• Moving to Hong Kong, questions for people who know about or live in HK.
    29 replies, posted
I've been asked to move to Hong Kong to work for my sister husband and I'm inclined to do so (coming from the UK), however I have a couple of questions if anyone from HK can answer, I'd be very greatful, some are a little trivial and none of these will influence my decision, I'm just curious as to what to expect, and my sister is extremely unhelpful. • What's the internet speed like over there and are there limitations? • I've heard the weather is humid and hot most of the time, is it true? Should I expect to be sweating more days than not especially when coming from English weather? • I'm massively into technology, I'd expect Hong Kong to be up to date with pretty much everything, do you think I'd enjoy Hong Kong in this regard or should I expect no difference? • How are the general population towards British people and is English a widely spoken language or should I start learning Cantonese as soon as possible? (I'd assume this to be obvious with it being a British colony in the past but worth an ask) • What are some general living alterations I should expect when coming from England, I've been told the night-life is much more prevalent than Western countries. • And finally, is there anything specific to Hong Kong that I should prepare for before I move on over (leaving in June). And a question to everyone else if you're up to answer, would selling everything I can't take over (desktop/large peripherals, clothes I can't take, my ludicrous collection of headphones) and buying a laptop and keeping the money for when I move over be a generally good idea, or should I keep it all with my folks in-case I decide/need to come back? Thanks a bunch!
[QUOTE=David Tennant;35712759]• What's the internet speed like over there?[/QUOTE] Do you want to reach any website that doesn't PRAISE THE GLORIOUS PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA? Because if so, good luck with that. Edit: [QUOTE=David Tennant;35712759]• I'm massively into technology, I'd expect Hong Kong to be up to date with pretty much everything, do you think I'd enjoy Hong Kong in this regard or should I expect no difference?[/QUOTE] Let's compare with some of the technology here. Everything has a "Made in China" sticker. So... :v:
[QUOTE=KarloMcMarlo;35712828]Do you want to reach any website that doesn't PRAISE THE GLORIOUS PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA? Because if so, good luck with that.[/QUOTE] I should expect a lot of answers like this :v:.
[QUOTE=David Tennant;35712759] • How are the general population towards British people and is English a widely spoken language or should I start learning Cantonese as soon as possible? (I'd assume this to be obvious with it being a British colony in the past but worth an ask) Thanks a bunch![/QUOTE] Learn their language as soon as possible. Seriously.
[QUOTE=David Tennant;35712853]I should expect a lot of answers like this :v:.[/QUOTE] Were you expecting anything other then various sarcasms? I mean, it's Facepunch. :v:
[QUOTE=joost1120;35712863]Learn their language as soon as possible. Seriously.[/QUOTE] My sister has been living there for 6 years and is an English teacher, yet only knows Cantonese basics, not certain how she manages.
Everyone know English, perhaps a bit shitty, but it's alright :v: Internet is like your usual internet. There are no restrictions. A lot of tech shops practically everywhere. Prices are alright, sometimes cheap sometimes expensive. It's humid as hell. May be better during winter. One of the best moments I've had when being there was a sudden heavy rain shower combined with thunderstorm at Victoria Harbour. Shit was crazy. A lot of mosquitoes during night, sleep with net or insect smoke things(?). It was a colony, they don't care about white people as they do in the mainland. Avoid fish markets because they stink. Food is good, they got like everything. [editline]25th April 2012[/editline] Next I want to visit Japan, seems even cooler than Hong Kong.
[QUOTE=Swebonny;35713043]Next I want to visit Japan, seems even cooler than Hong Kong.[/QUOTE] And all the porn will be censored. :v:
[QUOTE=David Tennant;35712759]I've been asked to move to Hong Kong to work for my sister husband and I'm inclined to do so (coming from the UK), however I have a couple of questions if anyone from HK can answer, I'd be very greatful, some are a little trivial and none of these will influence my decision, I'm just curious as to what to expect, and my sister is extremely unhelpful. • What's the internet speed like over there and are there limitations? • I've heard the weather is humid and hot most of the time, is it true? Should I expect to be sweating more days than not especially when coming from English weather? • I'm massively into technology, I'd expect Hong Kong to be up to date with pretty much everything, do you think I'd enjoy Hong Kong in this regard or should I expect no difference? • How are the general population towards British people and is English a widely spoken language or should I start learning Cantonese as soon as possible? (I'd assume this to be obvious with it being a British colony in the past but worth an ask) • What are some general living alterations I should expect when coming from England, I've been told the night-life is much more prevalent than Western countries. • And finally, is there anything specific to Hong Kong that I should prepare for before I move on over (leaving in June). And a question to everyone else if you're up to answer, would selling everything I can't take over (desktop/large peripherals, clothes I can't take, my ludicrous collection of headphones) and buying a laptop and keeping the money for when I move over be a generally good idea, or should I keep it all with my folks in-case I decide/need to come back? Thanks a bunch![/QUOTE] I lived in Hong Kong for nearly 10 years before I moved to Ireland, and I go back nearly every year, I think I can answer a question or two for you. • Internet speed over there are pretty good, they don't have the website limits like that have in mainland China, therefore you can still go on whatever website you want. • Humid as hell over there, you'll be sweating a lot. Use deodorants so you don't sweat too much. • Hong Kong is a great place for technology. You can almost find everything you want there. Although you might want to double check the prices, you might get ripped off. But you can always haggle for a better price. I won't think you'll feel any differences in HK about technologies, if you can find the stuff in UK, you probably can find it in HK. • The general population in HK is alright, depends on where you live. The people should be indifferent to English people, since you won't be the only one. But do learn Cantonese when you can, it would help you a lot more in daily life as HK people have low level standard in English. • General living alterations, hmm... The people in HK really likes to restaurant for breakfast, they call it "Yum Cha" and they have dim sum and what not, so don't expect your normal milk and toast in the morning (unless you make it yourself of course). As for the night-life, I haven't experienced the night-life in HK as I was too young when I was living there, but the night-life is very active so if you like going out at night you won't be let down. •Prepare for the heat, prepare for the typhoons when it comes, prepare for the people, there are some assholes out there, prepare for people with bad English and more that I can't think of. I can't answer the last question but I'll suggest you get a laptop, free wi-fi are everywhere in HK, but it would also be a good idea to keep the things you have in-case you want to come back, it depends on you. Hope that helped you a bit, if you have anymore questions please ask, I am more than glad to help. And do take Swebonny's advices as well, they are very true. (Especially fish markets, hell, even the food markets overall. I'm not talking about the supermarkets but about the markets that are called 街市 jieshi which are traditional raw food markets where people buy stuff to make dinner.)
Thanks for the answers, it sounds like a great place, except possibly the heat and I might get funny looks from time to time, I'm a little sad about leaving though, I've liked England just for the stability, living near China scares me a little.
Once you get there you'll forget about governments and shit, the last prime minister of Hong Kong always wore bow ties, total cool dude. But yeah westerners in Hong Kong aren't that uncommon. You should totes learns Cantonese, way better than Chinese imo, it may be harder but sounds so much more better because of having 6 tones as opposed to 4. And when you do move on to learning Chinese it'll be p ease. [editline]26th April 2012[/editline] [t]http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5312/7056681501_fa4f1937a2_b.jpg[/t][t]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7057/6910593188_6a1771bb9b_b.jpg[/t] Great place but bloody expensive. When you start trading stocks at the stock market you'll be a typical Hong Konger
you are coming at the worst time. Weather here is shit. Humid as hell with the occasional thunderstorms. And don't bother learning canto, you'll pick up some words through daily conversations. If you want to shop for things like computer parts and things alike there are plenty of places to go, but aim for places like Yaumatei, SSP, and TST. You might get some looks for being British but its not that common. Some shop retailers might charge you more though so watch out for that. Nightlife here is generally zoned to Lankwai and Mongkok and theyre not that expensive. [editline]26th April 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=s0m3_guy;35715857]Once you get there you'll forget about governments and shit, the last prime minister of Hong Kong always wore bow ties, total cool dude. [/QUOTE] No, the last chief executive was shit. Hell all our executives are shit since the hand over
My internet speed is dicks here in mainland Japan, hope you get something better. Not really comparable I know but going to a lower speed is pretty lame. Encourages me to put my laptop down at least.
[QUOTE=Goldb207;35718911]you are coming at the worst time. Weather here is shit. Humid as hell with the occasional thunderstorms. And don't bother learning canto, you'll pick up some words through daily conversations. If you want to shop for things like computer parts and things alike there are plenty of places to go, but aim for places like Yaumatei, SSP, and TST. You might get some looks for being British but its not that common. Some shop retailers might charge you more though so watch out for that. Nightlife here is generally zoned to Lankwai and Mongkok and theyre not that expensive. [/QUOTE] If/when I do come it'll be permanent or semi-permanent so I'll have to get used to the weather at some point, it's the typical Asian things you hear about that scare me, ofcourse I am generalizing but I don't want Triad's gunning me down as I step off the plane. [editline]28th April 2012[/editline] Also wanted to add, will being a 6'2" British man help me with the Chinese ladies? Obviously I have a bigger member than the general Chinese populace but I'm unsure if the HK women go for that sort of thing, if you catch my drift.
Hot [img]http://puu.sh/rYm6[/img]
Strike that, I'll stick to the western women.
If you're going for the local women, get used to their accents and broken english
when i was in HK i literally saw a total of 0 attractive women very strange
HOT! [img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OR1w5BMJRTA/TmNIVtYrcXI/AAAAAAAAADQ/DwEXNautD5I/s1600/4.jpg[/img] [editline]28th April 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=NightmareXx;35748719]when i was in HK i literally saw a total of 0 attractive women very strange[/QUOTE] I wonder where you were. I saw quite a lot. But that's perhaps because I did not wank for like 2 months.
It really depends where and when but generally, the women here arn't really lookers
I've always romanticised Hong Kong as being England but in China or a John Woo flick. In reality I've no idea what Hong Kong is like.
I've always pictured it as if having a 13 year old wrapped around your legs, what with the size difference.
Listen to this on repeat [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHQZNNajxOk[/media]
My friend was born and raised there, he lives in the UK now but he often goes back for a few weeks stay. He loves it there.
Internet speed is good, I used to have torrent speeds of 2 MB/s (legal torrents of course) Yes most of the time, it's very humid, but during winter it generally gets around 12-20 degrees celsius. You'll find technology, there's a large computer center in Wanchai with everything you need there Kinda depends where you live, but for the most part, you can live in Hong Kong for years and not know Cantonese for shit. If a shop/restaurant/hotel is more than decent, the people there will most likely speak English, Can But if you go to the more local parts, most locals there will speak little to no english. Nightlife is great here, most people go to Lan Kwai Fong or Wanchai, they're both great places. Also, check out the karaoke places with a few friends. They're great fun since they serve drinks as well. You everything you need in Hong Kong. Best thing you can do it find someone who's lived there for a while to show you around. Also, if you want actual local chinese food (delicious as fuck), then you HAVE to go with someone who speaks cantonese, because in no way will a western man know what or how the fuck which dishes to order. [editline]29th April 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=NightmareXx;35748719]when i was in HK i literally saw a total of 0 attractive women very strange[/QUOTE] You went to the wrong places at the wrong times. You'll only see the attractive women in the nightlife scene, and trust me, there a lot.
[QUOTE=David Tennant;35748087] Also wanted to add, will being a 6'2" British man help me with the Chinese ladies? Obviously I have a bigger member than the general Chinese populace but I'm unsure if the HK women go for that sort of thing, if you catch my drift.[/QUOTE] I dated a girl while I was in HK, and I can say that there is a large amount of good looking women especially compared to where I live now. Also I think it would help you because there are some girls who are really interested in meeting westerners and some of them speak english really well.
[QUOTE=Kaios;35752149] You everything you need in Hong Kong. Best thing you can do it find someone who's lived there for a while to show you around. Also, if you want actual local chinese food (delicious as fuck), then you HAVE to go with someone who speaks cantonese, because in no way will a western man know what or how the fuck which dishes to order. [/QUOTE] Thanks for the answers, the reason I'm going is my sister's boyfriend owns his own interior design company and is hiring me for autoCAD and general design work, and he's lived there his whole life, really top bloke, he's already got my VISA ready and everything, and is paying for my flight and setting me up with a generous wage, can't wait for my flight date. But he will be showing me around and speaks fluent cantonese. What do you think about selling my desktop and whatnot and getting a laptop for portable use? Or should I just get some money together and buy things I need when I'm over there?
I've spend the past 9 years living in Beijing, While not exactly Hong Kong I have been there twice and I can tell you there is a big difference. • What's the internet speed like over there and are there limitations? Unlike Mainland China Hong Kong has pretty good Internet, as it is uncensored unlike Mainland China and I believe speeds are on par with Western Internet providers (Not to sure since I've only had experience with Talktalk in the UK) As for limitations it depends I suppose on the deals the ISPs have • I've heard the weather is humid and hot most of the time, is it true? Should I expect to be sweating more days than not especially when coming from English weather? Yes, Hong Kong is near the equator, it is hot pretty much all year round, my friend I know who is from HK can vouch for this. I do believe it does get a bit cooler during the autumn periods. • I'm massively into technology, I'd expect Hong Kong to be up to date with pretty much everything, do you think I'd enjoy Hong Kong in this regard or should I expect no difference? Hong Kong is Amazing when it comes to technology. There is a entire building dedicated to [B]Gaming Alone.[/B] and pricing is reasonable, however there is the odd counterfeit product here and there, rule of thumb: if its too good to be true then is probably is Tons of shops selling Cameras, Computers, games, new tech whatever you can imagine its there. And being a ship port its often the first to get new products • How are the general population towards British people and is English a widely spoken language or should I start learning Cantonese as soon as possible? (I'd assume this to be obvious with it being a British colony in the past but worth an ask) While I was there it was a bit difficult considering I've learnt mandarin and its pretty much unless there, however its still good to learn the language and getting around is a ton easier in HK that it is in Mainland China, since it is geared towards foreigners, with English signs, some speakers etc. • What are some general living alterations I should expect when coming from England, I've been told the night-life is much more prevalent than Western countries. If your living in the city then be prepared to mingle in the city life a bit, as it generally can be a bit overwhelming if your new to it all, but if your not into it, it can be avoided • And finally, is there anything specific to Hong Kong that I should prepare for before I move on over (leaving in June). One thing to note that is handy, the plug sockets in HK are the same as the UK so no need for adapters.
[QUOTE=David Tennant;35748087] 6'2" British man[/QUOTE] Are you actually David Tennant? :v:
[QUOTE=Alex141;35758160] One thing to note that is handy, the plug sockets in HK are the same as the UK so no need for adapters.[/QUOTE] Thankyou for the answers, this one in particular will prove helpful! However I do not plan to take much, camera, some of my headphones and a laptop probably, with the obvious clothes and whatnot.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.