Hong Kong, Home Kong. How it feels like living here.

I am born and raised in Hong Kong. It is my home. I am not going to sugar-coat it. As a matter of fact, this is how it feels like living in Hong Kong as a Hong Konger.

1. Convenient, very convenient.

I have come to realise that Hong Kong is a really convenient city when I visit other places. Transportation wise, you can go anywhere within 2 hours. If you live in the centre, you can even shorten the travelling time to anywhere within an hour. There are multiple ways to get to a place here. You can take metro, bus, minibus, ferry, tram or taxi. To have this many options of transportation in such a small city, it is pretty awesome, isn't it?

Then, grocery and food wise, there are always restaurants and supermarkets near no matter which neighbourhood you are living in. They usually open from 8 am to 9 pm, for some restaurants, they even open til midnight or 24 hours. So, if you feel like having a late-night supper, just go downstairs and I am sure you can get something to eat.

2. Crowded, lots of people everywhere.

7 MILLIONS PEOPLE. Hong Kong's population is estimated at 7,496,981 people in 2020. Can you image how crowded it is? There are always crowds when you take the public transportation, at restaurants etc, especially during rush hours. Sometimes it gets me waiting for 2-3 trains to finally get on the train. What's more, you need to make a reservation for a table for dinner 90% of the time. Otherwise, you probably need to wait in line for an hour. Exclusively for restaurants from overseas. There was once a craze for people to line up for the brown sugar bubble tea from Taiwan for OVER AN HOUR when the first branch was launched here.

Other than that, when it's the time of the year that we have fairs or carnivals, like the flower market, book fair, food fair etc, there are always thousands of people. This is because these are some sorts of entertainment for us on the weekends. It is a love-hate relationship, you want to go there but you hate being stuck in the crowds...

3. Expensive.

We are not even going to talk about the real estate price. A tub of yogurt costs at least $50 HKD (around 6 USD) in a local supermarket here. Living in Hong Kong is expensive, no joke. Even if you live in the simplest way, with the rent and other costs of living, that will take up at least 75% of your monthly salary. Of course, there are ways to save costs:

• Doing grocery at local wet markets. You can bargain and products must be sold in a much lower price than in supermarket. They are fresher too.
  

• Cooking 90% on your own. Eating out is expensive. Breakfast: $30 HKD up, if you fancy coffee, then will be so much higher. Lunch: $50 HKD up, some with 10% service charge. It also depends on the location. If you are in Sham Shui Po or area like this, you can get a simple fish ball/wonton noodles under $30 HKD. However, if you are on the Hong Kong Island side, like Causeway Bay or Central, definitely cost you at least $100 HKD per meal. Dinner: $80 HKD up, most restaurants charge 10% service charge at dinner time. That's why cooking on your own can help you save so much.
  

• Choosing a cheaper alternatives of transportation. It is under the condition that you are not in a rush. Most people choose to take MTR because it is more convenient and faster. As a result, it is higher in price compared to other transportation (except for taxi/Uber). Therefore, if you are not in a hurry, I will suggest taking tram if you are on Hong Kong Island side, it only costs $2.7 a ride, but it is much slower. That way you can see the city peacefully in a slow pace. Ferry is another good choice. Especially when you have to go from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island (vice versa). For examples, if you go from Kwun Tong to North Point, it costs $12.7 for taking MTR but only $6.5 for taking ferry. If you feel like tram and ferry are just too slow for you, I would say, take a bus, it is always cheaper than MTR anyways.

4. International.

Once you enter Hong Kong, you will feel a strong international vibe here. People with different nationalities and races. Street signs and signboards are all in both Chinese and English. Needless to say, the cuisine. You can find any kinds of cuisine in Hong Kong, from Indian to Persian cuisine. The most popular ones are Japanese and Korean. You will never get bored trying new restaurants and new kind of cuisine in Hong Kong. My personal favourite is the yellow curry from a Thai restaurant called Thai Mui, it is soooooo good!

5. People are smart.

I am not bragging it just because I am from Hong Kong. People here generally are pretty smart so sometimes things can be quite competitive. First, we are multilingual. We typically speak at least 2 languages, Cantonese and English/Mandarin. We are taught 3 languages since kindergarten. Let's not talk about the fluency but we at least can comprehend it. Second, we adapt to new environment quickly. No matter how many storms and chaos we have had in the past years, we are always stronger and adapt to it bravely. Third, we have a strong solidarity when there are hardships. If we know that our own people are facing difficulties that they cannot solve themselves, we gather all the resources and help each other.

Hay más...pero los compartiré más tarde. De todos modos, you may share a similar feeling living in other parts of the world but there are always something unique about every place. At the end of the day, I am always proud to be a Hong Konger. Living in this blessed land, with the most amazing people.