The first thing you'll notice when you move to Asia is just how much bigger the world is. Weekend trips up the coast from Sydney will give way to trips to Vietnam and the Philippines, and you'll be hanging out with expats from all corners of the globe, full of new stories, new customs, and lots of fun.
In Hong Kong, almost every language is written in both English and Chinese, making daily life easy and job opportunities plentiful. I currently work in a bespoke luxury jewellery store and love my job. Are there any downsides? Hong Kong is an incredibly expensive city and the humidity is constantly high, so I go through a can of hairspray a week.
When most people think of Hong Kong, they think of all these bright, shiny skyscrapers, but what I like most is getting away from the city. I always recommend hiking to the islands and then enjoying the beaches, where there are plenty of great restaurants specializing in local cuisine. I always refer to this place as the “South China Riviera,” and Deep Water Bay and Tailong Bay are my favorites. Will we ever leave Hong Kong eventually? Probably, but we're in no rush.”
“Nothing can really prepare you.”
Elizabeth Benn, 55, tour operator
Elizabeth Benn: “I still remember someone asking, 'Where exactly is Mongolia in Africa?'”
“Even a few years before my husband and I moved to Mongolia with our children (aged 11 and 4 at the time), if you had asked me where Mongolia was, I wouldn't have been able to tell you. Up until that point, we were living a typical suburban life: My husband, Murray, ran an IT company and I worked part-time as a social worker/counselor at a university.
We always thought we would emigrate to a foreign country one day, but when we learned that rural Mongolia was facing serious unemployment problems and was forcing people to migrate to the capital to find work, we thought maybe we could do something.
After some preliminary research, in 2010 we packed up and moved to Tsetserleg, a provincial town seven hours west of the capital, Ulaanbaatar. People thought we were crazy, our kids' teachers were concerned, and we got some pretty funny comments. I still remember someone asking me, “Where exactly in Africa is Mongolia?”
Nothing can really prepare you for life here. Before we moved, we watched movies and documentaries to get a feel for the country and the people, but the first months, even years, were pretty tough.
We took over the guesthouse and bakery, but it was hard not speaking the local language in an area where English was scarce, and hard home-schooling all four children because there were no international schools in the countryside. But our kids thrived in the open space, and over time we all picked up Mongolian, one of the most difficult languages to learn, to varying degrees.
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It's been interesting to see how the local tourism has changed and developed over the years. When we took over we only saw really crazy adventurers keen to explore off the beaten path places, or groups of doctors doing field research for organisations like Doctors Without Borders. Now we see all kinds of travellers, from tour groups and solo travellers who prefer a softer style of tourism, to people travelling around the world on their motorbikes.
Our town has changed dramatically to meet the demand, with cafes, hotels and guesthouses popping up everywhere. Our business, Fairfield, has grown to meet the demand and now offers a range of locally led activities from horse riding tours to homestays with nomadic families and adventures in the Gobi Desert, providing stable employment to the people who welcomed us so warmly.
“When my kids turn 18 they will have to go back to Australia for university or work and it's hard being here without them. I see myself having a house overlooking the sea one day. It's the sea that I miss most about living in Australia, but I don't know when that will be. We've been here for 14 years and it feels like we're just getting started.”
“Local hospitality is the best”
Nicola Errington, 42, senior safeguarding officer
Nicola Errington: “We have a beautiful house close to the hills where the monkeys visit every day.”
“I moved to Asia straight after graduating university to work at a Japanese law firm. It was a fun place, but the work was demanding and incredibly corporate.
After three years there, my lifelong interest in social justice still called me, and after a short trip around the African continent, I found work with an incredible NGO in Cambodia, the Jesuit Refugee Service, providing legal assistance to the many Rohingya who were living in Cambodia at the time and processing their asylum applications.
Then came my work with UNHCR, my first deployment in 2012 to Somalia, where drought was causing widespread internal displacement and the country was also hosting asylum seekers from Ethiopia. I then had deployments in Myanmar and Thailand, before taking some time off in 2018 to give birth to my son, Sam.
In 2021, I was redeployed to Pakistan, where Sam and I now live. Pakistan has long been a generous host to Afghan refugees, assisting approximately 3 million people despite the country's own challenges. While operations here have been relatively stable for 40 years, I could not have predicted what would happen shortly after I redeployed. Suddenly, we were being flown out of Kabul and saw people arriving, traumatized by what they had experienced.
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These people, especially women, have a difficult time living in Pakistan, but we are doing our best to ensure that they are protected and that the Pakistani community is supported. I believe that the issues facing refugees, asylum seekers and stateless people are complex and not well understood. Most of them want to live in their own country and belong somewhere, but sometimes this is not possible.
My work with UNHCR has been extremely rewarding. Although living and working in Pakistan has had its challenges, the local hospitality has been the best I have ever experienced. Life here is colorful and vibrant, the people are warm and welcoming, we have a beautiful house close to the hill where the monkeys come to play every day, a nanny to help us, and we are close to school and friends.
I've really enjoyed my time here, but after three years in Pakistan, Sam and I are preparing to move back to Australia so he can have an Australian education. We wouldn't rule out a move back to Asia – it makes sense for us as Australians to live and work here, but for now we're focused on getting our Australian accent back.”
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