Change Is Coming

     The first afternoon I was here I took this photo of the map in Belchers Bay Park, the park that we can see from our kitchen window.  The green area is Hong Kong.  The light blue area at the top is the city of Shenzhen across the border in the People's Republic of China, where we lived last year.  The "you are here" red dot shows our Kennedy Town neighborhood on Hong Kong Island.  We are only a few blocks from Victoria Harbor, famous for its deep water and great views.

     Normally proximity to water in a densely populated urban area like this would mean high-priced housing.  But relative to other northern areas on Hong Kong Island, most residential areas of Kennedy Town are not exorbitantly priced.  Less than 20 years ago there was a slaughterhouse here that processed cattle arriving on the piers where you catch ferries nowadays, which I imagine didn't exactly lend a chic feel to this neighborhood.  But change is coming.  Construction started a year ago on a new subway line that will come within a couple blocks of this apartment.  When it's done in another couple years, most likely a lot of the old buildings here will come down, luxury high rises will replace them, and expats will displace many of the Chinese people who now live here.
     More circumstances measured in money...