Job Discussion Forums

[RedDinosaur]

Hi everyone! I'm currently a teacher in the US and a newbie to this forum. I've been thinking about teaching in HK for some time after a couple of visits.

So, I'm curious about your personal experiences as teachers in HK.

1. Why did you pick HK?/What led you to HK?
2. What are the positives of your life in HK?
3. What are the negatives?
4. What are some things that you wish you knew before hand that you learned the "hard" way?

[oxi]

1. Why did you pick HK?/What led you to HK?

Easy to lead western lifestyle - after 5 years in India, needed a change.
My wife could find work on spouse visa.

2. What are the positives of your life in HK?

Variety of - city life and island life, food, shopping
Money's good (on NET scheme)

3. What are the negatives?

Small accommodation.
Can't cycle easily. (live in city)
School a bit restrictive (a lot to go into here - check out other threads for various tales)

4. What are some things that you wish you knew before hand that you learned the "hard" way?

It's really easy to find accommodation. So I would have signed a contract for the first month on arrival, while looking around for something better, rather than sign up for a year within the first week.

[RedDinosaur]

^^ Hi Oxi. Thanks for your response

Sounds like you're having a good time there

[RedDinosaur]

hmm...seems like there's not much going on at this forum. Where' is everyone?

[oxi]

It's never been the busiest.

I reckon it's just numbers - HK is smaller than most places = fewer teachers work here = fewer folk on Dave's.

[sistercream]

My two cents worth:
1. Why did you pick HK?/What led you to HK?
The first time, it was sheer desperation to pay off my Australian provisional tax bill. Then after teaching (and other jobs) in lots of other places over the years, I came back because this is the place where I'd like to spend the rest of my life.

2. What are the positives of your life in HK?
Low tax rate, no lawn to mow (and a small apartment means I can get a full-scale spring cleaning job done in 3 hours flat), easy to get out of the city and in to countryside and onto some halfway decent still water beaches, the rule of law counts for something and it's safe for a single female to walk around after dark (even through the largest public/low cost housing developments), brilliant public transport, easy to get to and from lots of other interesting places in the world, amazingly little red tape for a foreigner, and a generally reliable and polite civil service who don't need bribing to get anything done, before I learned Chinese it was already easy to find my way around, good availability of overseas luxuries like cheese and chocolate. And Chinese grammar is one of the easiest in the world, whether you learn to speak Cantonese or Putonghua - you just have to learn to "sing" your sentences at first so as to get the tones in.

3. What are the negatives?
The winter pollution levels, the humidity in spring, some bosses need to be sentenced to teach in their own schools under the same conditions they impose on their staff, no surf beaches, the cheese mentioned in the previous para is seriously expensive, the crowds and learning to live in a comparatively small space take some getting used to, the expat community here is very fluid- if you don't make the effort to make local friends you can find yourself needing to make a whole circle of new friends every few years (either that or spend all your time on facebook).

4. What are some things that you wish you knew before hand that you learned the "hard" way?
If you're not typical "Asian size", stock up on footwear and underwear before arriving (other garments can be made at very reasonable cost, or you can buy the makings and DIY); either be prepared to live in a tiny serviced apartment or hostel until you have been earning for a few months or bring enough $$$$ to provide 3.5 months rent upfront to move into your own place + enough for utilities deposits. I did the hostel thing, and made some good local friends that have lasted me nearly a quarter-century. For more practical tips, check out www.geoexpat.com .

[RedDinosaur]

bump bump

Any other HK teachers willing to share?

[Yorky]

Lots of PNETS post on hkpnets.org if you are interested in finding out about the NET Scheme.

[RedDinosaur]