Opinion | For those who dare, Hong Kong remains the place to be

Generations are different in the way they think, but their aspirations have always been the same: to own a place that they can call their own. I'm more than half a century old and I still don't have that. Circumstances got in the way, among them raising two children and some poor investments, but that doesn't mean I can't afford a flat. If I quit my job, I could turn 25 years of pension into a 600 sq ft box in Tseung Kwan O or Kornhill. If I did that, my dilemma would be: what now?

I would be 52 and have little in the bank, necessitating years more work to save for my eventual retirement at an age perhaps well beyond 70. For the sake of owning a home, I would have to count on winning the lottery or getting lucky with the stock market to feel comfortable about my future. The alternative: get out of Hong Kong and go somewhere where the property and cost of living are more affordable. That's obviously easy for someone with a foreign passport to say.

With such options, it is not difficult to be sympathetic towards the protesting students. Leaving the city they were born and raised in, and love, is not an option for the majority. Look beyond their desire for genuinely democratic elections and it is about the future. With property prices at record highs, good jobs in short supply for anyone other than the best graduates from the top universities, and tourists seemingly of greater importance than citizens to the government, there is every reason to be unhappy.

They have a right to be angry - unlike those of us who got their feet on the ladder in easier times, they are at the bottom and have what appears an impossible climb. It especially rankles that it is government officials who live in the lap of luxury who are telling them that they can't have what they want. But let's get real - only those who are well-heeled and have connections can get what they want, and Hong Kong is far from being the only place in the world like that. It's also tough for the young in Europe, the US and any other place where desirable jobs are in short supply and housing prices steep.

The best jobs are usually to be found in big cities and that's where housing costs are highest. Low interest rates haven't helped; flats have for some time been one of the best places to invest and that exacerbates circumstances. Throw in Hong Kong's land shortage, government control of supply and the exorbitant cost of what it releases and the recipe is unpalatable for the have-nots. Those with guaranteed jobs and annual pay rises, and access to great perks - civil servants, many of whom end up in the top echelons of government, are such people - are the ones with the best chance of getting what they want.

It's all about being a realist. I've had opportunities to join the housing haves, but either passed them up or was unlucky. There's always another occasion or time. It's a matter of being patient and, when seeing a chance, taking it.