Cost Of Living In Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. Hundreds of studies confirm it and most residents believe it. Sometimes we even seem proud of it, shocking our family and friends overseas with the rents we pay and the cost of a car or round of drinks.

Voice out for fresh air!

Mr. Edward Yau, Secretary for the Environment, has admitted in public last month that the Air Quality Objectives (AQO) is outdated. But it is not yet a victory for those who care about our air quality, as the government has not till now promised to revise the AQO according to World Health Organization’s standard.

Poor air quality brings various health impacts. For example, sulphur dioxide can impair our respiratory function, aggravate existing respiratory disease and cardiovascular disease. The respirable suspended particulates, i.e., particles with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less, are able to reach and deposit themselves deep in the lung and cause breathing and respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing.

Hong Kong’s Air Pollution Index indicates nothing at all

It may be reassuring to hear from the Environmental Protection Department that Hong Kong’s air quality is `up to standard’. Unfortunately, being up to an outdated standard may mean nothing at all. The Air Pollution Index (API) reported by the Hong Kong government is measured using standards called the Air Quality Objectives, standards which were established 21 years ago. Consequently, our air quality measurements lag well behind those used in the rest of the world, says Prentice Koo a Greenpeace Campaigner.

Hong Kong Beaches

Newsflash: When the mercury hits 34, there’s no point in fighting the heat. Lose the suit and get yourself to the beach.

Pete Spurrier, a sunburnt writer, presents a brief rundown of the varied seaside destinations Hong Kong has to offer, for city folk, surfers and those who just want to get away from it all.

Horse Racing At Happy Valley

New to Hong Kong, or just visiting? There are a number of activities you can watch or take part in to give you an insight into local culture. But it’s hard to think of an issue that unites Hong Kong people so well as a flutter on the gee-gees. If local equine enthusiasts can’t make it to the racecourse on a Wednesday night, then they will cluster around the streetside betting shops, form sheets firmly in hand.

Even Deng Xiaoping found it necessary to reassure Hong Kong people that horse racing would continue as normal after the Handover.

Volunteering in Hong Kong

“I don’t know anybody!”

It’s a common cry from newly arrived expats. If you have no friends in town, and it’s hard to meet the neighbours, then one way out of isolation is to join a club of some sort.

There are hundreds of associations covering all sorts of interests – professional groups, hobby clubs, national associations for people with shared home countries, chambers of commerce, networking groups – and then there are charitable organizations which need volunteers.