issue of sourcing "good food"

    My fav happens to be Jusco tho', coz they've got quite an international range & the price is alright-ish, esp. if you've their VIP shopping card that allows discounts on special sales days, incl. non-food department store stuff. I'm sure Taste (my 2nd fav) & others have something similiar.

    The quality of bread issue is something that used to bother me no end here - loathed the local sweetish, textureless types. But I've found Jusco's & linked specialist bakeries make perfectly acceptable REAL wholewheat or whole-grain rye breads, at a heftier price of $12-$18.

    Re: Quality dairy products & milk - Got used to the higher prices, but recently watched a local (was it RTHK?) prog. saying that cow's milk & dairy from it is NOT good for us, & can even be bad for some kids (?!)... Tho' initially sometimes missed buttery pastries & sherry trifles etc., good thing such temptations no longer come to mind anymore.

  4. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by jaykay:
    Why do you want to argue with literally everyone on this board because you are so set in your ways you cannot change now? Luckily even my Dad's not that far gone!

    You are of course aware of the local sourcing done by supermarkets in the UK. No? Well you should be. Never found frozen food in the fresh veg counters here? Blimey then you have missed something spectacularly great. And yes I can read where it says "Product previously frozen"...............

    And let's get to the crux of this. There are certain items you can get in this part of HK or that part of HK. BUT should you spend half your time farting around to get this thing here, that things there when in UK you can just pop to your Co-op Mini-Mart and get it all in one go and HAVE choice. Not everyone has as much time to contemplate their own navel as you do and are not going to spend half the week just food shopping. Now who needs to get out more......
    It just amazes me that people just won't give it a rest. Trying to justify their own lack of education in their own surroundings by saying that the person who points out the ignorance is the bad guy.

    SO - LET ME GET TO THE CRUX OF THINGS.

    The OP title is " Is the quality of life better in HK than UK " and you go wittering on about how you can't get this and that and how everything is crap compared to the UK sheds. You rattle on about how the UK sheds are better and they have better this and that. All of which is complete bollocks. You don't like me pointing it out AND I DO SO BECAUSE the OP deserve a realistic answer and not be subjected to your absolute fiction. HK is a wonderful place and I doubt anything is NOT available here. Quality is overtly superior.

    More importantly HK supermarkets are stocked on a regional basis. SO - if your in an expat area you will find more expat things. AKA for Jusco, the bakery in Tai Koo is not the same as Tai Po or other ethnic Chinese areas. If you understood the place you lived I wouldn't have to keep reminding you that if you live in an ethnic area you get ethnic things.

    So in finality - " You are of course aware of the local sourcing done by supermarkets in the UK. No? Well you should be. Never found frozen food in the fresh veg counters here?"

    I have no idea why you change the subject to this. You had too much to drink this afternoon?
    FYI - Yes I am and Jusco Green leaf rages of Organic are local grown at the moment.
    FYI 2 - If you hadn't noticed 99% of the people here eat Chinese food. They buy Chinese product. You are living in a Chinese SAR. One would not expect anything other than Chinese sourced food.
    Perhaps you haven't got over 1997 yet or you think everything should be as you - the minority - like it.
    FYI 3 - I have NEVER found frozen produce in any fresh veg counters in HK. In the freezer cabinets yes but no where else.

    I am finished trying to educate you as you are a lost cause. Remember where you live, with whom you live and how you must live amongst those whom you seem to ignore their most basic ways.

  5. #35

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    Iden
    Thanks for the words and agree whole heatedly.
    I think Stevie Wonder should get a helper.


  6. #36

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    Boris

    Amen to that Bro




    You amend your eating habits to whats available in the area you are in, If I decided to live in say chai wan and couldn't find say a leg of lamb to roast on a sunday, Then its my own damn problem for living somewhere where the produce is not likely to be in demand.

    Your choices are

    1. Source it from say near where you're working and pay a premium for it accordingly
    2. Change your dietary habits accordingly and buy whats available locally.

    Why go to HK if you're only going to eat 'western stodgy food'

    Last edited by jimbo; 15-01-2008 at 12:01 AM.

  7. #37

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    Hell never knew HK was part of China, your knowledge continues to amaze me. Yes we eat Chinese food Boris, my wife happens to be, get this, Chinese. As does my daughter and of course all of her family. So 95% of what we eat is local. Fact. Fact. Fact. Why your small brain cannot get around that I do not know. Nowhere in this thread have I said I don't eat local food, assumptions made incorrectly and badly.

    I talked about food because there are many things I cannot get here - oh and just to educate you a little more I am not, and have never been, an old colonial. I leave that to you old boys. I just said I cannot get, that's all. You tried to "educate" me on stores! Blimey that was a laugh. Sp please get facts straight before even attempting to argue!


  8. #38

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    Quote Originally Posted by iden:
    My fav happens to be Jusco tho', coz they've got quite an international range & the price is alright-ish, esp. if you've their VIP shopping card that allows discounts on special sales days, incl. non-food department store stuff. I'm sure Taste (my 2nd fav) & others have something similiar.
    We also have the VIP card and are regulars in Jusco, usually the Lok Fu store, sometimes Tai Po. One thing Jusco is good for is baby and kids stuff and we love the place for that.

  9. #39

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    Boris - You fail to comprehend .. that MANY MANY people here, while they're from overseas, consider themselves local to some extent or another.

    Its really not a "I'm more local than you are, just because I eat chicken feet" in HK or "I'm more posh than you are, just because I eat pigs trotters cooked by Marco Pierre Blanc" in the UK.


  10. #40

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    Quote Originally Posted by jimbo:
    Boris

    Amen to that Bro




    You amend your eating habits to whats available in the area you are in, If I decided to live in say chai wan and couldn't find say a leg of lamb to roast on a sunday, Then its my own damn problem for living somewhere where the produce is not likely to be in demand.

    Your choices are

    1. Source it from say near where you're working and pay a premium for it accordingly
    2. Change your dietary habits accordingly and buy whats available locally.

    Why go to HK if you're only going to eat 'western stodgy food'
    Jimbo! 20000% agreed!! here's my take, just like all others, if you cannot blend in to local culture, just stay where you are... dont come here!! nothing is perfect in this world. I guess nowadays people have been falling into the trap of entitlement. kind of sad!!