Yes, houses with separate gardens tend to only be available outside of downtown/central Hong Kong. But, if you have lots of $$$ then you can probably rent or buy one closer.
Emergency services are fine I think, if by that you mean fire fighting, or ambulances coming to traffic accidents.
The Police are a branch of the HK government, separate from the "Gong An" of the PRC. The HK police are pretty good insofar as they are not particularly brutal or corrupt - I would say that they compare favorably to the police in Chicago or Boston in the USA, but that may not be consindered shining praise. As a European-American woman who can speak some basic Cantonese, I have found the police that I have encountered to be polite and efficient. But, the only time I have ever really interacted was once when I accompanied a friend to report a stolen pocketbook, and a couple of times in routine roadblocks (they entered the bus and asked to see everone's I.D.) and a some bar raids (same thing... ).
As far as racism... I don't know what to say. If your wife is black (of African descent?) she may encounter more funny looks and people treating her oddly than if she were European or Asian. The fact that you are a "mixed" couple will probably not be as problematic because you are both foreigners.
I have read in the newspaper about people of South Asian or African descent being passed by taxi drivers or some landlords will not rent to them. This is not yet against the law in HK, mores the pity
It's definitely possible to get live-out domestic helpers. I don't like the idea of someone living in permanently, as I feel it will really cut into my privacy. We just have someone in on weekdays to look after BabyB, and help with some of the housework.
For emergency services (police, hospital, doctor, etc), I think they are of a similar standard to a European city. They are run independently from the mainland.
There are not many black people in HK, so your wife can expect to be stared at a bit more than normal, but it shouldn't be anything worse than that. There is some more on this if you read the comments at http://www.flyingchair.net/story.php?storyID=495
Re:A few questions
Dear Dazon,
Yes, it is possible to hire local people to work a 40 hour week for you, but it will likely be more expensive than hiring a foreign domestic helper.
You can go to this page to find out more about hiring a local domestic helper.
http://www.jobs.gov.hk/eng/domestic/content.asp
Yes, houses with separate gardens tend to only be available outside of downtown/central Hong Kong. But, if you have lots of $$$ then you can probably rent or buy one closer.
Emergency services are fine I think, if by that you mean fire fighting, or ambulances coming to traffic accidents.
The Police are a branch of the HK government, separate from the "Gong An" of the PRC. The HK police are pretty good insofar as they are not particularly brutal or corrupt - I would say that they compare favorably to the police in Chicago or Boston in the USA, but that may not be consindered shining praise. As a European-American woman who can speak some basic Cantonese, I have found the police that I have encountered to be polite and efficient. But, the only time I have ever really interacted was once when I accompanied a friend to report a stolen pocketbook, and a couple of times in routine roadblocks (they entered the bus and asked to see everone's I.D.) and a some bar raids (same thing... ).
As far as racism... I don't know what to say. If your wife is black (of African descent?) she may encounter more funny looks and people treating her oddly than if she were European or Asian. The fact that you are a "mixed" couple will probably not be as problematic because you are both foreigners.
I have read in the newspaper about people of South Asian or African descent being passed by taxi drivers or some landlords will not rent to them. This is not yet against the law in HK, mores the pity
Re:A few questions
Hi Dazon,
It's definitely possible to get live-out domestic helpers. I don't like the idea of someone living in permanently, as I feel it will really cut into my privacy. We just have someone in on weekdays to look after BabyB, and help with some of the housework.
For emergency services (police, hospital, doctor, etc), I think they are of a similar standard to a European city. They are run independently from the mainland.
There are not many black people in HK, so your wife can expect to be stared at a bit more than normal, but it shouldn't be anything worse than that. There is some more on this if you read the comments at http://www.flyingchair.net/story.php?storyID=495
MrB