Intro

[rupertpenny]

Hi, I've been lurking on this board for a while, but I wanted to officially introduce myself.

My H and I live in Florida with our 5 month old daughter and will be relocating to Hong Kong in about a month. I'm not exactly sure when, we're just waiting for the visas to be processed right now.

If anyone has any good tips for moving/living abroad I'd love to hear them!

[House4Me]

Welcome! If you are getting a shipping container to move your stuff buy ahead now for your baby --- & you!

[Brit]

Welcome!

Do you get a container?

[Deleted]

Hi and welcome! No advice for a move except for LISTS. LOTS OF LISTS.

[mrsukyankee]

Welcome! Go with an open mind and heart. Be ready to hate it and love it, sometimes on the same day. Come here and vent all you like as we understand...though we'll push you to get through it all. And try to connect with the expat community (there will be a huge one in Hong Kong) as that will be a local lifeline.

[pittpurple]

Hi and welcome! ErinExpat is in Hong Kong (just had a great chat with her about an upcoming visit) so she'll be able to help with any baby specific questions.

Everything UKYankee said :-) I definitely encourage you to reach out to the expat community, particularly with a small baby it will be fantastic to make some friends. Will you be working or are you moving for your husband's job?

[doctoranda]

Welcome! I have no advice really. Please come here often and share whatever you feel like sharing!

[dorothyinAus]

Welcome. I can't offer any advice about Hong Kong, but welcome to our group!

[potatopie]

Hi! I was on the Got Pregnant board around the same time as you (DS is also 5 mos). Good luck with the move!

[oneslybookworm]

Welcome to the board and good luck with the move!

[rupertpenny]

We aren't getting a container, we've been advised to just move with out clothes and whatever we can fit into suitcases. Honestly none of our furniture is nice enough to justify shipping it around the world so we are just going to sell/donate it.

But this reminds me I need to find some suitcases that are cheap enough to be disposable since I'm sure I won't have room to store them.

[rupertpenny]

Jan 30, 2014 4:07:29 GMT -5 pittpurple said:

Hi and welcome! ErinExpat is in Hong Kong (just had a great chat with her about an upcoming visit) so she'll be able to help with any baby specific questions.

Everything UKYankee said :-) I definitely encourage you to reach out to the expat community, particularly with a small baby it will be fantastic to make some friends. Will you be working or are you moving for your husband's job?

We are moving for my job, and my h will be looking for a job as soon as we get there.

I will definitely try to connect with other expats! ErinExpat has already been a huge help to me

[pittpurple]

Jan 30, 2014 8:02:30 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

Jan 30, 2014 4:07:29 GMT -5 pittpurple said:

Everything UKYankee said :-) I definitely encourage you to reach out to the expat community, particularly with a small baby it will be fantastic to make some friends. Will you be working or are you moving for your husband's job?

We are moving for my job, and my h will be looking for a job as soon as we get there.

That's so exciting - can I ask what you do? I still have this vague idea that we should do a more 'adventurous' move one day as Scotland is so easy as an expat. Is your husband able to work on your visa or will he need his own?

I'll be visiting HK for a week in June - you'll be an expert by then!

[rupertpenny]

Jan 30, 2014 8:52:10 GMT -5 pittpurple said:

Jan 30, 2014 8:02:30 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

We are moving for my job, and my h will be looking for a job as soon as we get there.

That's so exciting - can I ask what you do? I still have this vague idea that we should do a more 'adventurous' move one day as Scotland is so easy as an expat. Is your husband able to work on your visa or will he need his own?

I'll be visiting HK for a week in June - you'll be an expert by then!

Ha, I kind of wish we had started out with a less adventurous move, but I'm sure this will be fun. And I think HK will probably be easier than just about anywhere else in Asia. 

I'm a librarian and will be working for a university there. My understanding is that H can freely look for work while on a dependent visa, but will have to change to an employer sponsored visa when he gets a job. It doesn't sound very difficult though. My sister lives in the UK (she's married to a Brit) and I know getting to a point where she was even allowed to look for work was hard. 

[Wanderista]

I just want to say welcome! It sounds really exciting. I would love to hear about what it is like when you are there, so yes, please share with the board. 

[GilliC]

I think starting off with the crazy move was better. It made me appreciate the similarities more when I moved to a new assignment instead of focusing on the differences.

As for advice? Pack a few months' supply of your favorite deodorant if you can.

[Brit]

Like GilliC said, pack a crap ton of your favorite toiletries if you are at all particular. Especially shampoo and conditioner if you have fine hair. I am not sure about Honk Kong, but in Beijing, India, and UAE, the hair products just don't suit my super fine hair.

[potatopie]

I'm a librarian at a university as well. That's neat that you found a position abroad. We transferred here for my H's work, but I ended up getting a post at the same university on my own. Hope your H has the same luck!

[echo]

Welcome ! Hong kong is an amazing place with a strong expat community. It is also a great jump off place for travelling aroud Asia.

[CakeLover]

Welcome!

[rupertpenny]

Jan 31, 2014 0:32:14 GMT -5 potatopie said:

I'm a librarian at a university as well. That's neat that you found a position abroad. We transferred here for my H's work, but I ended up getting a post at the same university on my own. Hope your H has the same luck!

That's awesome! I never really expected to work abroad, but I'm benefitting from the fact that Asia doesn't have many trained archivists (I'll be working in university archives). It also seems that librarianship pays better overseas which I'm not complaining about.

[potatopie]

Yeah, there is certainly a lack here in South Africa, so it was easy to get the position here. In fact, I'm running my own branch library without any previous experience. Not a bad deal!