Akhenaton, looking at what "free speech" has gotten into your post, i commend u for wanting to bring up children in asia.
hong kong and japan are way too small, uptight, and also expensive. While some other asian countries mentioned are more relaxed but not as well developed or modern. I would pick Shanghai China without a doubt, it's very modern city and generally cheap (although if you have the cash there are plenty expensive places to go there). Also safety is never a concern, whether in school or late at night. The only downside is not many people speak english, that's slowly changing with the younger generation.
Never knew of anyone who was sent to China by their company and is happy there. There are people there of their own free will who I presume are happy there but my observation is that most people HATE it.
Coz once you are out of your teens it is no longer a big deal, secondly if you have actually lived in Bangkok (5 mins walk from Nana) for thirteen years it is no longer a big deal. Too bad you missed it, the scene is a sad shadow of what it once was.
The United States topped world competitiveness rankings for the 15th straight year, but its economy is showing the same signs of weakness that sank booming Japan in the early 1990s, according to an annual survey released Thursday. Asian tigers Singapore and Hong Kong ranked just behind the U.S., as they did last year. Switzerland jumped two places to fourth, while Luxembourg rounded out the top five most competitive national economies, said the Lausanne, Switzerland-based, IMD business school, publisher of the World Competitiveness Yearbook. "The big question is whether the United States will be No. 1 after this year," project director Stephane Garelli said, adding that the report was based on 2007 data that do not fully reflect all of the problems in U.S. financial markets. "Everyone is catching up very quickly, but so far the U.S. economy is showing a lot of resilience." http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iiQRaSxn15uNMBhmS16R2mojakwwD90LRLA00
When you leave the comfort of living a US lifestyle, the rest of the world is a raging cesspool. The poorer the nation, the worse the stink.
2nd that. Best of all, no capital gain tax. Of course, if you are US citizen, you get tax world wide. I think in HK, you get citizen after 7 years of residency.
You are forgetting about the rich vein of pussilicious offerings in Hong Kong. Some of you can only think about money and that is just downright sad. In Hong Kong, if you are an American, you can do whatever you want, say whatever you want, because the real locus of power is not the legislative assembly, but the American Embassy which overlooks that house of chinky clowns.