The regrets of moving from Hong Kong to Sydney
Posted by Patient_Bear_4889@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 51 comments
I suppose this is just a rant, but I was born in Hong Kong and moved to Taiwan at 12, then to Australia. I have regretted this choice ever since. I realise Australia is an amazing place to live in with great quality of life, but nothing will ever truly compare to Hong Kong in my heart. The culture, the language, the food, the memories… I miss speaking Cantonese to locals on a daily basis instead of twice a year when I visit my family. I went to the Peak and hiked to the best viewing spot last time I went back, and I have missed it ever since. It truly made me appreciate this beautiful city even more. The architecture, the night view, the atmosphere was ethereal to say the least. The night life in Hong Kong is something I took for granted while living there, and while you can enjoy a bowl of noodles from a small local shop at 10 pm, most shops in Australia close around 6-7 pm or even earlier. There’s also a sense of community in Hong Kong. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s such a small and densely packed city, but you feel a connection to everyone there, even passersby on the street, whereas in Australia it just feels hollow and detached. The food in Hong Kong is also unmatched. I have never had more delicious food than at a cha chaang teng, accompanied by the yelling of waiters and the buzz of chatter. Despite going to more well lavish places in Australia, their food can’t compare to Hong Kong’s local delicacies. I miss the feeling of a bustling city, where my earliest memories were ever made. If you’re living in Hong Kong right now, please never take it for granted like I did, and appreciate the beauty of culture all around you, like the grandmas doing tai chi in the parks at 7 am in the morning as you walk by them on the way to school, or the rush of Hong Kongers on the way to or from work.
SeanBourne@reddit
Ummm… why not try moving back for a bit to try it out? The usual reason that prevents people from leaving Australia are salaries/an inability to replace that ‘back home’.
In your case, if anything, you’d likely get a (significant) salary bump going back to HK AND you’d have more career optionality/progression. (The more senior you go, the smaller the Sydney market gets… which limits time to progression.)
explosivekyushu@reddit
HK has a pretty high salary ceiling but the entry roles, and depending on industry, the mid level roles too, are woefully renumerated compared to Australia.
Patient_Bear_4889@reddit (OP)
I wish I could, I’m currently a student about to take the HSC. It’s a huge test and I can’t move back until after this. That said, I am definitely planning on moving back after
SeanBourne@reddit
Ahhh ok that makes sense. Best of luck on the test!
matches_@reddit
I live in Australia for several years and agree. Most of it is hollow and soulless. I love the place but there's no sense of community. Might be moving out at some stage.
Familiar-Lynx7996@reddit
Which state/city are you based in?
matches_@reddit
Sydney. But Melbourne is no different.
B3stThereEverWas@reddit
And Brisbane is barely any different (and generally shittier than both).
And yeah, Australia can be very soulless and isolating, especially so when you don't have a solid social circle. Lived and grew up here and regret not spending more time abroad
Familiar-Lynx7996@reddit
I'm from abroad, currently based in Newcastle. Locals here are by far the most cliquish crowd I've ever met. It's frustrating and I've given up trying.
International crowds here are transient as people usually move away immediately after their Visas are are approved, etc. So, it's slightly easier to make friends within the international community, but people don't stay. Though.... Darwin is more "extreme" in this regard.
ae_wilson@reddit
Newcastle would be tough assimilate to as a foreigner. Generally coastal and regional Australia are highly uneducated and insular.
Familiar-Lynx7996@reddit
I know what you're saying, I've experienced it in conversations. And I agree. I'm looking to move but cost of living is so much more everywhere I look (minus all the colder places, to me. I'm tropical). Do you think regional QLD will be slightly better than Newcastle?
explosivekyushu@reddit
I'm from the Central Coast, just down the road. So I totally get (and fully agree) with what you are saying. I moved out out Australia in 2008 but still have all my friends from back home- we've all been friends since primary school and basically everyone from that area is in the same boat.
My first instinct was to say "no" but the more that I think about it, the more I think it probably actually is. QLD is the most decentralised state in the country, a lot of the regional cities are decently sized centres in their own right and there's a lot of people coming and going. As you have experienced, people from Newy were born there, they live there, and they will die there.
Schopenhauer-420@reddit
That has been my experience of Australia thus far as well. It's pleasantly dull, high floor, low ceiling.
MF-Geuze@reddit
What age are you - is there anything in particular stopping you from moving back?
Patient_Bear_4889@reddit (OP)
I’m 16, I moved to Australia with my family to get an Australian passport. I can’t move back right now when I’m about to take the HSC
Professional-Buy3198@reddit
I do not think this sub is for you. This sub is more like for adult professionals who move to different countries for work every couple few years. I saw many people from Hong Kong did the move to NZ, Canada and Australia, only to move back to HK a few years later. You are still in school, so enjoy your time here, do a bit of traveling, and pack your mind with insights that could support your future career in Hong Kong(if you move back someday)
Sorry-Champion2188@reddit
The sub is right for him/her… I was 15 and now 27 and still feel the same way about going home.
nurseynurseygander@reddit
I don’t agree with this take at all. Lots of people here are functionally trapped in their adopted country, at least for a while - trailing spouses, people who have to pay penalties for leaving work contract early, kids born in the adopted country don’t have visa options to live in the parents home country, divorced abroad and child custody complications etc, so it’s not like no one can relate to that side of it. OP is just as much an expat as anyone else here - kids dragged around by their parents are a real thing in the expat world.
FruitOfTheVineFruit@reddit
I love hearing from a younger expat, it's nice to hear other perspectives. And the older expats in this sub could benefit from hearing how their children might view things.
Creative-Slice1619@reddit
You’re …… 16.
Patient_Bear_4889@reddit (OP)
Yes, I’m …… 16, with real experiences and emotions.
foreverrfernweh@reddit
Don't worry, OP, I totally get you. Sometimes your family's choice doesn't necessarily align with yours, even if what they're doing i.e. move to Aus, is what they believe is the best move! At best, you're a dual citizen with a strong passport and you speak English fluently. You have far more advantages than the average HKer if you ever moved back! Hope you get to live out your dreams in future :)
FlippinHeckles@reddit
I guess at 16 you are still connected to the path of your parents. As you get older you will be taking your own path. Finish your education first, what you do after high school you should choose carefully. Try to choose an occupational training that would work in both countries. So when you are ready you can take it wherever you decide to be. You mentioned something’s about HK you really missed. What about trying to recreate that in Australia. I am sure you are not the only HK expat being homesick. Take your homesickness and turn it into something positive. Making the best of a bad situation is what being human is all about.
ae_wilson@reddit
I mean you moved to Australia when you were a child, and you’re still a teenager. Not to dismiss what you’re feeling, but your view on the world at that age is very limited and tunnelled. Why don’t you move back to HK for uni in two years when you’re an adult?
I do get missing the vibe though. I had a family member who lived in HK for 20 years; visited him several times before he and his family moved back to Aus. Always had a blast when I was there.
demostenes_arm@reddit
That’s true. Especially after you have kids, it can be unsettling to move from Australia to Asia and find that every parent is obsessed with “winning the race” against other children and that bookstores’ children sections are filled with assessment books rather than story books.
FinestTreesInDa7Seas@reddit
They said they moved to Taiwan as a child. They didn't say what age they moved to Australia.
Timothy_Kramer@reddit
oz is boring as bat shit bro
telchacsusan@reddit
You can move back to HK when you've finished your education in Australia. And, you'll be speaking Cantonese, Mandarin, AND English !
oldie349@reddit
Hong Kong is absolutely wonderful. It’s beautiful. It’s exciting. It’s interesting. There is so much to do! One of my favourite things to do on a day off work was to take the ferry to Lama Island and walk across the island to the beach. I would take a bag of steamed buns from the bakery near the ferry terminal, and just enjoy them and the scenery and the peace. I would sometimes go rock climbing in the New Territories, or take a really long MTR trip to my favourite mountaineering shop. Even just crossing the harbour on the Star Ferry made me smile.
I still think of Hong Kong as “Home” because I totally fell in love with it when I lived there, even though I was not born there. However, I could never go back because of my job, and because it will never be what it used to be for me. It took me maybe 10 years to really accept and get over the sadness of leaving it.
I have this idea that Singapore might be comparable to Hong Kong, so one of my aspirations is to visit Singapore in the next couple of years. 🤞🏼
This doesn’t really help you of course, but at least you know you’re not alone in those feelings. I hope you can throw yourself into your new life and find things to love there xx
CoffeeInTheTropics@reddit
In SG now, have PR and as much as we do like it, it does not have Hong Kong's unique vibe and soul.
terenceill@reddit
It could be worst: in the Netherlands everything closes at 5 or 6 pm, weather is miserable, food is shit and nature is a joke.
CoffeeInTheTropics@reddit
No way, NL over Aus any day! Aus does go dead, even in the larger cities from 5pm onwards. Absolutely not the case in NL.
Lived in HK too for 9 years OP so I totally understand where you are coming from, Hong Kong will never leave you it is so incredibly unique and special. Home Kong always.
Follow your heart, if you can move back, do!
meowingtrashcan@reddit
Hey Australia u got any more spots so I can get healthcare 🇺🇸
Blind_clothed_ghost@reddit
Before you move back to HK, travel there for a bit and make sure that your idealized memory matches your reality.
You might find it disappointing
18297gqpoi18@reddit
Can you indicate in your post that you are 16?
filosofia66@reddit
You’re homesick. Sounds like you’re in school on oz. Do your best to put your homesickness aside and try to be present. Enjoy Sydney for what it is, it’s not hk and try not to compare the 2. Focus on school, explore syd and enjoy it for what it is, take up surfing, go on hikes, explore the foodie scene or whatever. Once you graduate then back to hk.
Individual-Key-4821@reddit
This sub is got expats, not bloody 16 yr old students
Melodic-Resort-5004@reddit
This sub is for expats not keyboard warrior bullies like yourself. wtf lmao
Patient_Bear_4889@reddit (OP)
Sorry if a ‘bloody 16 yr old student’ can write better than ‘this sub is got expats’
Individual-Key-4821@reddit
Lol... little cunt
Nanakatl@reddit
What did you think of Taiwan?
kimtaehwa@reddit
I feel you man. I've been in Australia for too fucking long (16 years) and have wished to go back to my country (Indonesia) for a while. At least I'll be moving back by the end of this year so there's that.
Asian countries have warmer culture imo. I am so done with Australia. Everyone's cold, no one is ever genuine, they only want to be around you when you're happy. So glad I'm out of this place soon.
GingerPrince72@reddit
The old Hong Kong has gone.
zaichii@reddit
I don’t know if you should be focusing on the feeling of regret since there is a broader purpose for why you’re doing this - to be with your family and to get an Australian passport. Those are important while you’re doing your HSC and will probably afford you some benefits and protection esp with the HK politics atm (perhaps why your parents made this decision).
You can always go back when you’re an adult and can be independent. But once you do, you’ll probably realise HK’s working culture can be brutal and cost of living (well, mainly accommodation) is probably as bad if not worse than Sydney and the wealth disparity is probably much worse. I love HK’s city vibe but it’s definitely a city I prefer to visit than live in.
Hope you eventually find or return to a place you feel like home. For now, good luck with your HSC.
Lower-Journalist-598@reddit
Well...Hong Kong is beautiful 😉
jasmiini_art@reddit
Sounds like you're homesick :) I get that way sometimes too, and then I look forward to the future when I can move back. In the meanwhile, I try to think about the positives compared to home vs where I'm living now. For example, my home is a small country that is more nature than human, so I know I will miss the big city vibe when I move back and I try to enjoy that
Zealousideal_Rub6758@reddit
Visiting and living and WORKING in places are different experiences
Patient_Bear_4889@reddit (OP)
That’s fair, but having experienced studying/living in both Australia and Hong Kong, I still feel much more connected to Hong Kong despite its far more rigorous academic environment.
Effective_Tackle_195@reddit
Both HK and Sydney are great in their own way. I guess you value the things in HK more.
If you like food, there are plenty of other places in Asia for you to explore:l
Mashdoofus@reddit
Sounds like you would benefit from moving to HK!
Patient_Bear_4889@reddit (OP)
Definitely, I will 100% move back after graduating