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Have you always assumed Hong Kong would be prohibitively expensive to live in? When Brits Ben Zabulis and Hilary Garland spent nine hectic years living and working in Hong Kong, they didn’t consider retiring there. The worklife in the city grew tiresome and the couple returned to England. Unbeknownst to them, that move would mark the beginning of their retirement while still in their 40s. Eventually, they returned to Hong Kong and found ways to make living there pleasantly affordable. Find out more about the surprising retirement destination of Hong Kong, on episode 85 of Retire There with Gil & Gene.
Ben Zabulis authored Chartered Territory: An Engineer Abroad.
Ben Zabulis was born and raised in Nottingham, England. He left home at 16 to undertake an apprenticeship before returning to education later at Nottingham Trent University graduating with a degree in Civil and Structural Engineering. He worked as a civil engineer at various UK locations before venturing overseas to live and work in Nigeria (1984), then India, Japan and Hong Kong, including some short-term assignments in Guam, Singapore and the US. Ben turned his early adventures abroad into a book titled Chartered Territory – An Engineer Abroad. He retired early and with Hilary Garland, his partner, left Hong Kong and departed for the UK. However, craving the overseas lifestyle they returned to Hong Kong in 2015. Since returning to Hong Kong, he’s worked occasionally for a local learning center teaching English, writes travel/lifestyle articles for UK magazines and sits on the Hong Kong Alumni Committee for the Nottingham Trent University. His interests include reading, crosswords, music, gardening, hiking, travel, culture, current affairs, collecting beer labels, food and wine, collecting sake bottles (when in Japan), learning the local language.
