I Left Everything and Moved to Hong Kong

I left everything I knew in Toronto and moved to Hong Kong to start over.

This is the story of how I — a girl from Toronto — moved across the world to start everything new: a new life, a new career, a whole new version of myself. I’ll walk you through the whole journey: what made me decide to do it, what it was actually like when I arrived, the hard parts that nobody really talks about, and how my life looks now.

Before Hong Kong: A Career That Wasn’t Mine

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I went to McMaster University to study medical radiation sciences, and I became an ultrasound tech. I worked at a hospital full-time for about two years during the peak of the pandemic.

Honestly, that was probably one of the hardest stretches of my life. I wasn’t in a great place mentally. I felt lost, confused, and stuck in a depressing environment, especially during COVID.

I was so grateful to have met my therapist around then. I can’t believe it’s been almost six years since I started seeing her. Through therapy, through the support of my friends and family, and through a lot of self-reflection, I realized: this wasn’t the career for me.

So I transitioned into personal training.

That part was actually easy. Throughout school I’d done part-time jobs at gyms and fitness studios, and I had a part-time job at GoodLife Fitness even while working at the hospital. My team and my boss were incredibly supportive. I studied, I got certified, and then — with this little voice in the back of my head — I decided to go back to school full-time for a degree in nutrition.

That was a scary moment. It was a big risk, and I wasn’t used to taking big risks. I’ve always been the “play it safe” type, always with a plan. My parents are immigrants, so they drilled into me the importance of a stable job after university. They know what an unstable life looks like, and they wanted something secure for me and my brother.

Fast forward: I became a personal trainer and a nutritionist. Then I dabbled in Pilates — partly because I literally lived across the street from a Pilates studio whose owner and team mentored me through the training without making me pay for the certifications, which are ridiculously expensive. (I’ll do a separate video about that.) I fell in love with Pilates and started weaving it into my strength training and my online coaching.

Move and Glow, and the Itch to Do Something of My Own

After working for other people for so long, I had this itch to build something of my own. I cared deeply about helping people find their own strength — inside and out — and develop sustainable habits, instead of going through the kind of toxic fitness journey I’d had earlier in my life.

So I created a brand of my own: Move and Glow. If you’ve been around, you probably know it.

Life at that point was genuinely good. I was in school, I was growing the business, and I was growing my relationship with Lewis. Everything felt stable in that quiet, grateful way — and I was hyper-aware of how privileged I was.

And then, just over a year into our relationship, Lewis got an amazing opportunity to work in Hong Kong.

The Decision: Long Distance, Then FOMO

That was when things got rocky.

I wasn’t great at handling change back then — especially change that threatened something that was finally working. Long distance scared me. On top of that, I was quietly going through some other personal things I won’t get into. It was a shaky time.

But the opportunity was too good for him to pass up. I wanted the best for him. I wanted him to excel, to live the fullest version of his life — even if I couldn’t be next to him while it happened.

So we did long distance.

That period was strange. I was in my last year of my nutrition degree, feeling lost about my own path, doubting my own business, putting on a brave face online because I was also creating content. It was a tricky year. But despite the 12-hour time difference and the ocean between us, Lewis and I made time for each other. We kept showing up in each other’s lives.

And then — slowly — something shifted in me.

I started having FOMO. I watched him experiencing this whole new side of the world and thought: this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Why am I not there too?

So I entertained the thought. What is there to lose, really? I can go. If I hate it, I come back. And when his contract ends, we meet back here anyway.

Eventually, fear flipped into excitement. Okay. Let’s start applying for the visa.

The things that had been holding me back were real — school, my business, my family, my friends, a whole life built in Toronto. Toronto had been home my entire life. But I kept coming back to one thought: Life is too short, and I don’t want to have any regrets. I want to experience new things with Lewis before we have to settle down and can’t do this anymore.

The Visa, the Family, the Last Goodbye

I applied for the Top Talent Pass Scheme — a visa that requires you to have graduated from one of their top-100 universities (McMaster was on the list) and to have three years of work experience in the past five. The application process was a bit of a headache, lots of back-and-forth emails. But within a month, I got my approval.

Telling my friends went better than I expected. They were sad I was leaving, but they could see this was right for me.

Telling my family was the hardest part.

I’m very close with my parents and my brother. They mean the whole world to me. Just the thought of putting so much distance between us made me feel incredibly guilty and sad. When I told them, I was bawling my eyes out. It’s the guilt of knowing that my parents are aging and I won’t be there to help quickly if something happens.

Luckily, they understood. They really love Lewis. They supported the decision even though it hurt.

And then it was logistics. I finished my last semester, my exams, my final shifts at the wellness clinic. I paused my in-person coaching. I wound down my online content. I moved my stuff back to my parents’ place — feeling guilty again, for basically using their home as a safety net. My friends and I had a trip to the South of France planned right before I left, which ended up being exactly what we needed: we’d all had a rough year, and two weeks exploring Nice together felt like a reset.

My last night in Toronto was bittersweet. Excited, fearful, sad — all at once. Totally normal, I think.

And then those two weeks in France flew by, and I wasn’t flying home with my friends. I was flying to somewhere completely new.

Landing in Hong Kong

The moment I stepped off the plane in Hong Kong, the humidity hit me in the face.

Coming from a dry, cold climate, the sensation of feeling wet in the air was completely foreign. I have dry skin and eczema, so the humidity felt like a shock to my whole body.

But Lewis was there. That made everything easier.

We went back to our tiny apartment — the one you’ve probably seen in my shoebox video. Yes, it’s small. But the novelty was exciting, and being done with long distance was what mattered.

My first impressions of Hong Kong: busy, densely packed, fascinating. Old buildings pressed up against brand-new condos. The wealth gap is stark — you see people working incredibly hard at street markets, and then you see extremely wealthy people with entire entourages helping them through their daily lives, the aunties who take care of other people’s kids and elders. It felt a little dystopian, because that contrast isn’t something I grew up seeing in Canada, where there’s more physical space and things feel more uniform.

What blew me away: how convenient and safe everything is. The MTR — their subway — is reliable, clean, fast. The TTC could learn a lot from the MTR.

Not Chinese Enough

Here’s something I didn’t expect.

I’m Chinese. My family is Chinese. We speak a dialect called Teochew at home. My parents are fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin, but my brother and I aren’t. I know enough to hold small pieces of conversation, but I’m most comfortable in English.

In Canada, I always felt a bit too Chinese.

In Hong Kong, for the first time in my life, I felt like I wasn’t Chinese enough.

I look like I belong. I blend in visually. But the moment I open my mouth, the belonging slips. It made me sad in a way I wasn’t prepared for. It made me wonder: okay, so what is my identity, actually?

The Hard Things Nobody Talks About

The hard parts nobody really talks about when you move abroad:

Therapy. I didn’t want to change therapists, so we do online sessions. With the time difference, that means either very early in the morning (I’m not awake) or very late at night (I’m exhausted). By the time I’m home after a full day and finally want to decompress, having to open up old wounds feels brutal.

The small apartment. Once the novelty of the shoebox wore off, I realized how much the cramped space was affecting my mental health.

Loneliness. I really missed my family. I really missed my friends. I often felt out of place.

Starting over. Starting over is hard. It just is.

I’m so grateful I had Lewis by my side through all of this. Honestly, huge kudos to anyone who does this completely on their own — especially my best friend Sue, who did it in New Zealand. I’m in awe of people with that kind of strength.

I thought the hard part would be over once I landed. But life always finds something new to test you with. You just have to take it one step at a time. Move forward. Pause if you need to — pausing isn’t going backwards.

Building a Career from Scratch

If you know me, you know I’m a hardcore planner. I like to have a plan so I can breathe.

And yet — surprisingly — I didn’t really have a plan when I arrived. The loose plan was to take my STOTT Pilates courses in August 2024. I’d landed in May. I didn’t have a job lined up. For the first time in my life: let’s just see what happens.

I landed, took a week in Korea with Lewis for a little reset, came back, got my Hong Kong ID, and within a week I was home alone in our tiny apartment while Lewis was at work full-time.

I’m introverted and, honestly, a bit fearful — so I didn’t go explore on my own. In hindsight, maybe I should have. Maybe I should have taken things slower and let myself just be for a while. But the thought that came screaming into my head was: I need to do something. I need to work.

I also have this belief that I have to be productive and successful in specific, recognizable ways. So I started looking for a job immediately.

I knew I wanted something within walking distance. I looked up gyms in the neighborhood, found one I liked, reached out to the owner, had a conversation — and got the job within a few weeks of being in Hong Kong.

I thought we’d only be here for less than a year — that Lewis’s contract would end and we’d resume our lives in Toronto. It’s been two years now. That’s kind of wild to me.

Turns out, you can’t plan everything to the letter. You have to go with the flow and trust that things work out.

That’s how I rebuilt my career from scratch in Hong Kong. I just reached out. I expressed what I genuinely value and what fulfillment looks like to me. Now I’m a personal trainer, Pilates instructor, and nutritionist at a studio called Movement. I love the team — their values around sustainable coaching and community really align with mine. Everyone has been sweet and welcoming, and since I’m the only one who came from so far away, they’ve all helped me settle in. I’m so grateful.

Imposter Syndrome

The wild thing is: even though I’d been doing this work for years in Canada, the imposter syndrome in Hong Kong was intense.

Because the environment was new, I felt like I was starting from zero. What if I don’t know what I’m doing anymore? Am I good enough? Do they do things differently here? Are they going to judge me?

For a while, I just felt like I wasn’t good enough. That’s a whole other story in itself.

On top of that, I was learning a ton during my STOTT Pilates instructor courses that summer of 2024. So I was juggling a new career and that “beginner” feeling of being a student again. I met amazing people. I came out of it really grounded in what I’m passionate about.

I dabbled in content creation again, but more passively — the self-doubt was loud, so I kept it low-key. I’m only now in the place where I feel settled enough to grow what I actually want to grow, step by step, and share the whole thing with you.

What I Love About Hong Kong

The best things about Hong Kong: how convenient, accessible, and safe it all is. I can hike into nature or walk twenty minutes into Central city life. Almost everything I need is within walking distance.

Am I used to the weather yet? No. It is still hot as balls, and I cannot deal. Thank god for AC.

The one thing I miss about Toronto that I didn’t think I’d miss: four seasons. Especially winter. I know, I know — everyone living in Toronto rolls their eyes when I say that, and fair, because they’re the ones actually dealing with it. But I miss the way winter forces you to slow down.

Two Years In

It’s been two years, and somehow it feels longer — so much has happened.

I’ve traveled around Asia a lot with Lewis. My then-boyfriend is now my fiancé — we got engaged at the end of last year. We’re planning our wedding, which deserves its own video.

I’m settled into my career. I’m getting more comfortable pushing myself outside of my comfort zone — because almost every good thing that has happened has been the direct result of doing exactly that. I got to be on a BBC podcast about small kitchens in Hong Kong. I did a Business Insider piece about my career and life change. I got to connect with so many of you because my shoebox video did so well on YouTube, and I became part of the YouTube Partner Program, which is something my younger self had dreamed about for years. I’m so, so happy about that. Thank you for being here — I can’t thank you enough.

I’m finally getting more confident using my voice, creating content, and being open about how I want to coach and inspire people to feel good. There’s a lot more coming that I can’t wait to share.

Thank You for Watching

That brings us to the end of this video.

If you have any questions about anything I talked about — especially transitioning to living abroad in Hong Kong — let me know in the comments. I’d love to chat about it and help if I can.

Stick around for more of my journey here. I’m also starting a Substack, which I’ll link below — I’m a big fan of writing and I really want to explore that more. Let me know if you want to read more, and what topics you’d want me to cover.

If you watched and made it to the end, thank you so much. I really appreciate you. I hope you have a good day.