Moving to a new country is a difficult experience. Moving to a new country where your official status will be ‘tourist’ is even harder.
Here is a list of reasons why;
The FIRST thing I was going to write about is that it will be hard for me to have a HK bank account. However I did the smallest amount of research and have proved myself wrong.
“Opening a bank account in Hong Kong is very straightforward, much more so than in the US, UK or Europe. To open a bank account in Hong Kong all you require is ID and proof of address. It is not necessary to be resident in Hong Kong or have a work visa in Hong Kong and it’s perfectly possible for a tourist to open a bank account in the city.” http://gohongkong.about.com/ .
Health care. I’m generally a well person with the odd cold or migraine. You can guarantee though, that if I don’t have any health insurance I WILL injure myself or get sick. So far the best thing I’ve found is long stay – AKA backpackers – travel insurance. Without knowing real dates it’s hard to get an accurate quote, though it looks to start around £100 for a year of cover.
One of the most difficult aspects will surely be looking for employment. Being a non-Cantonese speaking tourist with no formal qualifications isn’t going to help. You can only work with a working visa and this has to be granted by the government. Employers are asked to justify why they are hiring a non-local and give reasons why you can do the job better than anyone else. I currently have NO idea how I’m going to overcome this and will mostly leave it down to luck.. *Gulp*.
I’m sure there’s going to be plenty more problems that I will face (I haven’t even started thinking about what to take with me!)
But it’s all part of the experience and adventure!
Sarah
When the cat's in Hong Kong... 