Panicking about move to HK with 14 month old

V

vicki_viking

Registered User
Hi all,
Boyfriend and I moving to HK in August with our 14 month old son. We don't have jobs lined up but he is hoping to get something pretty quickly (yes we know about visa situation). WE will have enough money to last several months living cheaply, but I am just panicking about - well everything, are we doing the right thing? (careers going nowhere in UK) taking our boy away from his family etc?

We're selling all our furniture and will just ship personal items, but don't know yet know where we'll be living etc.

REalise my message is pretty vague and all over the place, but has anyone got any advice/suggestions, or has anyone moved recently and can put my mind at rest a little? Thanks
 
do you know that you would NOT be eligible for a dependent visa because you are not married? if you are secure in your feeling that hubby will get a job quickly (not as easy as you think it is) then that will confer absolutely no rights on you at all? your child could get a dependent visa upon your boyfriend buy you cannot, which pretty much means you will be living here illegally.

now, if you didn't have a child involved, i would say, sure go ahead. jump in with both feet... but do you want to be kicked out of hk (your tourist visa not renewed) and have your child left in hk? it is a distinct possibility.

as for doing the right thing? we don't know you or anything about your situation, how can we possibly answer that kind of question?

suggestions? with the well-being of a child at stake, no current job prospects, nothing lined up (interview-wise), no proper visas allowing you to live in hk.....

my advice would be: perhaps you should rethink this move. (i know, it wasn't what you were hoping to hear)
 
As if I would let myself get into the situation where I was going to be kicked out and my partner and child left behind!? Thanks for the (rather negative) advice - we're not idiots, we know we would only arrive on visitor visas unless one of us secure a job before we leave the UK. And yes we know not being married is an issue - we are thinking of getting married to overcome this issue.

We do have job prospects - contacts and invitations to come in for discussions with potential employers - but obviously that can only happen when we get to HK.

We're not going to do anything to put the wellbeing of our child at risk; it's effectively an extended holiday during which time we hope to secure some work with proper visas etc. I was hoping for a little more encouragement from those already living in HK; we know we're taking a risk but we're going nowhere fast here, so thought it would be worth our best efforts!
 
sorry you took my honest advice so poorly. when you ask for advice, it isn't always what you want to hear.

i only sought to ensure that you did have all the right information before you set out. you would be surprised at how many people come on these forums without any clue as to what a move like this involves, which includes sorting out the visa situation.

i came here much as you are doing. i did it 17 years ago, pre-husband, pre-kids. would i do it again now the same way now that i have kids? not on your life.

that is my honest opinion. you don't have to like it, you don't have to agree with it. but you asked for advice, so that is what i offered. maybe someone else on here will be more positive in responding, but with the little info you provided, i'm sorry, but i cannot be.
 
i think cara was spot on. your sellign everything, shipping personal stuff (i.e. shipping not just bringing some stuff along your flight), no home, no work AND a kid? very brave indeed

how much money do you have to live several months? yes of course you can live on lamma island and spend 15k a month (say 8 months, that 10-15k pounds), but realistically you probably need closer to 40-50k pounds to live a decent life in hong kong
 
What we did, about 6 years ago before our kids were born (we were newlyweds at the time) was to come here for a 2 week visit. In that time, my husband had a bunch of interviews lined up. We planned that IF he found a job, we'd go back to Australia, pack up, and move here 1-2 months later. It all worked out, he did find a job and we went back to formally pack up and say goodbye. Could you consider doing something like that? It seems like an awful waste if you don't manage to find work and you have to move back, having already sold all your stuff etc... Obviously it's up to you - but I'd consider doing something like that first, if at all possible...
 
OO, OK I need to elaborate a LOT - my fault for being so vague to start with. I am a qualified Town Planner, boyfriend is qualified Urban Designer - we know there are jobs available in our professions in HK, but what we're finding is that unless you work for a company that has offices in UK and HK (which neither of us do) then most companies in our lines of work are only interested in hiring if you are already in HK. WE have plenty of invitations to come in to talk to companies once we are in HK. We have both also recently qualified with TEFL for teaching english as a foreign language, which we hope we can use as a back up option if there are no jobs immediately forthcoming in our usual lines of work. We are applying for teaching jobs now - as some of these interview in the UK for work starting later in the year.

We have already moved house twice in the UK in the last two years, for jobs that were then lost due to redundancy due to the shrinking economy etc, we have already got rid of a load of furniture and stuff - we don't have anything of great value anyway, having only been renting (due to unstable job situation here). We have considered boyfriend going to HK for a look-see and me stay behind with child, but it gets too complicated/expensive with 2 x rents plus childcare and flights etc. What have we got to lose? Yes it might all fail hideously, and we end up penniless and back in the UK, but at least we can say we gave it a try right?

OK ladies, still think I am going to be sat with a begging bowl and a crying child cos I have run out of money and can't get home? Thanks for your time
 
You've gotta do what you've gotta do. I don't think that anyone is trying to tell you NOT to come, but just trying to help you with the reality of it all.
 
vicki_viking said:
OO, OK I need to elaborate a LOT - my fault for being so vague to start with. I am a qualified Town Planner, boyfriend is qualified Urban Designer - we know there are jobs available in our professions in HK, but what we're finding is that unless you work for a company that has offices in UK and HK (which neither of us do) then most companies in our lines of work are only interested in hiring if you are already in HK. WE have plenty of invitations to come in to talk to companies once we are in HK. We have both also recently qualified with TEFL for teaching english as a foreign language, which we hope we can use as a back up option if there are no jobs immediately forthcoming in our usual lines of work. We are applying for teaching jobs now - as some of these interview in the UK for work starting later in the year.
Click to expand...

Just quickly regarding urban planning in HK (our neighbor of several years and a good friend works in this field) - jobs are few and far between and nearly all will give a high degree of preference to a candidate who can read and write fluently in Chinese. The University of Hong Kong has a department of urban planning and design that churns out a number of highly qualified candidates yearly. Unless you have in excess of 5 or so years experience your chances of finding work that will qualify you for a work visa (i.e. the job you take cannot be filled by any local employee) in this field is slim - just something else to consider.

After our neighbor gets back from their Easter holiday I can ask if he would be willing to speak with you about the field in HK.

Regarding teaching English in HK - without a proper education degree - this is a job and not a profession. Unless you open your own learning centre or something in the future there is very little room for advancement.

And, the one big thing I would consider before coming here is whether you have health insurance for your child (and yourselves). Without a residency visa you will not have access to medical care at subsidized rates in Hong Kong and a simple broken bone or a few stitches can easily sent you back a thousand pounds or more. The bill for my last emergency medical visit (from a random dog bite, totally unavoidable and unexpected, was just walking down the street when the thing lunged at me) would have set me back about 1200 pounds at the regular hospital rates.
 
IF you have residency (dependent on finding a job and getting a visa first of all), you don't "need" medical insurance. The public system here is adequate. I've used it a LOT and it is only ever $100 per visit, or $60 per follow up visit. Inpatient is $100/day for everything ($50 for children), including all tests/surgeries/everything. Birth control is only $1 for all sorts ranging from the pill to IUDs... We have insurance provided by my husband's work, but more often than not, we use the public system rather than the private. Yes, insurance might be "nice" - you would get to go to more comfortable hospitals, but the medical care there is not superior. It's not an absolute necessity though, provided you have residency here.
 
Hi Elle, thanks for the info, we know about Uni of HK, we already have a contact there, but if your neighbour is willing to speak to us that would be an additional help for us - the more we know before we go the better!
 
Tefl degree will help if you have some experience teaching.There always is some work for native speakers and of course the more experience you have the better the salary.Check out South China Morning Post Education for your back up options.I agree with the posts above health insurance is crucial in HK . In terms of cost to survive per month living modestly Id imagine you wil need an income of around 30 000 HKD which roughly is 2500 pounds.That should cover your rent-on an outlying island or NT plus food, maybe childcare.You have ti remember that flats are much smaller here than back in the UK so in terms of a lifestyle change it will be harder to find big areas to play with your 14 th month old.Having said that if you you live on Lamma Island there are beaches there. Getting married for visa purposes is a wise move as otherwise you will need to exit the country to get another one and of course you will miss out on resident benefits such as medical care,work permit etc Its hard to tell is you gonna be better off in HK than in the Uk all depends on the job situation. HK is a great place to live and I love it.yes it has its drawback- its expensive ,poluted and getting a place in a school is a nightmare but it is also exciting and cosmopolitan and all the other moms I met here were extremelly friendly and helpful. Maybe come over see is you can secure a job and then decide for good. Best of luck!
 
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