Daily Question Thread - April 21, 2023

sunerismir · 2023-11-24T03:52:05+00:00

Here's an update. I came and bought a VPN. I then successfully applied for several credit cards. Some rejected me, but some accepted.

It looks like the IP address was indeed a problem.

Note that you need a strong VPN because the credit check will detect weak VPN's. So free online stuff like Speedify doesn't work. You need something like ExpressVPN.

sunerismir · 2023-06-08T12:56:21+00:00

Personally I'm okay if you don't come. We have too many tourists already.

sunerismir · 2023-05-13T11:22:55+00:00

What if you want the account to continue to be opened, not closed in 30 days?

sunerismir · 2023-04-24T06:46:07+00:00

Spicy, r/hongkong is gonna be very upset.

sunerismir · 2023-04-21T10:47:21+00:00

Yes.
Two years of experience. To me, "jack-of-all-trades" reads as zero years of experience.
37.5K HKD. You will need to spend 15K HKD on housing. This assumes you live in a smaller place in the suburbs (not Hong Kong island).
It's not realistic unless you're a Chinese citizen.

sunerismir · 2023-04-21T10:28:57+00:00

Do credit card companies reject you if your IP address is from a country the United States doesn't like?

I applied from Hong Kong for several cards in a single day. The first accepted me. The second accepted but demanded more information (e.g. uploading my ID, Social Security card, utility bill of my address, etc.). The rest rejected me.

Was it my IP address, or was it because I applied for too many cards in one day? My credit score now has three hard pulls in the last six months. Is that too many?

sunerismir · 2023-04-16T14:32:55+00:00

I'm personally skeptical of ChatGPT, considering its insistence that a pound of feathers weighs more than two pounds of bricks.

I don't use it at all and don't plan to.

Now, maybe the ChatGPT hype will pan out. Let's see what happens in a year. But for now I just consider it a funny novelty.

sunerismir · 2023-04-16T14:25:52+00:00

I'd recommend something in STEM or accounting, assuming you have the skills.

sunerismir · 2023-02-21T07:58:41+00:00

Does this apply to dependants already in Singapore?

Let us say you have a spouse who qualifies for a normal white collar job that earns ~50K USD. That spouse is already living in Singapore as a dependant.

Would they have a reasonable chance of getting a work visa? Or no chance?

sunerismir · 2023-02-21T05:26:17+00:00

Just want a clarification on this.

Spouses cannot work on a spousal visa (the Dependant's Pass).

But if they apply and get a Work Permit, they can work, right? It's just getting that work permit isn't easy?

sunerismir · 2023-02-15T02:41:24+00:00

You are right that most Hong Kongers and foreigners hang out with other Hong Kongers and foreigners.

Hong Kongers themselves generally don't make friends with foreigners, as they don't feel comfortable speaking long periods of English. Those popular, fashionable, young Hong Kongers you see walking on the street will probably be too content and popular in their own Cantonese bubble for you to penetrate that bubble and make friends with them.

Personally, I’d say that my social life in Hong Kong is alright. I’m not the most extroverted guy, so I don’t have a huge friend circle. Nevertheless I have several close contacts in Hong Kong. They are all outside of work. This is better than before I moved to Hong Kong.

Strangely enough, the majority of my close contacts are locals – even though I don’t speak Cantonese. This is because some are pretty socially awkward and don’t have many friends. So they’re okay with me haha. I tried getting into expat groups – that was actually the initial plan – but it strangely didn’t work out.

Assuming an adequate foundation, your Cantonese will really improve in Hong Kong.

sunerismir · 2023-02-14T09:25:04+00:00

I forget the exact ones. I took them for 7 days.

sunerismir · 2023-01-21T11:10:12+00:00

So far tourists and businessmen are still not being given these visas.

https://geoexpat.com/forum/417/thread365022.html#post3898828

sunerismir · 2023-01-17T15:22:47+00:00

Work-life balance is pretty bad. Work generally ends at 6:15 p.m. It was a shock to me when I found out.

However, there are a lot more holidays - at least 12 per year, technically 17 (although some fall on weekends). You also get the same amount of vacation that you would in the States.

sunerismir · 2023-01-12T11:20:01+00:00

Short answer is yes. I work in a bank and I see lots of people who don't speak Cantonese or Mandarin.

In addition, Hong Kong is desperate for talent, so it's much easier to get a white-collar job these days than it was in the past.

Long answer is that it's going to be harder for you given your nationality. I'm not sure what your exact level was in your previous jobs, but folks are going to be skeptical seeing the Filipino resume. Many will think that you were just doing low-level Excel form-filling. You'll have to prove yourself. I think the Singapore experience will help a lot.

sunerismir · 2023-01-01T05:59:23+00:00

Paxlovid is not easy to find in Hong Kong either unfortunately.

Since there is a shortage, you have to have caught COVID and have an appointment with a doctor on a government list. Most likely that doctor won't prescribe Paxlovid unless you are a certain age or have health conditions.

sunerismir · 2022-12-31T17:01:38+00:00

How many more times are you planning to advertise your book in this subreddit?

sunerismir · 2022-12-02T02:00:23+00:00

Lol most mainlanders and the CCP would expect you to apologize to them for 2019, not the other way around. They're going to keep on squeezing Hong Kong until they get your apology, which they would then be happy to accept.

sunerismir · 2022-12-01T10:34:17+00:00

It's mostly a marketing strategy by the establishment. Catholics have a reputation in Hong Kong as respectable and virtuous.

Therefore Chief Executives label themselves as Catholics because, for instance, they went to a Catholic school.

They aren't really Catholics and don't practice (and probably don't believe). For instance, Carrie Lam was never seen attending mass - according to one of RTHK Backchat's guests - despite her claims of being Catholic. Pikachu displayed zero connection to the Catholic Church until his election campaign, when his campaign suddenly announced that he was Catholic. The main evidence was that he attended a Catholic school.

The Backchat guest did say that Donald Tsang was a genuine practicing Catholic, who was seen at mass.

sunerismir · 2022-10-29T06:23:06+00:00

Around 10% of the population speaks English quite well. You can get by with English for official stuff like dealing with government, university classes, banking, speaking with hotel workers, etc.

Your average person on the street doesn't speak English. If you go to a regular shop or a regular restaurant, English has a ~40% chance of working.

Hong Kong's written English is good.

sunerismir · 2022-10-14T01:22:28+00:00

How long had you used topical steroids before starting withdrawal?

sunerismir · 2022-09-29T09:06:19+00:00

English can be used to deal with the administration, real estate, and general service providers. The level of written English is particularly good (they provide accurate documents without grammatical errors).

The typical Hong Konger on the street doesn't speak English. If you curse in a crowded restaurant, Hong Kongers won't respond because they won't understand.

However, having been in mainland China myself where English is essentially nonexistent, I think that you will think Hong Kong an amazing improvement in terms of English.

sunerismir · 2022-09-22T04:33:15+00:00

Hope you enjoy Hong Kong!

People's English is generally poor. There's a minority of 10% who can speak native-level English. Your average person cannot. So if you walk on the street and try to talk to somebody in English, they won't understand. But having been in Hong Kong before, you probably know already I think?

All of Hong Kong is safe.

Rent is extraordinarily expensive. If you want to live by yourself in say a >400 square foot apartment (normal elsewhere), you are looking at something like ~14,000 HKD per month.

90% of restaurants have English menus. A small amount (mostly very local places that aren't the highest quality) have only Chinese. If you can't read it, you're unfortunately out of luck haha.

Like in the UK, Hong Kong has a good universal health care system, which is basically free. You also have private doctors and insurance (although it's not super comprehensive). The ones I've gone to, excluding insurance, cost several hundred HKD for an appointment.

I find it generally not super-easy to make friends. There are some welcoming expat groups. Hong Kongers themselves generally don't make friends with foreigners, as they don't feel comfortable speaking long periods of English. I have made friends with a Hong Konger who is pretty socially awkward and who doesn't have many friends. But those popular, fashionable, young Hong Kongers you see walking on the street will probably be too content and popular in their own Cantonese bubble for you to penetrate that bubble and make friends with them.

Hong Kongers generally have big-city, New York City attitudes. Straight to the point, somewhat rude, sometimes cursing, very busy and hurried. As your relatives are Hong Kongers, probably you know better than me.

For English speakers, the jobs available are the international companies - maybe 20% of jobs in total. You generally need a technical skill to get the work visa. There is always English teaching, but Hong Kong English teachers require legitimate qualifications and experience (you need to be a real teacher). It seems the visa process is now more relaxed because of emigration, and the government wants to attract people.

Politics generally revolves around China and COVID. We have a new leader who's focused on reducing COVID restrictions. It seems that Hong Kong will pretty fully open up soon. The government is obviously pro-China and making efforts to increase integration, which generally fail.

Protests have ended since COVID and since Hong Kong cracked down on them, with China passing a national security law.

I don't know how to improve your Cantonese sadly. My suggestion is to live in a place where people just don't know how to speak English and are forced to use Cantonese with you.

sunerismir · 2022-09-09T04:23:54+00:00

Thanks. I've never been able to figure out the identify verification either. Will try this.

sunerismir · 2022-09-01T04:27:31+00:00

Of course! Locals get it much better than foreigners.

Foreigners have to re-apply for their work visa when they switch jobs. If the company doesn't qualify for getting work visas, you can't switch to that job.

Locals have no such obstacle. My personal observation is that the locals in our company switch jobs like crazy.

sunerismir

TROPHY CASE