Settling In

What a difference 3 months makes. Such a short space of time, but if I look back to where I was when I published my first blog about moving to Hong Kong, I really appreciate how things have already changed. Both physically and emotionally, I am now a lot more settled and although I think I’m still quite far from feeling at home here, I’ve definitely caught up with the pace of life. Whereas in those first few weeks I was constantly getting frustrated and upset because I wasn’t managing the unfamiliarity, I now walk around feeling like I’m a part the crowd here, rather than a lost stranger.

Shortly after I posted my first blog we left our little hotel room behind and moved into an apartment, where we will live for the next two years. I was so excited about moving, not only to have more space so we didn’t have to stack our shoes in the TV unit anymore, but because I knew that it would make all the difference to feeling settled. Making an empty, unfurnished apartment a home when we only brought four suitcases of belongings with us, 90% of which were clothes, hasn’t been easy, but just in the last couple of weeks it seems to have come together and I’m finally really enjoying where I live.

We’re on the 12^th floor of a 33 story tower block, nestled amongst lots of other tower blocks and on a very busy road. I have never lived anywhere like it and never thought I would, but I’ve quickly got used to it and there’s a lot I love about it. I like the friendly concierge people who say hello and goodbye to me every time I enter or leave the building. Once I’ve managed to cross Tai Hang Road I just have to walk down 140 steps and I’m in our local neighbourhood, with its lovely independent cafes, bars and fantastic array of restaurants. From our living room we are lucky enough to have a fabulous view of Victoria Harbour, which is like having a huge, moving picture with sailing boats and cruise ships going by and the ever changing weather rolling over the mountains in the back drop.

Our flat now feels quite friendly; we’ve picked up some great second hand items and brought back a few pretty things from Thailand and Cambodia when we were away over Christmas. But as with anyone who moves, no matter what your taste is or how much money you have, Ikea is inevitable. Asia loves Ikea as much as Europe does and as with a lot of what I buy now, I have gone from living in the continent of where it’s designed to the continent of where it’s made. This sadly doesn’t seem to make it cheaper, but although the price may be the same, the shopping experience is quite different and definitely a lot more positive.

For people living in Hong Kong, Ikea is a lot more than a place to buy flatpack furniture, tea lights and Swedish meatballs. On my first trip as I walked around the standard staged rooms I saw a young couple in the ‘living room’, sitting on the sofa holding hands, playing with their phones and looking totally relaxed as if they were in their own home. I thought this was quite sweet, if a bit cheeky, but then when I got to ‘home office’ there were three children sitting at different desks, one with a laptop, the others with papers spread out, doing their homework. If this wasn’t entertaining enough, when I reached the bed section the lights were dimmed and there were a number of adults fast asleep. Everyone who was actually in there to buy a bed didn’t seem to be taking any notice of the people napping; they just carried on looking at the prices or attempted to test the mattresses whilst someone was sprawled out and snoring.

I have been back to Ikea many times since and it’s the same each time, people make the most of it. I have heard it’s because many people live in small spaces in Hong Kong, so they use Ikea to hang out in. For me it makes each trip entertaining and demonstrates that even though there are lots of familiar things in Hong Kong, the experience is quite different to the UK.

These familiar things are often used as examples of why moving to Hong Kong is ‘easy’ and the British influences are of course everywhere. The original infrastructure is still very apparent: the road signs look just like those in Britain, they drive on the left, even the number plates look the same (though only in Hong Kong you’ll see DEBORAH on a bright pink Hummer or 2 IPO on a red Ferrari). The lack of language barrier is of course enormously helpful and actually even though Hong Kong is half way across the world, there’s a lot about my sister’s move just across the Channel to France that would’ve been harder because she needed to learn a new language in order to integrate.

I’ve definitely not found the move ‘easy’, but now I’ve settled in a bit more I’m really enjoying what is different about life here. Looking across the skyline at the towering high rises it is unimaginable how many people live in such a small area, but when everyone is out and negotiating the narrow pavements and MTR (the tube) system, there is an amazing calmness. I’ve had to get used to how slowly everyone walks in Hong Kong, not only because all eyes are on smartphones, but because people are just a lot gentler. I’ve not come across any agro since I’ve been here and it’s so refreshing - there’s no narkiness, no tutting, no kissing of teeth. Hong Kongers are very natural, which can make customer service pretty interesting if someone is not in the mood to be friendly, but it also means there’s very little attitude and I like that.

My life is obviously very different now. The way we live, work and what we do in our spare time is such a contrast to our old life in London and although the adjustment has been quite hard, now we’re more settled I’m enjoying living in Hong Kong. I have a 15 minute stroll to work, which is always entertaining. I walk through a lovely park where I see numerous small dogs in a variety of street-wear, including hoodies, shoes and rucksacks. There are groups of older people practising tai chi and other people ballroom dancing whilst playing music through portable speakers. Parallel to this peacefulness, I also walk past noisy building sites and across big roads of traffic, sheltered from sunlight by enormous high rises. But that’s Hong Kong, the land of contrast, which has taken some getting used to but now I’m into, I really quite like it.