Life for the Family in HK

[thedriversmissus]

Hi everyone,

There is a lot of information here for pilots wanting to work in Hong Kong, but not so much for the other half of the family.

My husband is currently going through the selection process for a job in HK and we are trying to find as much information as we can, to make a decision on living in HK. He is going to be over the moon if offered the job (typical pilot!) and it is only the lack of information from the wives, girlfriends, partners point of view about what it is really like to live in HK while he is off galavanting around the world, that makes it a hard decision from my point of view. Ideally we would like to visit HK to see for ourselves, but that is unlikely given the money and time involved (slight problem with flying as about to have a baby :D ) So any information on any of the things about life in HK (particularly for families with small children) would be greatly appreciated. We have spent many years living away from our home country and really enjoy the chance of making new friends and seeing new countries and we are excited about the possibility of living in this part of the world, just a little unsure about it all at the moment.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can spare the time to reply :ok:

[Mark Six]

Try here:
http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/default.asp

[Left Wing]

http://www.geoexpat.com/forum/

http://www.gohome.com.hk/english/home.asp?

http://www.gohome.com.hk/english/home.asp?

[thedriversmissus]

Mark Six and Left Wing.....

Thanks for taking the time to post those links, i have had a look at them, and they are helpful, but I was hoping for a more personal view/comment from someone who has done the move with their family before. You can't beat getting the info straight from the horses mouth, so to speak, anyone.....anyone?

[Left Wing]

its like apples & oranges. Some love it in HK some just hate it. Its best if you spend a full week here and see it for your self.

Its a grt career for your hubby and not all bad for the family, getting work for xpats dependants has become a bit hard now but with enough contacts everything is possible in HK.:ok:

[natops]

hi missus, maybe if you post a message on the fragrant harbour forum, not the wannabes. those are people who already work for CX. You might find you're answer there!
good luck!

[thedriversmissus]

Left Wing, thanks we are quite excited about the prospect and wouldn't have thought twice about it a few years ago. The kids come along and make you think a little bit harder, but you are only here once and they are adaptive little people! I can't travel at the moment, as mentioned above, but hubby will be sent on a trip once we get a bit further down the process, hope he remembers to have a look a bit further than the bottom of a beer glass though! What about teachers, do they find it hard to get work?

natops, good suggestion, i didn't want to clog up that forum, but will try it anyway, ta!

[thedriversmissus]

Hi everyone,

I had posted this in the wannabe forum with not a lot of success. One kind gentleman (thanks natops) suggested I try in here so i have copied my original post across, hope you don't mind. Anyway here it is....

[Hairy Chest]

qualified teacher with refrences grt pay! unqualified --- very bad pay and long hrs.

[thedriversmissus]

Thanks Hairy, any figures for an Australian graduate English teacher with lots of references?

[Mark Six]

Supply (casual) teachers at ESF primary schools get $1440 per day. Plenty of casual work available with ESF BUT as a dependant you can't work unless you are sponsored by your employer. Should not be a problem for full time work but I'd say virtually impossible for casual work, which is why ESF has such a problem finding supply teachers.

[betaboy]

And because of this said shortage, the HK authorities are granting an exemption to the restrictions on dependant visa holders, specifically for qualified teachers. Teaching can be very lucrative in HK. We're in a similar position (my wife is a qualified high school science teacher with a Master's degree in education), with kids. When we visited for my 2nd interview, we had a look at some schools (for our kids) and my wife was practically offered supply teaching positions. A good plan might be to work at a school as a supply teacher for awhile, get them to know you, and then get them to sponsor you when a position arises for which you would meet the qualifications.

This site gives a good explanation of the situation, although I couldn't find an official explanation on the www.immd.gov.hk site.

http://www.kellettschool.com/LivingHK.htm

[Mark Six]

Betaboy,
I hadn't heard about relaxing the visa requirements for teachers. Doesn't apply to us anyway as my wife got her visa before the rules changed. She is knocking back work every day, and can afford to be very choosy about which schools/classes she works for. Very different to Oz. It took nearly 2 years for the HK Education Dept. to recognise her qualifications. A bit weird as she was allowed to teach the whole time while they were making up their minds about whether or not she was qualified to teach!

[thedriversmissus]

betaboy and Mark Six, thankyou for your help, some good stuff from the school websites, not just about teaching in HK but about moving to and living there as well. I feel a lot more confident about the move and am looking forward to the chance of living in Hong Kong, just up to the other half now!

[Thunderbird4]

Before you get too excited about HKG check out the API indexes of the places you might want to live. You don't want your little baby breathing all that lovely polluted air do you?



Air Quailty (http://www.epd-asg.gov.hk/eindex.php)

[Studebaker978]

Is there any other possibility for dependants to work besides as a teacher? My wife is active in the PR of hotels and sports events management....

So only if an employer sponsors them, then your wife can get a full time job. I guess that means as well thet she is not egible anymore for staff travel on CX?

[BlueEagle]

Not 100% sure about CX but have never heard before of a wife being barred from staff travel because she is in employment, be it full or part time.

[Slapshot]

You may want to check this thread out...

Good luck...

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=184653

Edited for bad link...

[ExEKWench]

Thought it was time for a response from an ex expat pilot's wife!

First bit of advice that was given to me on becoming an expat:-
"When you leave home to live overseas, you go with 2 buckets; 1 for sh*t , and 1 for money. When 1 bucket is full, it's time to go home".

Life is a compromise.

There are good and bad points to life in HKG.
On the plus side:- it is very social and there is a great deal of freedom for wives if you are able to afford (and find) a good maid. It is cosmopolitan and your children will benefit from mixing with many different nationalities. There are many international schools and the general standard of healthcare is high.

On the down side:- pollution and both the freshness and contamination of food was a big concern for me. Chinese products are fresh but the farmers use fertilisers and pesticides that are banned in the west. People come and go often. Just when you've made friends and got a social group....someone will leave HKG. Schools have extremely long waiting lists and the good schools are very expensive. Beware of the "expat brat syndrome". Many kids aren't disciplined properly, especially those spending time with maids. I laid down strict groundrules about what was acceptable behaviour and what wasn't. Make sure your maid understands and will support your approach. Kids are quick to spot a difference in standards and I often winessed the most polite children being obscenely rude to maids out of earshot of the parents....and getting away with it! For teenage children, drug and alcohol abuse is quite a problem. Convenience stores sell alcohol and they rarely check the ages of their customers. Most of the international high schools have introduced drug tests for their students. All of this can be avoided by returning home for the teenage years. Living is quite expensive and the famous HKG shopping is not cheap for day to day necessities. This could be quite an issue on a junior pilot's salary.

Last piece of advice and perhaps the most important.......don't get caught up in the aircrew social circles too much. While it's nice to know people that are in similar situations, it can be very claustrophobic and even nasty sometimes. Pilots in HKG, more so than in other places, love to get together and whine (under the pretense of talking shop). This can be really unhealthy and even downright nasty on occasion (take some jet lag, stir in way too much alcohol, stand back and watch it all go up).
If you are considering going back to work, I would only encourage you. It's a great way to meet people and will certainly help with the financial side of things.

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
ExEKWench.