As a chef it will probably depend on where you are in the pecking order. A chef in a fancy, expensive high class hotel or restaurant? Probably not much different to London. In a cheap local Chinese place - you will be shocked by people washing dishes in cold water in the street and other weirdness. You will be working when most expats are partying, but that doesn't need to be an issue. Many trailing spouses (of both sexes) doing stuff during the day - websites like Meetup make it much easier to find people to go hiking/sailing/dragon boating/board game playing or whatever you fancy with other people. I found HK to be the easiest place I had lived to make friends (serial expat in 5 places before HK). Life is expensive - flats are tiny, kitchens are tiny, quality groceries are expensive but travel around Asia is cheap and HK has a lot of offer if you like outdoor stuff - much less so if you like culture stuff. Best way is to come and see.