Blonde Hygge

We’re in Hong Kong.

I can’t believe I’m able to say that, we are just over a week in and I am still not believing that we’ve done it.

We are in love with the island we’ve found ourselves on, Cheung Chau, and amazed by the busy centres of Hong Kong Island and places like Mong Kok. Everyone has been so kind and welcoming and patient as we butcher our thank yous and try in our best sign language to communicate and avoid being bolshy Brits who just speak louder English (oh trust me, we’ve overheard this already). Other than opening bank accounts and finding somewhere to rent, learning Cantonese is a big goal of ours!

The journey wasn’t without its hiccups and it’s down to our epic families and Matt’s new employers for keeping us calm with wise words and scooping up the bits we had to leave behind!

It has helped that we have my parents, who have emigrated, so they had lots of reassurance that things feel crazy but they settle and it’s ok that it may take a while. My Mum described it in stages. 1. You feel like it’s a holiday. 2. Oh my gosh, it’s not a holiday! 3. Ok, I’m settling in now, I live here.

She also said that it will probably take months to feel stage 3, which I think feels pretty accurate. Finding a place to rent is going to really help with that too, we are currently in the world’s lushest Airbnb! We don’t want to leave it to be honest…

Matt’s Mum & my Auntie went to our house once we’d flown and picked up the last bits, which did work out a lot! But mostly it was either returning, gifting, giving to sell or it just needed donated. They also gave the place a quick once around so it was nice and fresh for our landlords – it felt sad to leave them as they were truly lovely and also helped a lot with removing rubbish and large things we couldn’t sell on.

Currently, we have applied for HKIDs, pretty straightforward (although I did need a bit of technical help to begin with – I was just trying to be clever and you only get 10 minutes to fill out the online form before it times out). We just need to collect the actual cards this coming week, you get given a temporary paper one to begin with. I’ve applied for the equivalent of the DBS certificate we have in the UK. It is appointment only, like with HKIDs, but they must work on a much smaller basis because I couldn’t get an appointment until January! This is so I can teach and pick up work in schools, so I’m hoping my DBS will cover me for the rest of 2023. We do need to create bank accounts/ a bank account, but mainly our next move is to find an apartment to live in… times ticking! I think we’ve decided we’d like to stay on the island as it seems very dog friendly. It also has an overall relaxed atmosphere that pairs so well with the rest of busy Hong Kong and provides somewhere to unwind after running to HK Island or the mainland. People we’ve met on Cheung Chau have not seemed surprised that we want to stay haha!

This isn’t nearly half the story of our last week and a bit but I’ll leave it there. I feel every little tributary deserves it’s own, separate write up as there’s so much to say.

L xx