From Hong Kong IT worker to Canadian plumber: the path of those seeking escape from ‘hopeless’ city
More relaxed lifestyle and bigger homes are the main draw for some Hongkongers who seek greener pastures abroad
The determination of Hongkongers who say they want to avoid their city’s “hopeless future” has led to some taking up menial jobs to earn a foreign citizenship for a new life elsewhere.
In the case of a 40-year-old IT worker, who declined to be named, this could mean being a plumber in Canada.
The man, who lived in the city for almost two decades and holds a Hong Kong identity card, had made plans to ditch his office job and move to Toronto. He had already obtained Canadian citizenship.
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He is applying for his Hong Kong wife and 11-year-old son to join him.
“We are doing this mostly for my son,” he said. “It is going to be a new start, and we do not see a future for him in Hong Kong.”
We are doing this mostly for my son. We don’t see a future for him here
The family made the decision last year, in the same period Hong Kong saw a five-year high of 24,300 residents seeking greener pastures abroad, according to the latest data from the Census and Statistics Department.
In past few months, the middle-aged man has been receiving training to become a plumber or construction worker. He said he believed such skills would help him get employed in Toronto in case he could not land a desk job.
The family intends to give up their monthly household income of about HK$100,000 (US$12,800) and their 800 sq ft flat in Hong Kong. They said they would live in a 3,000 sq ft house with a garden in Canada.
The couple said they wanted their child to grow up in a more spacious environment where he can have a happy childhood and enjoy an education system with less pressure.