The First Month in Hong Kong

Tuesday, 03 March, 2009

Having now "lived" in Hong Kong for more than a month, I've experienced the country with the point of view of building a lifestyle here as opposed to enjoying the place with a holiday mindset.

I had previously thought that I wouldn't totally relax until after the first month when I'd been convinced that nothing would go wrong! Well, all was fine - even a call from the UK tax office to question my accounts proved to be a false alarm.

What I hadn't expected was that spending more time here made me realise that there wasn't any urgency to go out spending. Normally on holiday, you might not get a second chance to buy something you like, so you get a retail rush to spend, just to make sure you get the souvenirs you want to take home.

Knowing I can think about buying something and can always come back, frankly makes it boring. Well, for now anyway. But it does remind me of my weekly trek for magazines and design publications in London so I do miss the capital a little.

Although we're living a lifestyle here in Hong Kong, it's also with the minimalist attitude of not accumulating too much as we're planning to head back to the UK in a year anyway. This will take a little getting used to, but is good training for any shopaholic tendencies...

Not that we need that much encouragement. I came to Hong Kong thinking the cost of living would be really cheap. A year ago it would have been, when we were planning the trip. However, the drop from HK$16 to HK$11 to the pound is traumatic and I'm unfortunately reminded of it every time I get my wallet out.

However, the weather here is a winner right? Well, the first couple of weeks were perfect. And then the humidity kicked in. Our flat started to feel clammy and damp and when the temperature took a dive, I really did question my negative perception of British weather. At least you could hibernate indoors - our ceramic tiled rooms have no heating here!

But then, I make everything sound worse than it really is.

Irrespective of any minus points which are very minor anyway (but fun to rant about!), we're enjoying the new experiences of living within a different culture and appreciating the differences to what we're used to.

However, building a routine seems to be key to building a lifestyle in Hong Kong, especially if we're not planning on working here. We'd still need to organise our time in and out to maximise what we want to achieve during the year and I still have alot to cover with updating my various blog sites.

Thank god for the net eh?

This entry posted in : Living in Hong Kong.

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