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View Poll Results: Would you rather live and work in HONG KONG or in SINGAPORE?
Hong Kong 56 62.92%
Singapore 33 37.08%
Voters: 89. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 10-31-2014, 04:18 AM
 
Location: Phoenix
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Beer View Post
Well, of course the expats/foreign talents. But the Filipino/Indonesia population in Hong Kong is immense. If anyone has been in Hong Kong on a Sunday, pretty much every park and sidewalk space, and everywhere on the beach, is absolutely filled with Filipinas/Indonesians.

Legally they are only 3% of the population, but I'm guessing their actual numbers are quite a bit higher. Even moreso when just about every single family in Hong Kong hires a full-time maid, as they only cost them approximately US$400/month!!
How many foreign expats does HK have? I still can't believe that it is the Indonesian/Filipino maids are the ones keeping the English there alive.
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Old 10-31-2014, 10:07 PM
 
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Hong Kong.

Other than New York, it's the only other city in the world that's ever taken my breathe away, almost instantly. I can only go with the idea that Tokyo and Seoul will be better but so far in life the only two other cities I've been to as magnificent as Hong Kong are New York and London. I've been to Paris too but it's lower in my pecking order.

I was born in Singapore and it is my hometown. I love the place and obviously have affections for it but Hong Kong all the way.

I can spend a life in Hong Kong, to be honest, from childhood to now that's all I've ever wanted. Hong Kong is just so INSANELY expensive (so is Singapore but I am Singaporean and getting there and staying there is easier for me) and so hard to move to though that I'm better off looking at Seoul or Tokyo, where I have a way to get there for sure.
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Old 11-01-2014, 12:40 AM
 
Location: Taipei
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^You might consider Chicago, much cheaper than the others.
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Old 11-01-2014, 01:04 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by projectmaximus View Post
^You might consider Chicago, much cheaper than the others.
I have lived in Chicago already. We actually moved to Chicago from Singapore when I was still really young.

We still own a loft in Chicago, in Near Northside, we have rented it out to a couple that has been living there since 2003.

I want to go back home to Asia first and foremost. It's not the cost of living that worries me, it's the cost of living in Hong Kong.

I've already engaged in the possibility of the TaLk and Jet programs for Tokyo or Seoul, and can secure a good paying job and visa for either of them for up to 3 years. After that, I can just transition into my own field of work (programming / technology) and continue living there.

I cant find similar programs for Hong Kong. I also don't want to try Singapore again, I have visited plenty of times since we moved from there and while I love it and Chicago, ultimately want to keep trying new places.

How about Taipei? It looks fabulous.

Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 11-01-2014 at 01:12 AM..
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Old 11-01-2014, 02:20 AM
 
Location: Macao
16,284 posts, read 42,954,513 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red John View Post
Hong Kong.

Other than New York, it's the only other city in the world that's ever taken my breathe away, almost instantly. I can only go with the idea that Tokyo and Seoul will be better but so far in life the only two other cities I've been to as magnificent as Hong Kong are New York and London. I've been to Paris too but it's lower in my pecking order.

I was born in Singapore and it is my hometown. I love the place and obviously have affections for it but Hong Kong all the way.

I can spend a life in Hong Kong, to be honest, from childhood to now that's all I've ever wanted. Hong Kong is just so INSANELY expensive (so is Singapore but I am Singaporean and getting there and staying there is easier for me) and so hard to move to though that I'm better off looking at Seoul or Tokyo, where I have a way to get there for sure.
Tokyo is way more insanely expensive. I came from Osaka to Macau, so definitely have become very familiar with Hong Kong and Tokyo as well.

I find HK to be way cheaper than living in Osaka. And Osaka is quite a bit cheaper than Tokyo. Japan is just an expensive place. A few things that make HK so much cheaper is the taxis are ridiculously cheap compared to Japan. I also find beers in convenience stores to be way cheaper. You can get beer in HK for as low as US$1, whereas a beer in a convenience store in Japan starts at around 220 yen (US$2.20).
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Old 11-01-2014, 02:23 AM
 
Location: Macao
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red John View Post
I've already engaged in the possibility of the TaLk and Jet programs for Tokyo or Seoul, and can secure a good paying job and visa for either of them for up to 3 years. After that, I can just transition into my own field of work (programming / technology) and continue living there.
Japan is WAY better for transitioning into your field than Korea. You own your work visa, once you get it, and can work just about anywhere. However, you'd need Japanese to work just about anywhere. Otherwise, you are kind of stuck at the JET program level.

Korea doesn't have a JET program. They do have way more jobs available than Japan though. However, your employer is connected to your work visa, so you can't transition yourself into your own field.

Hong Kong has the NET scheme for English teachers. You might want to look into the possibility of that.
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Old 11-01-2014, 02:50 AM
 
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Originally Posted by Tiger Beer View Post
Japan is WAY better for transitioning into your field than Korea. You own your work visa, once you get it, and can work just about anywhere. However, you'd need Japanese to work just about anywhere. Otherwise, you are kind of stuck at the JET program level.

Korea doesn't have a JET program. They do have way more jobs available than Japan though. However, your employer is connected to your work visa, so you can't transition yourself into your own field.

Hong Kong has the NET scheme for English teachers. You might want to look into the possibility of that.
Yeah I would have to re-apply for a visa for employment in Japan going from the Jet or Talk programs. I'm sure that could be worked out for another one to two year extension. South Korea has a program similar to it, while not called the same thing, one of my childhood friends took part in it for a year and recommended it to me. He also told me that Seoul is a world class city, very advanced and career oriented place, but compared to other Asian cities like Tokyo, Singapore, and Hong Kong; Seoul is much cheaper. That's something I've had in the back of my mind for a while now. It's a pretty great sized city, wonderful infrastructure it seems like, and I love the Korean food I've had so far. Cant wait to actually try it in South Korea. For the last 10 years here in America, South Korea's profile has exploded, it was hardly known of before that or thought of much it seems like.

The issue with Hong Kong isn't so much that it's cheaper than Tokyo, I just consider Tokyo to be a much more humane and savvy city. It's worth the price. Hong Kong is a place that's increasingly riddled by those cage apartment systems for lower cost housing. In Tokyo, a person could very much could afford to live a far better environment as their Hong Kong peers. Hong Kong seems like the sort of place where if you're at the top, you are well off, for everyone else it has to be such a stressful life.

Tokyo truly seems like a upper level city. I would definitely say it stands alone in the Far East. Like the way London does in the EuroZone and New York in the West.

That being said, Hong Kong from a visitors point of view has been fantastic. I personally think there could be better places in the world to live in, but I would say that's also a short list.
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Old 11-01-2014, 03:09 AM
 
Location: Macao
16,284 posts, read 42,954,513 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red John View Post
Seoul is much cheaper. That's something I've had in the back of my mind for a while now. It's a pretty great sized city, wonderful infrastructure it seems like, and I love the Korean food I've had so far. Cant wait to actually try it in South Korea. For the last 10 years here in America, South Korea's profile has exploded, it was hardly known of before that or thought of much it seems like.
I lived in Seoul, for most of the time between the years of 1996-2008. You are right, about it being completely unknown for the longest time. I am absolutely shocked and amazed to hear of so many people interested in Korea now. It certainly was not like that when I lived there.

The infrastructure is great there, and the prices are certainly quite reasonable, especially compared to Japan. You can do a lot more in Korea because of the lower cost of living, than one can do in Japan. In Japan, you feel it financially all the time. Not so much with Korea.
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Old 11-01-2014, 03:12 AM
 
Location: Macao
16,284 posts, read 42,954,513 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red John View Post
The issue with Hong Kong isn't so much that it's cheaper than Tokyo, I just consider Tokyo to be a much more humane and savvy city. It's worth the price. Hong Kong is a place that's increasingly riddled by those cage apartment systems for lower cost housing. In Tokyo, a person could very much could afford to live a far better environment as their Hong Kong peers. Hong Kong seems like the sort of place where if you're at the top, you are well off, for everyone else it has to be such a stressful life.
Hmm....not so sure about that! Okay, physically, Tokyo does look cleaner than HK. The people are certainly nicer, more polite, very organized. There a lot of great things about Japanese people, for sure!

But, housing is incredibly small in Tokyo. Super super small. It's mostly not very well insulated either. Meaning, you'll be feeling winter quite clearly during the winter months. I often felt like being inside or outside, it had the same cold feeling. You could never get the apartment warm enough, as it simply wasn't efficiently insulated to keep the warmth in.

That being said, they are both great cities, for different reasons. They both have their plusses and minuses.
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Old 11-01-2014, 03:18 AM
 
Location: Taipei
8,868 posts, read 8,334,723 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red John View Post
How about Taipei? It looks fabulous.
Lol how? Taipei is best known for its ugliness tbqh.
Taipei is by far the cheapest out of the developed cities in this region, but the salary is also by far the lowest, like seriously dead low, while the working time is just as long as our workaholic neighbors, so it's actually not that cheap after all.
The food security is horrendous here, the gutter oil is a ****ing nightmare.
The infrastructure is alright. The facilities are nice and clean but it is nowhere as extensive and convenient as that of Tokyo or Seoul.

I've been to all these cities(HK, Singapore, Tokyo, and Seoul) and I live in Taipei, and I'd recommend Tokyo out of the five.

Last edited by Greysholic; 11-01-2014 at 03:28 AM..
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