Job Discussion Forums

[DaveW125]

Hi,
My wife and I currently live and work in Beijing China. We have been offered positions in hong kong but we are a little weary of the pollution levels. The only reason we are leaving Beijing is because of the really poor air quality - just this week our kids have not been able to play outside at school for the entire week and visability is down to about 200 metres.
How bad does the air get in hong kong? The scale used by Beijing and hong kong are different so it's a little hard to get a good idea. Are there days when students are not allowed to play outside? If so how often does this happens? Are people able to exercise outside or just be outside without the air hurting your eyes etc? There are days in Beijing when the air is good but unfortunately these are becoming the exception rather than the norm.

Any information on this would be really appreciated

Thanks!

[sushikurva]

,,,

[once again]

Pollution is very bad here- but the government does nothing and tries to persuade the public that all is well by using outmoded measuring techniques. If you worry about pollution and your kids health, Hong Kong is not really the place to come to.

[sistercream]

Compared with most European or American cities, pollution in Hong Kong is bad, but compared with cities of even half its population on the mainland, HK's air pollution levels are low.
Watching satellite images of pollution plumes around the Pear River Delta is instructive: when prevailing winds are from the north / west (usually late autumn through spring) you can watch the smog from the big industrial areas to the north move down and blanket HK; when the winds are coming from the opposite directions (most of the time from late spring through autumn) you'll see HK clear up first, and then the clean air gradually moves north.
Note to resident HK bashers getting ready to flame me - I am NOT saying Hong Kong is guiltless in the pollution production stakes; just that its contribution is not much when compared with places like Foshan, Dongguan and Guangzhou.
And re Sushikurva's comment on Vitamin D. my observation is that there's no lack of it coming from the sun here, but most locals a) just spend their time indoors (work/ commute/ sleep - work-life balance is a pretty bizarre concept to HK), and b) so many people here are absolutely terrified of developing freckles or suntans that they make your average goth look positively bronzed.

[Joshua2006]

Isn't it nearly impossible to find a 'clean' city in Asia? And if you want to bring a family, earn some coin and provide good education for your kids, then, realistically, you won't find a clean city.

I thought Seoul wasn't too bad. It had it's day but on those days you stay indoors.

I think HK is no worse. Better if anything. I live on the end of the Island line and the air isn't bad at all, especially if you are used to living in a city anyway.

If you've been offered a good job, you can always come, try it and if you don't like it, the airport is easy to get to. Just don't rent a house in the heart of Soho.

[Perilla]

[RiverMystic]

I have lived in both HK and BJ, and I regularly commute between the two cities. Generally speaking, HK is far less polluted. It's only the odd day in Hk that I am really conscious of the pollution, or feel uncomfortable. I live on an island, so the air is much better there. If you lived in say, the midlevels, which is a high density area in central, it would be much worse.

At times the pollution in BJ is frightening. You get your good days, especilly in autumn, but other times it is atrocious. I was there a few weeks ago and I walked outside at lunch time, and you could not see the sky: but there were no clouds. The air almost stuck to my lungs, and it was so bad I was regretting going for the 1 km walk after about 300m. I actually feared that I might suffer some long-term respiratory problem for the 10min I was outside. Yet I saw people outside playing with kids and walking dogs. They are so used to the filth that they barely notice it.

On the bright side the coming economic slowdown in the mainland will mean less factory pollution - but maybe more smoke from the burning cars and buildings once the rioting starts.

[Proffeshnial Teachman]

Every major city in Asia has bad days. The worst place I found was the entire Western seaboard of Taiwan. Bangers can be pretty gruesome, Saigon has periodic gloomy spells, KL can be quite dreadful. So too can Honkers, but at least there are areas of relative clarity you can escape to!

[JonathanRossWC]

For what it's worth, I've been to Hong Kong twice for 3 weeks each time (stayed in Kowloon, and went all over the place) and never experienced any breathing or pollution issues.
I live in a spread-out suburb of Philadelphia, PA, USA just for an air quality reference point.
You should have no air pollution issue in Hong Kong...I'm sure there are occasional days when pollution is worse...but you will be much better off in HK than in BJ, I'd think.

[RiverMystic]

I hate to point it out, Jonathan, but your advice is misleading. Recent research shows HK's levels of pollution, especially heavy particles, is very bad. Just do a web search, as it is pretty wide spread through the media. Many expat families are moving away for that reason, and many report their children really suffering from asthma and chest infections. Even on Lantau island residents have tested for very high levels of certain toxins, many of which can be traced to the burning of poor quality brown coal - from the mainland. If you look across the water from lantau to HK island you can see just how much crap is really in the air.

Just because it is better than some other places in Asia doesn't mean that there is no problem with pollution in HK. It remains a big problem, although worse in some parts of HK than others.

[once again]

I have to agree with River on this. Pollution is a major problem in Hong Kong. It it worse in winter when the winds blow down on to us from the mainland. In Summer it can appear better, as visibility is better, but from what I understand there are still many problems from coal burning power stations and traffic emmisions.

[Perilla]

[JonathanRossWC]

My apologies, everyone. I had no intention to mislead, and probably should have not posted anything seeing as I have only been in the country for a collective 2 months....
OP: refer to the other, more experienced posters!


Thanks,
Jonathan