More Hong Kong retirees are homing in on Greater Bay Area but healthcare issues prove hard to handle for some
- Growing number of elderly Hongkongers have opted to live across the border in the Greater Bay Area
- Fundamental differences between local and mainland’s healthcare system still deter some elderly Hong Kong residents from moving there, concern groups say
Upping sticks after 30 years in Hong Kong was a simple choice for 91-year-old Lu, who decided to move into a residential care home across the border in Guangdong province.
The sprightly Guangzhou-born woman, who had lived in Hong Kong with her son, said residential care homes in the city were unsuitable for her. Last June she moved to the public Home for the Aged Nansha.
Strolling through the facility’s lush garden on a recent Saturday after visiting a Lunar New Year fair organised by staff, Lu said she could not imagine living in a care home in Hong Kong.
“The food and the living environment at this care home are great. My favourite activity is to take a stroll,” she added. “Hong Kong is smaller and more packed, which is less comfortable.”
Lu, who has some family in Guangdong, is among a growing number of elderly Hongkongers who have opted to live across the border in the Greater Bay Area although such a move is not without its own challenges.
Elderly residents and concern groups told the Post that although more support measures were in place and others in the pipeline, fundamental differences in the healthcare system across the border still deterred some from moving there – or forced them to return to Hong Kong.