Why we are taking our startup to Hong Kong and other crazy stories of 2011

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Dec 19, 2011, 5:08 AM UTC

josscrowcroft wrote: post #62

nirvana wrote: post #58

We also recently left the USA because one of our party is a UK citizen. We spent 6 months in the UK as US citizens with no problem, but when we came to the USA, we had to leave after 3 months, or send the UK resident co-founder out of the country at least. This visa thing is kinda absurd. What is the visa situation like in Hong Kong? I've read elsewhere that getting a visa for China is very difficult (this might be a…

In HK you can dive in/out pretty much indefinitely, as long as you don't (and I really mean DON'T) overstay, even by 1 minute. My US friends have been doing it for two years, I'm English and have been doing it for 15 months (but we brits get 6 months at a time) They'll screw you if you overstay. tl;dr: HK != China.

Post by mbenjaminsmith » Mon, Dec 19, 2011, 6:00 AM UTC

Adaptive wrote: post #51

latch wrote: post #37

I've been in Hong Kong for a year and a half. As a city, it's quite nice. Low taxes, extremely safe, vibrant culture. Pollution is really the biggest downside for me (you get used to the # of people quickly, and I'm from a small city and I hate people so...) However, professionally speaking? Forget about it. It's a horrible place for programmers. In the last couple months I've met with 2 entrepreneurs looking to move…

@latch is right on about the bank coders. I was based in Asia for 12 years hiring web development and design teams. Six of my 12 years were in HK. Finding top talent is very challenging there. I tended to hire young and train, anything else never worked out. HK is not a cheap city to live in. I realize that it can be done cheaply, but that loses its charm quickly. Like, goodbye farmers markets and even semi-affordabl…

Post by Jonbuford » Mon, Dec 19, 2011, 6:36 AM UTC

mark_l_watson wrote: post #66

krumjahn wrote: post #63

I'm part of the incubation program at Cyberport in Hong Kong. You can check it out here: http://www.cyberport.hk/en/about_cyberport/our_5_centres/ent... . I've been back for 5 months and I love it.

I have a friend doing long term AI research in the HK area and he talks it up so positively that I have considered going there for 4 or 5 months to live and work on my own projects. Does the Cyberport rent inexpensive shared office space suitable for one person to have a nice work environment? I work out of a home office in Arizona, and have a great working environment but living for 4 or 5 months in a foreign countr…

Post by latch » Mon, Dec 19, 2011, 7:25 AM UTC

meric wrote: post #76

latch wrote: post #37

I've been in Hong Kong for a year and a half. As a city, it's quite nice. Low taxes, extremely safe, vibrant culture. Pollution is really the biggest downside for me (you get used to the # of people quickly, and I'm from a small city and I hate people so...) However, professionally speaking? Forget about it. It's a horrible place for programmers. In the last couple months I've met with 2 entrepreneurs looking to move…

I emigrated from Hong Kong when I was 9. I wouldn't mind returning to work as many of my relatives live there, but only if you are willing to pay wages on par with what I'd get in Australia... I looked for programming jobs there and interned for 2 months. They do treat you like a slave and pay only $10,000 HKD a month. (around $300 a week). I am an enthusiastic (and high scoring) software engineering student in Sydne…

Post by joshwa » Mon, Dec 19, 2011, 7:38 AM UTC

latch wrote: post #37

I've been in Hong Kong for a year and a half. As a city, it's quite nice. Low taxes, extremely safe, vibrant culture. Pollution is really the biggest downside for me (you get used to the # of people quickly, and I'm from a small city and I hate people so...) However, professionally speaking? Forget about it. It's a horrible place for programmers. In the last couple months I've met with 2 entrepreneurs looking to move…