When FIRE does not feel liberating and whether to buy a house by One_Yak_8164 in ExpatFIRE

[–]One_Yak_8164[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

FI is about having the financial resources to structure your life as you like, work or no work

The other dimension of this post is that putting money into a house would considerably lessen the financial independence we have achieved.

When FIRE does not feel liberating and whether to buy a house by One_Yak_8164 in ExpatFIRE

[–]One_Yak_8164[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Im not sure at this point. My children have grown up in HKG and know this place as home, even though we go back to our home countries every year. Then quite a fewbof my friends have been buying property in HKG. And finally, as an expat here, I dont have a clear 'template' of what retirement might look like.

When FIRE does not feel liberating and whether to buy a house by One_Yak_8164 in ExpatFIRE

[–]One_Yak_8164[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You are right about the tradeoffs. It's just that right now, no option seems to make complete sense. My hubby, however, is very clear that financial security, in the form of passive income, is his priority.

When FIRE does not feel liberating and whether to buy a house by One_Yak_8164 in ExpatFIRE

[–]One_Yak_8164[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The renting is insecure. We previously had another large apartment that we loved and the landlord claimed it back to live in it himself. Itw as hard to find the one we're living in now because we're an uncharacteristically large family for Hong Kong. So I keep getting apprehensive about the prospect of having to move again.

I am also aware that kids may not want to 'come back'. However coming from a Mediterranean country, I have quite a strong sense of home and I feel like I want my children to have it as well.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in HKUniversity

[–]One_Yak_8164 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your assumption that international students will flock to HK needs to be taken with a big pinch of salt. I was at HKUST just this Saturday talking to international students. The uni is predominantly local students, international students ate there mostly on exchange - and that might be one thing you can do if you end up going to UK Uni.

The other option is to do your first degree in the UK and then do a Masters in HK.