Property prices are out of reach, there's a wide wealth gap and the air pollution is terrible - yet Hong Kong is the world's 10th best place for a baby to be born in 2013, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
But that was three positions lower than in the last study in 1988 by EIU, a sister company to The Economist magazine.
Singapore, No 6, has edged Hong Kong out as the best place in Asia for a child to be born.
For Sze Lai-shan, of the Society for Community Organisation welfare group, it depends on which family one is born into. "Hong Kong may be a heaven for wealthy people, but it's also a hell for the destitute group," she said.
For 2013, the mainland languishes at a dismal 49th place, which means that other than stellar economic growth, things have not improved much over the past two decades. Taiwan came in 14th, outpacing South Korea at 19th, and Japan, 25th.