Hi all, I am a British Born mixed race Chinese, educated in the UK. I have family that are very dear to me in Hong Kong, specifically a 90 year old grandma who practically raised me & my sister who has moved there from the UK, as well as her pets which we grew up with. I often debate where I want to end up – my instinctual answer would be the UK, if only family were there too. All my friends are in the UK, but I know friends aren’t too important.
I am now debating whether to start my career in Hong Kong (compliance) so I can spend valuable time with my grandma in her twilight years (as well as the pets). Although I also know I shouldn’t make career choices based on relatives who will soon die. I also understand that the lack of UK experience will make a move back to the UK challenging.
Can I get some logical, disinterested answers going both ways? I don’t know what I will regret more.
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I worked in Singapore for a few years away from the UK and it gave me a ton of anxiety due to flights simply being a long way if a grandparent was on their deathbed
She might die tomorrow from a fall or a decade of work in HK or a decade of seeing her twice a year at CNY or whatever
I’d rec you try and work near enough, doesn’t have to be HK, that you can visit regularly rather than 10+ hrs away from my personal experience, HK/ SG are great places especially if you speak the language although the work culture can be a bit intense vs the UK
Alternatively if you are British starting your career with a big international company and moving offices after a couple years could serve you better long term if you wish to move back to the UK after she passes which quite will have to be considered at some point
If it were me, I would chose HK. The familiarity and safety net of family should not be underestimated.
While a subsequent move back to the UK might not be straightforward, if you have the idea in mind, it might be possible to keep yourself up to speed on UK specifics of your field.
Since your grandma played such a big role in your life, spending time with her in her final years could be deeply meaningful. At the same time, career mobility matters if starting in Hong Kong makes it harder to return to the UK later, that’s worth considering. Maybe look into how transferable compliance experience is between the two countries. If a temporary move to Hong Kong is possible without long-term career drawbacks, it might give you the best of both worlds.
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