You know you’re an expat in Hong Kong when…

BY ONEIKA RAYMOND

Signs you’re a foreigner living in Hong Kong.

I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, but Hong Kong has my heart. You see, I try to leave but keep on coming back. I first got here in 2009, left in 2011, but then returned in 2013. Sad as an empty fortune cookie, I bid the city farewell for the second and (what I thought would be) last time in 2015, a lump of regret the size of Kansas in my throat.  But life is funny, and on the first day of 2016 I was on a plane back here, armed with a 6-month work contract and a wicked hankering for milk tea.   After spending over 4 years total in this crazy town, HK has become home.

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But I’m not alone. Hong Kong is laden with foreigners like me who have come and decided to stick around for a while. The expat experience here is distinct and intense, and while we aren’t a monolith, I feel like there are a few things that define most, if not all, gweilos who reside here for extended periods of time. 

Ergo, without any further ado, you know you’re an expat in Hong Kong when: 

1. Your chopsticks game is off the hook.

2. Encounters with huge roaches are typical and don’t phase you in the least.

3. 90% of your friends live along the Island MTR line (and about half of them refer to it as the “blue” line).

4. You pay an exorbitant amount in rent  (yet your pad is as roomy as a thimble).

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5. Your place is 350 square feet, yet you employ a helper (aka maid) to come in to clean once a week.

6. Regardless of your nationality, you call your apartment a flat and your phone a mobile. Plans to meet with friends are put into the diary, you go to leaving dos and fancy dress parties on the regular, and you’ve referred to an afternoon as an arvo at least once in conversation.  #ExpatEnglishIsBritishAndAustralianEnglish

7. Ok lah is part of your normal vocabulary.

8. Your attempts at speaking Cantonese are often met with confused faces because your tones are all wrong.

9. You own a Cathay Pacific Amex Card and use it religiously to pay all your bills so you can rack up those coveted Marco Polo points. Problem is that everyone and their grandma has the Amex, so a dinner at a restaurant with friends often ends in a fight to charge the whole table’s bill to one person’s card. #PointsGrab

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10. Anything less than 4G LTE is uncivilized.

11. You have lived through at least one typhoon.

12. You’ve been to Shenzhen for a spa day or to go shopping in Lo Wu.

13. You know to go to Chun King mansions for the best Indian food.

14. Junks have nothing to do with trash and everything to do with “getting trashed” on a boat with 50 of your closest friends.

15. You don’t remember what life was like before you owned an Octopus card, you can use it for everything!

16. Winding up in Wan Chai in the wee hours of the morn means it was a great night out.

17. The Rugby Sevens is either your favourite or most hated time of the year.

18. Chinese New Year is either your favourite or most hated time of the year.

19. Tinder is a way of life. 

20. You have almost been run over by someone pushing an old-school handcart.

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21. Do not hawk/do not spit signs are a common sighting. You are so unbothered by this practice that you don’t flinch when the guy beside you on the bus horks a loogie into a napkin.

22. You know to go to Connaught Road on a Sunday for Filipino food.

23. You are unimpressed by bamboo scaffolding– it makes so much more sense than steel!

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24. A night out usually begins on Wyndham Street.

25. You’ve used AsiaExpat to buy and sell stuff and Man With A Van to transport it.

26. You’ve experienced the mad dash to Fortress or Sogo to buy a dehumidifier, only to discover they are all sold out. Your walls of your flat will continue to sweat until the stores restock.

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27. You know that PR stands for Permanent Residency and meeting an expat with it often elicits a sigh of awe or envy.

28. You’ve nearly lost your lunch on the bus to Stanley Market (or the TurboJet ferry to Macau) at least once.

29. You know to avoid Causeway Bay on a Sunday.

30. You’ve paid a ridiculous amount for an imported food item because it’s “from home”.

31. You know that blue skies are the exception, not the rule.

32. You were initially sent to work here for 6 months and before you know it you’ve been here for 6 years– you don’t want to leave!

What do you think of my list? Hong Kong peeps, anything you’d like to add or delete?

SHARING IS CARING

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46 Comments

  • You know what lion dances and dragon dances are! (And you know they don’t actually involve lions….or dragons.)

  • Walking up hill doesn’t both you as much as it used to, and you’ve figured out how to get off the minibus at the exact location you’d like to. Yau law um goy!

  • Hi Oneika!

    I’m Carmen, and this might be a little out of the blue to say… But I’m your neighbour! Lol! Your mom actually gave me your URL a looooong time ago and I only got the courage to say hi now (you’re awesomeness makes me shy!). Anyway, I just wanted to say that I love your photos and insightful posts, and that you inspire my wanderlust to no end 🙂

    I hope you’re having an awesome time in Hong Kong!

  • ‘Love the list Oneika and very much love Hong Kong!
    I was only there for a week (in the late 90’s) and Britain had just handed over, and so Hong Kong felt very much like home lol!

    Indeed, I met a lot of expats. One British guy told me he hadn’t been home in 6 years and he just went out for a few weeks! Pretty much similar to myself. I left for the Czech Republic and I was supposed to be out there for 6 weeks. I came back 2 years later lol!

    p.s. I was amazed at all the bamboo scaffolding. And nobody seemed to be falling off lol!

  • Haha I don’t live in Hong Kong but can still relate to some of these from visiting so often! You’re making me miss it now, maybe I should come see you soon 😉

  • Why Tinder a way of life?

    I tried to use it but not very successful in meeting people.

    How do you use it?

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