Hong Kong real estate still hot.

[Disoblige]

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Everything you said here, especially the cramped spaces, is enough for me to never visit HK.

I like my space.

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.

[C4S]

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Originally Posted by Power_Of_Rotary View Post

There are cons to HK, shitty people you deal with daily from servers to coworkers (locals). Crazy queues for EVERYTHING that is popular (such as 5 guys burger when it came to hk.. the line up was like a mile long). Poor manners, no one holds the door for you lol. Cramped malls, busses, trains, restaurants etc. Hard to get foreign goods without paying a huge premium. Rich people you just hate

Everything you said here, especially the cramped spaces, is enough for me to never visit HK.

I like my space.

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 *_*

[jwslam]

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Living on the other hand.... this is what $500K CAD buys you.

Obviously in New Territories. Pretty much no way you would have trees out your window in the main.

[Tik-Tok]

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Obviously in New Territories. Pretty much no way you would have trees out your window in the main.

Plot twist. That's Vancouver.

[lilmira]

is that a sink for ants?

[jwslam]

More importantly how high is that towel bar?

[Disoblige]

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is that a sink for ants?

It's a bidet.

[vengie]

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Speaking fluent English gives you better opportunity in foreign companies = better treatments. My cousin manages a team in India from HK. Something you can't do if all you don't speak English. Also HK's main competitor is Singapore where English is the official language.

Even if you go back to mainland China, you can only graduate with 1 foreign language exam of your choice (English/French/Russian/Japanese).

I think all parents put kids into extracurricular activities, not just Hongers. Some may be hockey. Chinese school is just so they understand their old language but all languages are hard if you are not actively using it. As for math class, given there is a huge gap between high school and university math, it's not a bad idea to get ahead of the curve.

Once you have kids, you really don't spend on yourself any more. Priority changes.

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Visit is fine. You just pay for whatever space you can afford during the visit.

Living on the other hand.... this is what $500K CAD buys you.

This is essentially prison.

[Xtrema]

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This is essentially prison.

Well, you either have 30% income tax or this.

This happens when the government get their opex from selling land, artificially creating shortage.

[C4S]

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Well, you either have 30% income tax or this.

This happens when the government get their opex from selling land, artificially creating shortage.

I have asked ~ 10 good friends of mine, how much income tax they pay in Hong Kong, (and property tax) they seem dont know the answer .. only 1 told me probably less pay than 10%

There is always pros and cons ...

[Manhattan]

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.

[ExtraSlow]

People who compare HK and Calgary on cost are missing the point. That's ridiculous.

[max_boost]

Exactly. Different lifestyle. Get out and travel more lol

[Xtrema]

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I have asked ~ 10 good friends of mine, how much income tax they pay in Hong Kong, (and property tax) they seem dont know the answer .. only 1 told me probably less pay than 10%

There is always pros and cons ...

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.

[rage2]

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I can only handle small doses. May be a few weeks at a time.

Ditto. I guess I came to Canada way too young to appreciate the lifestyle of HK. 1 week in HK and I'm burnt out.

[Xtrema]

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Ditto. I guess I came to Canada way too young to appreciate the lifestyle of HK. 1 week in HK and I'm burnt out.

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.

[Manhattan]

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Ditto. I guess I came to Canada way too young to appreciate the lifestyle of HK. 1 week in HK and I'm burnt out.

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.

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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.

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.

[rage2]

That’s the one thing I love about HK, the weather. My comfort zone is humid high 30s haha.

[Disoblige]

Man... nothing beats the feeling of getting inside a super cold AC building on a hot summer day in HK.

[Power_Of_Rotary]

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I can only handle small doses. May be a few weeks at a time. I still prefer Japan over HK (besides partying). People are a lot nicer there.

Do you have kids? Most of my relatives are thinking of leaving have kids. Kids are too stressed there with education and kids here are way happier.

But those who don't have kids, they never want to leave. With all of Asia's most major cities/tourist spots within 3hr flight, it's awesome home base if you want to explore Asia too.

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.