Considering Moving to Hong Kong

Nitefly

Nitefly

Nitefly

Man of Honour
Joined
24 Sep 2005
Posts
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... for a short while!

I have heard that it can be a very rewarding experience to live in HK for a number of months and I have a lot of time to fill before I finally start my job in September. I met many people when travelling recently who said they went over there and spoke English (w/o tefal (edit- lol, TEFL) qualification) saying it was easy and surprisingly lucrative.

I haven't really investigated thoroughly myself yet, that's my task for the week (along with getting a job here, noooo). Has anyone done any similar experience to this? Any obvious things I should be aware of? Is it as easy as I heard?

Many thanks :)

EDIT - I will of course be looking to work out there.
 
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I've read a fair amount about teaching English in various parts of Asia. There is plenty of work but pay varies wildly based on country and your qualifications. I would assume Hong Kong has similar standards as Seoul and Tokyo which I know more about.

Usually you are required to have a university degree, doesn't matter what grade/subject/university. You may not need a TEFL certification but from what I've read they do affect salary.

Usually the jobs pay well for the country they are in but this may not translate to savings you can bring home with you. Monthly pay in Seoul is something like 1200-1400 Euros a month going down to 800 in rural areas.

Good source of info. is here;
http://www.reddit.com/r/tefl/
 
Can't comment on the english teaching but can say that HK is a great place to live in. I was there for 10 weeks a few summers ago, and it was fantastic! :) Great people and lots of things to see/do.
 
From my experience in HK, I would say its an awesome place to visit and stay for a while, but not work. Visa applications might be tricky if you go out there and then look for a job. For example I had to leave and re-enter HK to activate my work visa. If you have to do that, I strongly recommend going to Macau and not Shenzhen.

Also can't comment much about teaching English, but might be a bit hard to find something suitable since I expect you will be teaching around Central, where living costs start from ridiculous. I lived in a nice, clean area called City One, but it was described by people living in Central as China. And my rent was still pretty ridiculous.

If you want to know more, feel free to email via trust. I didn't like working in HK but I worked up north from central. In the block of flats I lived in, 3 people spoke English, a teacher who came to teach the next door's kid, some asian american dude who I don't think even lived here and a crazy preacher guy who tried to bribe me with bananas so I would go to his church every time he saw me. *very awkward lift rides*.

Anyway, if you want more info about HK, feel free to bug me. I still maintain that HK is an amazing place to visit, but unless you work as a big shot lawyer or an investment banker, I am afraid it will not be terribly fun.
 
[TW]Fox;20625570 said:
Is that easy to get a working visa in HK?
Click to expand...

It depends, in my experience my company started the application around mid July I think, it was not done until early October, but this was because I use an alias which is slightly different to my passport's spelling (thus application needed extra running around proving stuff and what not).

Anyway from what I gather it shouldn't take too long, but the main reason is that the company you would be working for will need to prove why you would be more suitable for the job then a local. But if you apply through official channels and secure a job before you get out there, it will be easier.
 
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