Life of an Expat in Hong Kong - What it's Like to Live in Asia's World City
Hong Kong is an energetic and exciting city. It is a modern metropolis with high skyscrapers, and its vast mountains make it a truly unique place.
Adding to its beauty, Hong Kong is one of the major international financial centers, having very low taxation and a high standard of living. That's exactly why Hong Kong attracts people from all over the world.
Even though Hong Kong is a small city, it has a lot to offer, and if you want to discover the local culture and learn their language, there are many language exchange groups or language courses to attend.
Here's what it's like to be an expat in Hong Kong and live in Asia's World City.
Expat sport groups
The two main sports that expats do in Hong Kong are football and rugby. If you want to join a team during your stay, you can look on the internet for the Hong Kong Rugby Union or search for Yau Yee Football League. Have a look and see what the team is looking for a player and review their statistics, rules, and all other important information about the leagues.
You can also check out the two main sports centers in Hong Kong, Kings Park, and Happy Valley. Matches are usually held between 9 AM and 10 PM at night.
At the games, you can meet many expats and ask to join the team. If you like horse races, Happy Valley is for you. There is a horse racing track, and it holds events and horse racing once a week.
Also read: NET Scheme for Teaching English in Hong Kong – How It Works and How To Apply
Language exchange groups
Due to Hong Kong's large expat community with people from many different countries, it's a great opportunity to learn a new language. Whether you want to learn Cantonese, Mandarin or any other language, the best place to turn to are language exchange groups at the Hong Kong University.
Besides the university, there are two main websites where you can also look for language partners. These are Language Exchange Hong Kong and GeoExpat. The former holds meetings between locals and expats every week. The group organizers focus on the interaction between the group members through activities like self-presentation, group games, conversations with different language themes, and speed swap. During a speed swap, you will switch conversation partners every three minutes, for example.
GeoExpat lets you share and view posts of people looking to learn a language through an exchange. You simply enter your native language and the language you want to learn and look for a match.
Also read: Teaching English in Hong Kong - The Salary and Budget Guide
Night out and activities in Hong Kong
The locals in Hong Kong are sports fanatics! They love to hang out at sports bars. Some of the best sports pubs are in Lan Kwai Fong, a street with British-style pubs. Most of the people in this area are British expats, but many Hong Kongers love to hang out there and meet expats.
Another great area to hang out in the evenings is Wan Chai. This area is very international with pubs and bars catering to people from all over the world.
If you are looking for something more adventurous, rent a junk boat, and go for a ride. There are different options for hiring a boat for a day trip around the Hong Kong sea. A junk boat fits up to 40 people and offers a free flow of alcohol and food for 4 to 6 hours. As you might imagine, this option is extremely popular among young locals and expats alike.
Also read: 5 Reasons Why You Should Teach English in Hong Kong
Come and teach English in Hong Kong!
The expat community in Hong Kong is incredibly friendly. The expats are extremely welcoming people because most of them know what it’s like to be in a new and unknown place and are happy to help you out.
I hope you can see from this blog post that you are unlikely to get bored as an expat in Hong Kong.
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