TRACY HACKSTON reflects on her return to living in Hong Kong after a couple of earlier stints here in the past.
This is my third time living in Hong Kong. I came here firstly as a young, penniless, chubby-faced 21-year-old – straight from my UK university, living with my sainted in-laws and boyfriend (now husband) and working as a Native English Teacher. Zero money, loads of spare time.
Second time around, I was 30-something, married, working in publishing, living the disposable income lifestyle, losing my shoes in bars, tootling off to Bangkok for a lairy weekend. Bit more money, zero spare time.
This time? We are now imports from Singapore… two kids, two dogs, 900 boxes to unpack (I wish I was joking), car, school, et cetera, et cetera. Both more money and less money, zero sleep, and minus numbers spare time.
I don’t know any cool places to eat or drink, but simultaneously, I haven’t done much parenting here yet – and so I don’t know where to buy birthday balloons, I don’t know the best trampoline park, I don’t know which soft play place will give you Ebola or which summer camps are run by serial killers.
I mean, I’m getting there, but I’m not playing this game at the expert level I once was. If you want to go and get lunch at a place that was excellent in 2014, I’m your girl. If you want to arrive somewhere to hear, “Oh, that place closed down ages ago” – also, two-thumbs up for me.
And this is the thing I’m finding – I know Hong Kong inside and outside, backwards and forwards, but also not even a little bit. It’s so familiar and so reassuring and I’m so glad to be back, but this grown-up, responsible person (yes, I’m talking about myself) of 2025 doesn’t have a bloody clue what she’s doing most of the time.
Is that an expat thing? Is that a returning expat thing? And is it Hong Kong specific? Or am I just (whisper it) getting old? If I still lived in the UK, would I be wandering around my hometown lamenting all the changes or is it part of living in Asia in a place where the rents go up and places disappear overnight? I definitely wouldn’t have noticed where the playgrounds were when I lived here the first two times, but surely I shouldn’t spend my days quite so discombobulated? Surely Marks & Spencer shouldn’t be my homing beacon in quite the same way? (Actually, that one probably is an age thing.)
I’m not sure what my point is really. But I know Hong Kong has always been home, probably always will be home. But does anyone feel like they know where to find both a bloody Super Mario balloon and a really good Bloody Mary anymore?
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This article first appeared in the Autumn 2025 issue of Expat Living magazine. You can purchase the latest issue or subscribe so you never miss a copy!
