Advice on Hong Kong

[berthablatherwick]

Hi. My husband has just been offered a job in Hong Kong for 18 months. I've got a 2 year old and and pregnant with No.2, due in November and are unsure as to whether it would be a good move at this stage.

Any advice on childbirth/rearing there? Have lived as an expat in Asia pre-kids (Malaysia). Also, the cost of living...they've offered to cover the accommodation costs. What about access to foreign food/supplies?!

Thanks in advance for any advice!

You might find this site geobaby.com helpful and the associated site geoexpat.com

great site, very helpful.. Thank you!

you don't have to pay tax on your income either which is a bonus

Hi from HK! We have been here 10 months now and are feeling settled - finally. In regards to the food, it depends where you live here but we have a local supermarket that stocks a lot of waitrose products (at a price) as well as lots of other UK brands. There is also a lot of good food shipped over from Oz, NZ and the US. So you can have a good range of food but it certainly adds up eg Yeo Valley plain yoghurt £1 in UK £3 in HK, fresh milk from Oz is almost £2 for 1 litre. I have a 20 month son and we have a pretty good lifestyle (swimming pools, indoor and outdoor play areas, lots of little friends, beach...) But it is certainly not geared up for prams on public transport. Lots of folding on buses, steps down to metro, steps up to shops, steps along streets. As for having a baby here, I think it can be very very expensive going private which seems to be the common thing here. Check your insurance specifically for this as most policies wont cover any maternity. Although I am sure you will get more detailed response from others as I haven't ventured down that path yet! This all sounds quite negative but if your accom costs are covered that will make a huge difference. So it sort of balances out food etc. The kids get treated like royalty here and if you are only here for 18 months it will fly by. You can have live in domestic help for a fraction of the price you would pay in the UK and that will make a massive difference to your lifestyle (Think - dinners out, movies...)
Anyway good luck with all the planning and the new baby.