It's just a different lifestyle.
But this reminds me of culture shock for some reason lol. I picture a suburban Karen doing a wife swap show overseas with a HK family and just crying in the corner on day 1.
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Talking about line up, I have the opposite experience (not last 12 month with Covid) I rarely/almost never do long line up in HK, even when buying the famous "North Point Egg Waffle", say 10 people in front of me, just 5 min line up, as everything is so much quicker than here, (even 2 people in front of you at MacDonald here, could be 15 min wait .. lol) also, there are so many choices , most restaurants can be reserved, say you book table for 7pm, you just show up at 7pm, most shopping malls are also huge, spacious, and not cramped, (I guess as a Tourist, I avoid the peak hour) and when I actually buy something, will go the small shops at SSP, they are crazy busy and cramped, but big difference in price, and again, can usually reserve online.
There is no way I will line up for 5 guys burger there, as I can have some awesome "Set lunch" for $6-7 cad, and taste 10 times better .. also no line up... lol
Damn .. I really miss HK! as I normally there this time of the year with my family *_*
is that a sink for ants?
More importantly how high is that towel bar?
HK and Calgary are on different ends of the spectrum when it comes to lifestyle & pace. There's just generally way more interesting things and interactions happening in a city like HK and there's definitely some value associated to it depending on what you're into. Most people's lives are pretty similar to 'groundhog day' myself included. Sports and pub nights are nice distractions but its all pretty tame compared to day to day life in HK. The few really memorable times of the year are when I'm out of town for vacation.
NYC gets shit on a lot for being high cost, small space, dirty, dangerous, etc. but that's the price you pay for living an interesting life. Cities like that are some of the most rewarding places to live if you do it right.
People who compare HK and Calgary on cost are missing the point. That's ridiculous.
Exactly. Different lifestyle. Get out and travel more lol
A lot of things are tax deductible. A couple with 2 kids will get you something like $500k HKD of deduction. Add that on top of your mortgage interest which is deductible, you could be making close to $600K HKD ($100k CAD) tax free. DINKs may have to pay some tax unless they go nuts on a huge mortgage.
I prefer space and the weather is just too nasty from Apr to Oct. Had to like take a shower 4 times a day nasty if I have to do public transit.
The other problems is my relatives won't leave me alone. Making every trip back only have like 3 days to myself out of 2 weeks if lucky.
Need to treat it like Vegas. The sensory overload and crowds on the strip burns me out after about 3 days. That's why you gotta get off the strip. HK has lots of fantastic green spaces and parks and there's definitely more quiet residential areas even on the island. Just gotta seek that balance instead of trying to cram your days too full.
Majority of people would probably still prefer HK summers to Canadian winters. Hard to adapt on short trips when you're running around all day. On a longer stay you can adapt and get into a nice routine when it comes to dealing with the ridiculous heat & humidity.
I'm usually up super early due to jet lag and in early morning hours 5 to 8am it's beautifully serene. Heat & humidity is reasonable during those hours too. I'm typically a night owl but if I lived in HK those are 2 major reasons to start your day early. Not much reason to start day early here except to beat the traffic.
That’s the one thing I love about HK, the weather. My comfort zone is humid high 30s haha.
Man... nothing beats the feeling of getting inside a super cold AC building on a hot summer day in HK.
I love Japan too. But I dont speak the language and it is definitely harder to get by day by day (and near impossible to find work).
If I had kid(s), there is no way I would live in HK. The already high cost will go up exponentially. From hiring a maid, getting a bigger place, tuition (private school cost around HKD120k or 20k CAD a year), normal expense of the kid. Not to mention the already limited free time (work life inbalance in hk) will be further deteriorated with children...
Canada > HK in every aspect, if you have a family/kids.