Living in Hong Kong

Last night I met two old friends who came back from a year's stint in London. As they were recalling their lives there, I was shocked to hear the bad experiences they had. The expensive cost of living, issue of discrimination, and worse crime rate depict a bad image of the city and its suburbs.

If you're raising a family in Hong Kong isn't close to ideal, don't look further to London as a wise alternative. With domestic helper wages about three to four times they cost in Hong Kong, most families don't hire one. And that puts a lot of pressure to parents, both of whom should work to cope with costly electricity and home rents. Not to mention the huge tax rates. From their first-had experience in the city, it doesn't look good to me. They can easily compare Hong Kong, where they previously lived, and London where they settled for one whole year.

Teenage crime is on the rise. One of them even told us tips on how to deal with muggers to avoid getting stabbed.

My friends kept on wondering what is in London that makes Hong Kong maids think of going to London for better life. Hong Kong salaries (HK$3,580) are sometimes applied in London even if the law mandates that it should be around HK$12,000 to HK$15,000 settled in British currency. They are sometimes even humiliated in national television.



That's not what I see in British television which portrays good living standards in the UK. I guess for the British people who experience the same thing back home and currently live in Hong Kong, they consider themselves lucky and blessed.

I haven't been to London myself. But it shouldn't discourage me from visiting, even just for a short while to visit friends still living there.

In the meantime, I should be happy with where I am. Hong Kong. It has issues, just like any other city, but in the past seven years, I am happy to be here and learned to love Hong Kong not for what it has, but for what it is.

I am sure there are also lots of people who love living in London. Different people have different experiences and maybe my friends got into the wrong side of the fence.

Dylan Jones, an editor of GQ has this to describe Hong Kong:

Hong Kong is Manhattan, Nice and LA all at once – and if you can tear yourself away from the restaurants, galleries and malls, it's a secret jungle too, with some of the most beautiful walks on Earth.

The lesson learned from last night's story was that we have to be happy with what we have. It is never wrong to wish for something, but if we can't reach it despite our best efforts, let's just be contented with what we have.

Photo credit: Frogman2212