HK vs Vancouver - round n

ACC-HE

I'm in HK, and I am having a very complex feeling.  This is where I grew up as a little kid.  It has been many years, and lots of things have changed.  This is a very busy city.  HK is no longer as big as I thought when I was small.  Driving in HK will make you feel like MTR has lied to you for many years.  I once thought number of stations can be used as an unit of measuring the distance between two places, but once I started driving, I realize HK is really not that big, and driving is not too big of a deal.  The lanes are even wider than Vancouver, maybe because of the monster buses here.  Just that the road signs are crazy, like asking you to answer a multiple choice question A B C D in a split second, otherwise you'll miss the route, but no worry, just drive on and it will ask you again somewhere later.  

Even the churches here are weird.  I heard today that some church would use Octopus to track your attendence for 3 monthes before you can join one of their fellowships.  That's rediculous don't you think? but I guess the system must be there for a reason...

HK has a pretty side too, I realized that a few days ago when I was at the Peak.  I saw HK beneath me, so beautiful, bagging you to stay.  It reminds me of Satan in the bible asking Jesus, "I'll give you everything, if you bent your knees in front of me, wahaha..."

HK doesn't give me peace.  

Voices in my head are arguing, but I'm not listening.  They usually sound like...

L: "What are you doing here? come back to Vancouver!"
R: "What are you doing in Vancouver?  You're still young, why do you waste your life like that?"
L: "Waste? I can't imagine you living in HK.  Working from dawn to dust in a bag of dirty polluted air, is that Life?"
R: "Those so-call high quality of life are for the retired. You're young, you should get out there and challenge yourself! Train yourself to be tough!"
L: "Why? I can live my relax life in Vancouver, why stay in HK?  I can find work in Vancouver, and live my life my way"
R: "Then what to do with your family in HK?  They sent you to Vancouver for a better environment to grow up, and how are you going to repay them?  They have sacrificed so much to get you there when you were small, and now that you have finished school and all, and you're sayig you're not coming back?"
L: "True... but HK doesn't fit me."
R: "How would you know? Look at how many of your friends have returned to HK and live their life happily."
L: "I don't drink, I don't sing Karaoke, I don't shop, I don't like going to China for massage therpy and spa... They all seem to enjoy those only."
R: "Look at how advanced we are... the bus are Air Condition'ed, and the HDTVs are free here.  Vancouver? You're kidding me.  The bus are slow, old, and stinky.  The HDTV channels are so expensive, and your mobile phone service sucks! Don't start me on the old fashion Malls and buildings you had there..."
L: "So? I can live with that..."
R: "Come live in a city, don't stay at that little village you call Vancouver!"
L: "Shut up! I love Vancouver."
R: "You shut up, you have no choice! You're still young, just come back and you will become one of your friends who stayed in HK living happily"
L: "I don't want to become one of them! I don't want to become the mean HK ppl"
R: "You are one of us... you already are one of us.  You think you're so nice and honest? Look, you just asked for some fake invoice for free parking at the mall the other day! and remember that time how you cheat your way to..."
L: "Shut up, I didn't want to do those at all! I... just don't wanna buy $200+ of useless stuff"
R: "Look, you're one of us."
L: "No, I'm not! I'll never be like you!"
R: "Don't you say that, and look at how responsible you are as a son.  Now that your parents are getting older, you would abandon them in HK, and ask them to take care of themselves??"
L: "What? they can come and live here in Vancouver"
R: "OH please... You know that's not possible.  They don't like Vancouver as much as you do!  They are proudly HK Chinese, living in HK, China"
L: "sigh..."
R: "Stop wasting time, decide soon.  Look, everyone's already busy working.  Look at you! Playing LYK like there's no tomorrow.  What's your plan now?  What're u going to do?  Where are you going to stay?"
L: "AH! ask me later!"

....

See?  That's why I don't listen to them.

chunsh

What are you doing in Vancouver?  You're still young, why do you waste your life like that

that just depends on what kinds of job u are doing, is your family in vancouver and do u want to spend your life with your family/lover or go to blow water with your co-workers after work till u need to sleep

yuusaku

i was in similar situation as you are, left hk when i was little, graduated and returned...worked for couple years.....but now i'm back to vancouver

wherever you can be who you are(i don't mean ethnicity/nationality that kind of thing), then go there

btw, which church is the one that uses octopus card?

satsuki

死囉，人格分裂喇你！
仲唔快D返來！

katamari

I personally don't think if one is still young = going back to HK for more chance/challenge/something like that, it all depends what you wanna do, it's like everybody is saying NY is good, better future or what, doesn't mean NY is a heaven for everyone.

siuyudim

Does this mean you will need to sacrifice your desired life in order to repay your parents? Please don't think this way. I'm sure that's not what they want. Be happy, don't stress. ..."That's not nice."

Just a reminder...in case you have forgotten. Curry porkchop rice is not your favorite food. You don't drink Fanta at every meal. Not only do you not swear in every sentence, you do not swear at all. You do not bring tissue with you. You will not carry a lady's purse on your shoulder. You do not play PSP with every moment that you get, such as in MTR. You don't carry tissue around with you. You say sorry when someone else bumps into you. The list continues but the idea is: NO, YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THEM...

Let me tell you something about myself. I don't mind eating Dai Ga Lok or poke a stick of fishballs off the street. I would be happy if you allowed me to drink pop when eating out. My handbag gets heavy as I am the one carrying the tissue. I would totally appreciate you for volunteering to carry it for me. ...hehehe... I had a great time with you in HK. I miss you and do hope that you come back sooner. (Notice that I used the word soonER..)... time to   

shutterbug

Can you see your future in HK?  How many years will you stay and will you ever come back?  Will you have your family/kids in HK later as well?  You can have a very challenging job in Vancouver too, depending which company/field you're in.

Personally, I don't want to go back if I don't have to.  The people and the pollution just freak me out.  I get a headache when I walk in MK or Causeway Bay.

bbqfish

As far as I concern, Richmond is more HK than HK right now. The HK on the other side of the world is just part of China now.

zuesel

I had situation such as yours too. It was so hard to decide.
I asked myself:
-Do I want to work 6 days+ per week in HK vs 5 in Van?
-Can I tolerate poor service / materialism / impoliteness of people?
-Can I get used to people talking very loudly and spitting everywhere?
-Do I like to make friends that can be quite fake?
-I love the shopping
-I love the great food and choices of
-I love the endless choice of entertainment!

On top of them though, I had to ask:
-Can my HK boss and coworkers tolerate me?
-Will my "western" style personality create stress more than challenge?
-will I miss my relatives and friends in Canada?

I am not as career oriented then most guys. So my problem was solved by going to hk almost once / year! I am taking advantage of both worlds!

You know, Vancouver isn't bad that it's quite close to HK in a way. I consider it a blessing that we have the opportunity and funds to travel anywhere we like and speak both languages fluently, plus chances of a taste of both contries.

Count your blessings and let God take care of the rest!