A Civic Exchange survey compared attitudes of respondents in the three cities and found that a larger number in Hong Kong, especially the young, thought life had worsened. Hongkongers are significantly less happy about life than their peers in Singapore and Shanghai, with an alarming two-thirds thinking the city is not a good place to bring up children and 40 per cent open to leaving it, according to a new well-being survey on city residents. Independent public policy think tank Civic Exchange randomly polled 1,500 people in Hong Kong – and the same number in Singapore and Shanghai – between September last year and January with the aim of finding out how quality of life was perceived in three similar cities.

Read more at the South China Morning Post’s website.

Commentary by Anna Lee, British Council Hong Kong

Some people perceive that the quality of life in Hong Kong is worsening, underscored by political struggles and astronomic housing costs, with average flat prices at 19 times gross annual median income, the highest ever measured in the 11 years the US-based Demographia has measured this. Social inequality and the barriers to upward mobility, including relatively low graduate salaries and high property prices, are thought to be reasons causing young people’s frustrations and discontent with the government. There have also been widely reported issues in the media around youth mental health in recent months, a reflection of the highly pressured education system in Hong Kong. This is likely to be a contributor to the finding about Hong Kong not being a good place to bring up children.

While the student population in Hong Kong is shrinking, tier 4 visas in Hong Kong only declined by 4.1 per cent in calendar year 2015. We believe that the above issues are encouraging families to look at overseas options, holding up the study abroad market.

Source:
http://www.scmp.com/property/article/1905261/hong-kong-most-expensive-ho...