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I'm also an expat (from Australia) who lived in Hong Kong for two years and recently (six months ago) moved to Singapore. Comparing the two cities is a favourite pastime of expats in both and I'm sure you'll get plenty of opinions around Central, Star Street and Lan Kwai Fong.
My two cents is as follows:
It obviously depends on your personal tastes and lifestyle. I think Singapore has better food, better weather, friendlier people and is far less polluted. Hong Kong has some amazing food too of course: dim sum, roast meats and a vibrant international food scene spring to mind. But this is not every day food. Every day food consists of cha chaan tengs, sandwiches and fishball noodles. Singapore's local food culture is much more interesting due to its confluence of three cultures (+ Western influence) and it also retains all the high end international food options too. The weather I prefer because I like it warm, all year round, and even though HK's winter was not much of a winter by Western standards I still hated it. And the pollution can really make a difference. When I arrived in HK I had an upper respiratory tract infection every month for the first six months. No such problems, touch wood, in Singapore.
As for the people, while I have a rudimentary knowledge of Cantonese and obviously people in HK do speak English, it's amazing how much I missed just being able to understand conversations around me. English is much more widely spoken in Singapore and people tend to treat you, as a stranger, a bit less like a leper. I stress *a bit less* because the stranger danger feeling is still pretty high in the city state.
As for the job market, I would suggest that in Hong Kong more and more now you need to speak native Mandarin. Singapore has better options outside finance too as it's a corporate hub for the Asia Pacific and for Southeast Asia. I was looking for a career transition around the time I moved and it was easier for me to find jobs in Singapore than Hong Kong.
The main thing I prefer about Hong Kong over Singapore is the vibe. Hong Kong is just more vibrant, more electric, people are more ambitious and hungry and it truly never stops. Singapore is less exciting. And if you like to party then you're out of luck in Singapore. There are plenty of bars & clubs here (some great cocktail bars actually) but people don't really know how to let their hair down here as they do in Hong Kong. There's more pretension.
Anyway that's my 2 cents. Hope it helps in some way.
My two cents is as follows:
It obviously depends on your personal tastes and lifestyle. I think Singapore has better food, better weather, friendlier people and is far less polluted. Hong Kong has some amazing food too of course: dim sum, roast meats and a vibrant international food scene spring to mind. But this is not every day food. Every day food consists of cha chaan tengs, sandwiches and fishball noodles. Singapore's local food culture is much more interesting due to its confluence of three cultures (+ Western influence) and it also retains all the high end international food options too. The weather I prefer because I like it warm, all year round, and even though HK's winter was not much of a winter by Western standards I still hated it. And the pollution can really make a difference. When I arrived in HK I had an upper respiratory tract infection every month for the first six months. No such problems, touch wood, in Singapore.
As for the people, while I have a rudimentary knowledge of Cantonese and obviously people in HK do speak English, it's amazing how much I missed just being able to understand conversations around me. English is much more widely spoken in Singapore and people tend to treat you, as a stranger, a bit less like a leper. I stress *a bit less* because the stranger danger feeling is still pretty high in the city state.
As for the job market, I would suggest that in Hong Kong more and more now you need to speak native Mandarin. Singapore has better options outside finance too as it's a corporate hub for the Asia Pacific and for Southeast Asia. I was looking for a career transition around the time I moved and it was easier for me to find jobs in Singapore than Hong Kong.
The main thing I prefer about Hong Kong over Singapore is the vibe. Hong Kong is just more vibrant, more electric, people are more ambitious and hungry and it truly never stops. Singapore is less exciting. And if you like to party then you're out of luck in Singapore. There are plenty of bars & clubs here (some great cocktail bars actually) but people don't really know how to let their hair down here as they do in Hong Kong. There's more pretension.
Anyway that's my 2 cents. Hope it helps in some way.
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