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You can live in Hong Kong relatively less expensive by living in some communities on the neighboring islands, i.e. Discovery Bay on Lantau Island.
In those communities, the rent/price of property is relatively cheaper, low density and you have a feeling like living in a foreign country because a lot of the units are occupied by expatriates. Moreover, cars are banned so you have better air quality.
The only humbug is when typhoon comes, you have to rush to go home because the ferry service will be suspended.
Thanks. My wife had never even heard of Discovery Bay so I did some research haha. It does seem possible to shuttle to the metro from Lantau, so ferry isn't the only mode of transport. But yes, you would still want to rush because your travel times will be greatly affected otherwise.
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Originally Posted by OyCrumbler
How close are you with your relatives and how close is your wife with hers? I think if you wanted them to learn the home language then actually having people outside of school that you think will interact with your kids in that language is probably pretty good. I actually learned Hokkien in the US pretty much entirely off of conversations between older family members via immersion.
Also, as the plan is only to be there for a few years, then I think saving up through the more economical options to spend on trips around the region would seem to me like a great idea in terms of both pedagogy and seeing family.
Fair point. Closest relatives would be in Penang and Macau (kind of...they don't live in Macau full time). But in Penang they all speak English by default so it's still the same issue there, Chinese schools would be the key.
We will see...I am very anxious now for our trip this summer. I anticipate it is entirely possible that experiencing in real life the heat and mosquitos in Singapore and Malaysia (again, cause she has been to both several times before) will remind us that we won't be able to handle it year-round.
A friend who has lived in both Singapore and Hong Kong, as an expat, prefers HK as there are more leisure options. Singapore is like a perfect city in many ways but personally I could never handle the climate. On our last visit we certainly did find it very expensive compared to years gone by. But the food is wonderful.
Thanks. My wife had never even heard of Discovery Bay so I did some research haha. It does seem possible to shuttle to the metro from Lantau, so ferry isn't the only mode of transport. But yes, you would still want to rush because your travel times will be greatly affected otherwise.
Fair point. Closest relatives would be in Penang and Macau (kind of...they don't live in Macau full time). But in Penang they all speak English by default so it's still the same issue there, Chinese schools would be the key.
We will see...I am very anxious now for our trip this summer. I anticipate it is entirely possible that experiencing in real life the heat and mosquitos in Singapore and Malaysia (again, cause she has been to both several times before) will remind us that we won't be able to handle it year-round.
I see. If immersing your kids / learning Mandarin or Cantonese is one of the intended goals, then an environment where people actually actively use either one can go a lot further than going to Chinese school which are also available in many major US cities (though of course that doesn't fulfill your other goals). You probably already know this though!
I see. If immersing your kids / learning Mandarin or Cantonese is one of the intended goals, then an environment where people actually actively use either one can go a lot further than going to Chinese school which are also available in many major US cities (though of course that doesn't fulfill your other goals). You probably already know this though!
I see what you are saying and I agree with you to a degree.
I just want to clarify terms though to make sure we are on the same page. When I say Chinese school I mean regular schooling where all course instruction is in Chinese language. This would be different from "Chinese School" that is after hours or weekends for teaching a Chinese language. I attended one of those for seven years (in fact my father was the principal for four years) but my ability is abysmal considering how much time I spent doing that lol.
So with that said, I am having trouble finding these Chinese schools that you mention. I wouldn't be shocked if they exist but I can't find information about them. As of 2019 it looks like there are 278 Chinese immersion programs in the US, defined as having 50% of their instruction in Mandarin for K-5 and ~25% for higher grades. That isn't bad but it's not the same as 100%. Does that exist where I can look it up?
A friend who has lived in both Singapore and Hong Kong, as an expat, prefers HK as there are more leisure options. Singapore is like a perfect city in many ways but personally I could never handle the climate. On our last visit we certainly did find it very expensive compared to years gone by. But the food is wonderful.
The regular primary schools in both Singapore and Hong Kong are highly stressful. Depending on your children's age and how much Chinese they know, they may have problem to cope with the Chinese language class.
My kids went to local public schools in Taipei from grades 1 to 4, then transferred to international schools where all instruction is in English. That seemed to be enough for them to gain fluency in Mandarin. After grade 4 the insanity in public schools begins though and you see poor munchkins trudging home from after school cram schools at 10 o'clock at night. The majority of parents who can afford it send their kids to international schools at that point.
My kids went to local public schools in Taipei from grades 1 to 4, then transferred to international schools where all instruction is in English. That seemed to be enough for them to gain fluency in Mandarin. After grade 4 the insanity in public schools begins though and you see poor munchkins trudging home from after school cram schools at 10 o'clock at night. The majority of parents who can afford it send their kids to international schools at that point.
Thanks for sharing. Great! With the current plan, although rather fluid, the kids will most likely be around 4 and 6 when we move and we'd expect to stay for just 2-3 years, so this might be fairly similar to your kids' experience.
OP, seeing that you come from Miami, tell you what, Hong Kong's weather is almost exactly like Tampa or Fort Lauderdale.
Singapore actually arguably has better weather because it has only had one typhoon in recorded history. In terms of natural disasters, Singapore has the least of practically any city in Asia. Plus, Singapore has much better air quality than Hong Kong.
Singapore may have been ranked the most expensive city in the world by the Economist, but the Economist itself admits that that is largely due to the exorbitant car prices in Singapore, and that groceries in Singapore are cheaper than in NYC. Real estate in Singapore is a bargain compared to Hong Kong or even San Francisco.
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