Well to be honest I can’t say what city is my favorite. I have not seen that much of the world yet to say what is the ultimate city for me to live in? At the moment it is definitely Hong Kong, China.

I went to Hong Kong last year January to study there for 5 months. The exchange student live has been very convenient, I really had the best time of my live. I have been to other nice cities and countries as well, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Antwerp, Amsterdam, The Hague, Beijing, Seoul, Bangkok, London.

Why Hong Kong you may be think, My top 6 Reasons why I want to live in Hong Kong.

1: East meets West.

You still can see the British influence in Hong Kong of course. Because Hong Kong its history it has big influences from as well Asia and Europe. It is pretty easy to get around in Hong Kong a lot of people do speak English, some people just speak a little and others fluently. But when you get lost there are signs and people around to help you out.

2: Travel around cheap and easy.

Hong Kong has got one of the best public transportation systems in the world. The underground stations are easy to walk around and find your way in the city. Almost every 2– 4 minutes there is a tube departing from the platform you are waiting. I never had to wait more than 7 minutes to get on the right tube. When I had to wait more than 4 minutes it seemed long.

There are also 2 kind of buses driving around in Hong Kong, The big red ones as you can find them in London for popular destinations . And Smaller 18 person green buses for less popular destinations. Buses are leaving every 10 minutes and cost less then 80 Euro cent. Trains and underground stations are connected perfectly together.

When you go for a longer journey you can easily take a train or even for smaller connections. Trains are leaving about every 10 minutes.

Hong Kong is full of taxis there are more taxis then private cars in Hong Kong. Taxis are very cheap I think you pay 20% of what you would be in Europe or the U.S.

3: Good food / cheap food.

When I first arrived in Hong Kong I thought I know how Chinese food taste like. Well the Chinese in the Netherlands fooled me big time. The Chinese or even Cantonese food is a lot different then I was used to. What I like about the Chinese eating culture is that a lot of people will eat out. Eating out in Hong Kong is cheaper than buying the food yourself and cook it. Because I pretty much eat everything I wanted to try everything of course. I like the way Chinese people eat, you don’t order a dish for yourself with some kind of food, no you order with everybody you are eating with 10 kind of dishes. So you eat all kind of food just as the other people on you table do. It give a feeling of sharing much more then you will do in a Dutch restaurant. After six months in Hong Kong I really start loving Chinese food. I even can cook some of it quite good now. But there is a other side after a while I did not wanted to eat rice or noodles, I just wanted some food from home. Well that is also possible you can eat various kind of food such as Italian, Greek, Steak house. I was pleasantly surprised by the price of the food, For a whole meal you often just pay 3-4 Euro including drink.

4: great night-life

Hong Kong has got several area’s with many pubs, clubs and restaurants. My favorite area’s are Tsim Sha Tsui. This is more a pub area with restaurants on a close distance. Here you can sit and relax and talk with friends. The other area which is more famous for tourists. This area is called Lan Kwai Fong. In this area there are many bars and bigger clubs to party. Most people you will find here are expats or international students. This is the area were you will find a lot of foreigners and some locals.

5: Multinationals / hub to China

There are many Multinationals located in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has a important economy in Asia and because its history a lot of multinationals have big offices located at Hong Kong island. Many sky scrapers are owned by multinationals. You can see Hong Kong as a great opportunity and location to work. It is the hub to China through Hong Kong you can do business with China easily. China is booming and there are great business opportunities.

6: one of the safest cities in the world!

Although Hong Kong is a very dense city it is very safe. You can easily walk around at night with out feeling unsafe. Hong Kong has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. I never felt unsafe during my six month stay.

Overall Hong Kong is my top favorite city to live and work in the future. And I am curious what is your favorite city?

Where am I going live in the future? 

I asked myself this question many times before. To be honest I do not have the answer. One thing is sure I wont live in Leeuwarden the small city I am studying now. Leeuwarden is a nice city to study, there are a lot of students and enough pubs and clubs to have fun during your spare time. But it is not really special. So where can I find a good job in event management, is it the Netherlands , London or Hong Kong?

If I stay in The Netherlands I will either live and work in Amsterdam or The Hague, these two multicultural cities have a great history and are in the top 5 biggest cities of the Netherlands. I found out that bigger cities are a lot more convenient than villages or smaller cities.

My other options are London or Hong Kong. London because it is a really nice city to live although the accommodations are quite hard to find but there are a lot of opportunities to find a good job in the event industry. London got everything what I need, the shops are open till late and on Sundays, there are great pubs and clubs, Theatre shows, a lot of sport events, and of course friendly people. It is not far from the Netherlands which means I can visit my friends and family easily.

I fell in love with Hong Kong when I went on a six months exchange last year. Hong Kong is a amazing city for me. The mixture of Western and Asian culture is the best of two worlds. You can get around easily because almost all street names and signs are in English and Cantonese. The transportation system is really easy to use even when it is crowded it still does not feel inconvenient to me. I love Almost all Asian food, Dim Sum, Chinese noodle, Sushi, food from the Sichuan area but the best thing is when I am tired of eating Asian food in Hong Kong you always can find some western food. If you want to grab a drink in the pub or club Tsim sha Tsui or Lan Kwai Fong. If Hong Kong is to crowded I just get on a ferry and go to one of the many Islands around Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a 24/7 city even more than London but it is far away from family and friends.

My goal is to visit and travel around as many countries as possible. I just like seeing the world and I enjoy all my traveling moments. So where should I live in the future I still don't know.

All Tips are welcome!

Greetings                        

Ignas