Hong Kong

[LyndaLaHughes]

We have an opportunity to move to Hong Kong. Children are 12,10 and 8. Has anyone made this move and would recommend it?

We lived there for 12 years - DS went from 5 to 17 and DD 3 to 15. We loved it so so much. It's had a rough few years with the protests and then Covid but it was really getting its mojo back when we left. It was a big struggle to say goodbye and we all keep on visiting there regularly.

It's small but has everything from the city to the beach to the mountains. There are lots of good schools and a huge amount of ECA's (rugby is a big one for boys and girls). Lots of art and museums, great food from high-end to street food, and a couple of big events each year that keep it busy (Sevens, Clockenflap etc). Partners can work on Dependent Visas, so if you go for one spouses job its possible for both to work (not a given in Asia)

Since the protests, it's becoming more Chinese - which is not necessarily a downside but is different from what it was like before. However, it's still what I would call an 'easy' posting in terms of being able to settle without knowing Cantonese or Mandarin.

I am happy to answer any specific questions you have.

What a helpful answer. Thank you so much! Do you mind me asking why you came back?

We didn't come back - we moved on to Singapore, which, unfortunately we are not liking as much at all!

Just some things to consider not about HK but any move abroad at your kids' ages - the 12-year-old only has a few years til GCSE, but then you look like you'll end up in a series of two-year cycles of exams with the 10 and 8-year-olds. You should consider how long you intend to stay or what are the natural break points for moving back or elsewhere.

A number of the schools in HK do iGCSE, so examination boards and curricula might be different to schools back in the UK; there are a lot that do IB as opposed to A levels, so again something to consider. Although it may seem a long time out, living anywhere abroad may impact your child's home fee status for Unis. It's not a very clear-cut rule but you should consider they may have to pay international fees - there's a thread somewhere on this topic, and you'll see that it can come as a shock to some folk.

And finally, I should flag that this last move from HK to SG for us has been with older teens, and it was significantly harder than with younger kids both in terms of their loss of friends but also making sure we kept them on a similar path curriculum/education-wise. So again, something to consider about any move abroad and when you'd come home.

Having said all that, HK has a lot of expats and overseas students, so whatever you decide, the schools are well set up to support you in making those choices and guiding you on the best options for the kids.

Thank you so much. Interestingly Singapore is the other option so I'm really interested to see that you prefer Hong Kong.

I lived in HK for 14 years. Moved back last year. Agree with pp about most things. It’s got a lot to recommend it. However one thing I would caution on is that the expat community has decreased a lot since covid ( loads of people moved due to constant school closures and other general covid fuckery that makes partygate look like nothing). There is also still a bit of a boarding school exodus at end of year 8. Therefore the teenage friendship groups can be kind of thin and also sports like rugby that only expats play- they’ve had to combine a lot of clubs. You can feel like you’re playing the same 3 teams on rotation. Obviously they can be friends with local kids too and unlike Singapore there’s nothing to stop local kids going to international school and a lot do, especially those with dual passports.

Also do your maths on the salary- rents are really high and food is expensive. Travel not as cheap as it used to be.

Ps Singapore would be a no for me as I like seasons and it is even smaller than HK- also doesn’t really have proper beaches or countryside and HK has that in spades.

It does worry me that we would find it too small and not enough to do. We live in London and my children do lots of activities.

In a lot of ways it actually feels bigger than London because it’s so compact and everywhere is easy to get to so in terms of waking up on a sunny Sunday you can go to the beach or go for a genuinely hard core 6 hour hike, or go sailing or wakeboarding etc and nothing is ever really too much to get to and get done in a day. It’s also really safe for teens- can let them get taxis and Ubers on their own with no worries. Random violence is v v rare. Plus public transport is amazing.

Are you happy to share your dc’s hobbies and I can hopefully tell you if they’re popular there or not?

That's so helpful! They do football, various music lessons and Gaelic football (which is obviously much less likely to be available as so niche!) but I'm sure they'd do Rugby instead.

Obviously they also love all London has to offer in terms of theatre etc and theme parks are a big favourite too!

You may well have come across one of the few activities not in HK with Gaelic Football but never say never as there is a strong GAA. There's a rugby team called Sandy Bay and I am pretty sure a couple of the coaches are members (this by the way is the beauty of HK especially the expat community- every body knows somebody 😂)

One thing I would say if your fear is HK is too small, then Singapore is titchy in comparison. My teens felt the whole of HK was their backyard, safe to get about, easy transport and loads to do to. They both find Singapore claustrophobic and frankly boring.

There is a GAA team I think
Ex Hker here too. Left recently after almost two decades. Amazing city being ruined by the national security law and the communist party over reach. If you’re ok with that and literally zero prospects for your kids to actually make a life there post school then it’s a great place. The mountains beaches and food are wonderful. It’s not cheaper than the U.K. - quite the opposite when you factor crazy rents and the cost of food. Good luck with your decisions.

Football and music no problem- there’s loads. Gaelic Football- as pp have said there is some adult stuff but not sure about kids. There is Aussie Rules football which might work for them.

Why is there zero prospects for children to make a life there? Would you mind explaining?

Don’t want to answer for another poster but it’s increasingly difficult to get entry level graduate jobs in the traditional “English language” sectors of law and finance and associated sectors ( executive search etc) if you don’t speak fluent mandarin. A lot of other sectors ( eg construction engineering) are decreasingly accessible to people who can’t speak fluent Cantonese ( and ideally also mandarin) because so much work is cross border). Unless your kids go to local school it’s going to b v difficult to become fluent in Cantonese and unless they do mandarin immersion it’s v difficult to be fluent in mandarin. It’s almost impossible to join a cantonese medium school or an immersion stream at upper primary/ secondary age as it would just be too hard to keep up academically and learn the language/ characters. It would also be a massive culture shock in terms of academic expectations. My friends who put their dc in local medium school/ immersion steam had them in from kindergarten and had to be mega strict about all tv etc being in Cantonese / have a Chinese speaking nanny to give them enough exposure for them to be fluent. Even then they probably wouldn’t be considered to have native fluency.

Also, it’s almost impossible to afford a house/ apartment in HK- makes uk look super affordable. There’s no route to citizenship although can get PR. Some public sector jobs are only open to passport holders.

The people I know who have stayed as second generation HKers were usually born in HK and have family money or property which their families bought during the Asia crisis or SARS.

That's very helpful thank you