[neogeo]

Hi all, have been reading these forums for a while but have just registered to make my first post.

I am 29 and so is my wife. We live in Perth, Western Australia. My wife is from HK and came here to study 8 years ago, we met, dated for 7 years and then got married in Dec 06 in HK. We have just come back to Perth after spending all of Jan in HK for vacation.

My wife wants to move back to live now as her parents are getting older and she misses seeing her family. I am a little reserved but also want to give it a go.

I just want some idea of what you think my job prospects are. I am planning to do a TEFL course here but honestly teaching english would not be a long term aspiration for me. But I would give it a go to see how it pans out. I am a chef by trade but have been out of the industry for about 4 years now. But it is a trade and you never really 'forget' it so going back to chefing is also an option for me.

At the moment I work as a Business Development Representative, which is a glorified name for a sales rep :-) In my job I see chefs and F&B managers and sell and promote our food service products to them. Unfortunately the company I work for is a MNC but does not have a presence in HK. Without knowing Cantonese what are my chances of getting a similar job in HK?

Also can anyone that has done a TEFL course please shed some light on their experiences. Any other points or tips that anyone else could contribute would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all in advance,

Aaron

[carang]

i have known quite a few people in hk who are chefs... that might be a good option.

[PDLM]

There are plenty of foreigners with no or minimal Cantonese working in the F&B industry here, whether as chefs or in provisioning or bar/restaurant management. You'll have a Dependant Visa which will allow you to work without further paperwork, so I suspect you might be able to find something in your field with a bit of networking (i.e. chatting to all the gwailo bar/restaurant managers you can find) when you get here.

[neogeo]

Thanks guys and girls for replying. So far it sounds encouraging. My wifes family all seem to think that teaching english, either one on one or as a group, after doing a TEFL course; is a good way to go. I plan to learn Cantonese myself also. I want to do it in Perth but believe it or not there are only Mandarin classes here.

Property prices seem high in HK now, like the prices are in a bubble situation at the moment. Initially we would probably rent before buying a flat somewhere. But I like property and would certainly buy when the prices return to their normal levels and reflect the true value of the flat.

[Alby]

Suggest you get in touch with members of :
Hong Kong Chefs Association

Also, you may consider contacting the Australian Chamber of Commerce.

Lastly, many hotels and restaurants in Macao are hiring chefs however, Macao may not be Hong Kong it is still closer than Perth.

[carang]

"when the prices return to their normal levels and reflect the true value of the flat.'

yeah... right... good luck with that one! the ONLY time in 13 years that prices have been remotely reasonable was during SARS.

[neogeo]

............And during bird-flu they corrected and also during the 1997 handover. And later this year or next year when the stock market in China and HK takes a huge fall and corrects the prices will level out then.

I'll wait.

[Flat Hunter]

Go to this link and click on the jobs discussion forum. Under Hong Kong there are a lot of discussions that you will find useful Dave's ESL Cafe Resume Board - Message Index

[carang]

sorry, but from my recollection neither bird-flu or 1997 had much decline in housing prices, only slight if any. that's just judging from my own experience here.

[carang]

thanks for the links. i don't need to research it though as i'm not planning on buying any time soon. what i said was just from personal experience. maybe i was just unlucky and stuck in rental agreements and couldn't take advantage of any momentary dip in the market.

good luck!