【分享】两位投行男女的真人自白：为何我要离开香港&为何我还未离开香港

【分享】两位投行男女的真人自白：为何我要离开香港&

为何我还未离开香港

文/朱英楠David（前高盛香港投行部分析师, 哥伦比亚大学经济学学士）文章一：为何我要离开香港

When my colleagues first found out that I wasleaving banking for private equity, they congratulated me. After all, moving tothe “buy-side” after 2 years of banking was something to be proud of. But whenthey found out I was leaving Hong Kong for Beijing, their jaws dropped. WTF???Are you for real? The air there is toxic, the food is poisonous, the traffic issuffocating, and the tax is demoralizing. What is wrong with you? Do you hateHong Kong or something?No, the truth is, I love Hong Kong. The twoyears I have spent in Hong Kong are probably the most carefree and purposelessfun I will ever have in my entire life. But I had to go – because something wasmissing in Hong Kong.67/F Cheung Kong Center, where I havespent longer hours starring at a computer screen than my entire pre-work lifecombined.No, I’m not talking about the work experienceof pumping out models and PowerPoint slides like a machine around the clock, orthe deal experience of

closing cross-border跨境M&A's to earnbragging rights among fellow bankers, or the travel experience of flyingbusiness class with corporate executives from New York and London.I’m talking about living the Hong

Kong-stylelife, under the neon lights of Lan Kwai Fong, about the materialisticlife that makes living and breathing the Hong Kong experience a youngbachelor’s must-have in a lifetime. When I boarded flight Delta 173 on

August17th, 2012 from JFK to HKG, the city with the highest concentrationof Rolls Royce’s and the most tall buildings in the world, I knew it was timeto lay off the gas pedal and just enjoy the ride.

Grand opening party of a new club inLKF, the name of which I can no longer recall. The club closed within a year.As affluent HongKongers are some of the world’s best practitioners of hedonism,you will findyourself quickly blending in the Hong Kong lifestyle around happy

hours,dinners, boat trips, birthday parties and other forms of wine & dineexperiences. You go from ordinary food establishments like Tsui Wah andSimplyLife to private kitchens and Michelin stars; you start to turn downtourist bars along LKF hill in favor of whiskey bars, cigar bars,

sheesha bars,ice bars, dining-in-the-dark restaurant & bars, liquid nitr ogen ice creambars, your friend’s bars, your friend’s friend’s bars, and so on. If you canthink of it, it’s there in HK. You find dining & entertainment expensesescalating over your rent in almost no time (particularly if you are male, thegender which always pays). Slowly, your spare capacity goes from planning yourlife as a great [insert dream here] to planning your nextfancy dinner, your next epic weekend, your next marvelous holiday, your nextfabulous birthday party… and the list goes on.The best city view in the world.Gradually, the comfort and safety of Hong Kongbring you what you’ve always desired – the pure enjoyment of lifeitself, without having to feel sorry about it because everyone aroundyou is doing the exact same. You don’t see the negativities of society anymorearound you. Poverty doesn’t show its faces, crime doesn’t come near you,pollution isn’t broadcasted as a social problem, food safety is almostguaranteed, healthcare services are among the best in the world, and tax isdefinitely not getting any complaints – if utopia existed, it would looksomething like Hong Kong Central.But once you’ve spent long enough time here,you

will see that Hong Kong is a concrete jungle not only for itsbuildings and underground tunnels, but also for zero social mobility.The resulting social structure under these circumstances is not one whereeveryone is talking about the global power dynamics, debating the benefits andharms of creative destruction, pondering the philosophical nature of the humanexistence, or even whispering the future of democracy. No. That is not HongKong. At least not the Hong Kong I have experienced. Living in Hong Kong asan expat is much more like attending the grand parties of the Great Gatsby,where the crème of the crop of the Ivy League and Ox bridge graduates proudlysettle in the most fit-and-proper professions ranging from doctors, lawyers,accountants, to bankers and civil servants, toasting and celebrating thegreatness of their own achievements.Magnum, where film 'Lan KwaiFong' was filmed. Magnum Entertainment listed on the Hong Kong StockExchange in January 2014. The offering was over 3000 times

oversubscribed.Currently shares trade 50% below its first week's performance.But the most mercenary aspect of Hong Kong isthe ease of leaving her. During SARS, those

who could leave disserted the cityand made it a ghost town almost overnight. In the 1990’s (think 89 and 97),those who could afford to emigration in Hong Kong have all obtained foreignpassports, with Vancouver being one of the favorite destinations – and thereason behind my conversational Cantonese having grown up there.Hong Kong, in this sad existence, is Mr. Gatsbyhimself. If he dies, no one will be staying for the funeral, because his guestsare busy and have got other parties to catch. Admittedly, for the better part of my 2 yearsin Hong Kong, I was one of them. I lived my life as a guest in Mr. Gatzby’sparty, and I gave my love to every moment I have spent inside his doors. I havebeen there, standing in the VIP areas of Dragon-I/Volar/Levels/Magnum, on thefloor, on the table, on the stage, feeling like I’m with the most importantpeople in the entire world. I have been there, dropping my entire month’ssalary hosting parties and treating friends ranging from my future best man tosomeone I have never even met and will never meet again. I have been there,posting photos of drinking and partying festivities on Facebook to gainpopularity and social status, making acquaintances so numerous that

deletingthem all would probably be faster if I got a new phone and reinstalledWhatsapp.What to expect on the table on a normalnight with a large group of friends who work in finance.Don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of verysuccessful people in Hong Kong who have found the right balance to achievehappiness across the spectrum of one’s life desires. But your 20’s is meant tobe spent in a way to maximize your potentials, and the

24/7work-party-sleep cycle isn't exactly 'maximizing' - it's infact 'burning', eating away the fuel and the drive to reach thedreams you once had.After an all-nighter at the printer fora company's IPO. Long hours typically result in a binary lifestyle swingingbetween extreme work and extreme play.So as one of the most junior attendees of Mr.Gatsby’s great parties, I have chosen to walk away. After all, what is thepoint of devoting my most productive years to a grand party, only to be handedanother glass of champagne, gazing upward to tycoons who will always betycoons, and dancing alongside white-collars who will always be

white-collars.Leaving Hong Kong was not because it was destroying my body or polluting mymind, but because it was killing who I could be.另外附上一篇来自同样在香港工

作的一位投行女分析师关于上篇文章的读后文，两种不同的声音，可能会让大家看到更多关于香港投行生活的真相和感悟。文章二：某投行女分析师：为何我还未离开香港

看到《为何我离开香港》这篇文章的时候，我正出去买SimplyLife做晚饭。南亚裔的服务员姐姐帮我在选四种沙拉，我低头赫然看到文章里说翠华和SimplyLife是ordinary food establishments。

Oops，第一反应是这个文章一定不能让爹妈看到。“香港的社交活动原来这么多啊！那你怎么还单着！”

怎么办呢？我也20几岁，在香港，一周工作六天。我是谁呢？我是某一个人，也是某一些人，也许乃们的analyst里面，就有一个我这样的人。因为我实在太普通啦，我是过99%的生活的那种Hong Kong central人。99%的生活是什么样呢？就是一边做excel model，一边切换成word敲这些话，面上乖巧恭敬，其实不缺情怀，工作有不(te)如(zhua)意(kuang)，也不会分分钟辞职。甚至在99%的人里，我也和成功没什么关系。哦，单身，居然也不常去LKF。几个微信群里都是差不多的单身狗朋友。是的，大部分朋友在做金融相关，不过他们也是穿人字拖刷微博的逗比。周末补觉够了，就约约早茶，爬山或者羽毛球。有人张罗的时候，我们会去看话剧和画展，一年难得有一两次，利用周末去台湾或普吉。湾仔和西环是据点，大家住得近，恍然还过着大学宿舍生活，

串串门，拨弄下角落里主人很少碰的吉他，再八卦一下5X 上8点那一班有帅哥。在快节奏城市生活，教会我的一点是，要有一个内生人格在，就算是外向性格，也要有一个introvert 的自己，为自己做选择。这个城市机会太多，选择太多，速度太快。你站在街上，周围的人快速通过，你就慌了，好像大家都有目的地，只有你还没有。你不想站在人群中间，这太突兀于是随便跟着些人，往最光鲜的地方走了。去到哪里呢？你也不清楚，只不过感觉好过一个人killtime。哦，上瘾的精神麻药，凌晨三五点的LKF，好像已经发生了无数对话，又好像什么也没有沉淀下来。快乐吗？我只记得有几次，坐在那里，我脑海里不断回放中学课本里的那句话：“热闹是他们的，我什么也没有。”几次下来，放弃了。（插播小广告：后来我读了(内向者的力量)，才感觉all dots are connected。）不得不承认，虽然我活得普通，但let’s face it, I am someone ordinary, 所以我还是活得像我自己。灯红酒绿，那是隔壁家的party.我在香港或纽约，在酒吧和party

里新鲜一阵子，最终还是会选择周末晚上和三五知心好友度过。我在香港或纽约，约朋友吃饭一定也只吃亚洲菜，日本，韩国和泰国，是我舌头可以跑得最远的地方，通常都是围绕四川这旮旯。我们还未离开香港，这里对我们还不错，也未有更好的彼岸给我橄榄枝。在这里，就珍惜。珍惜这种把女生当男(sheng)生(kou)使的锻炼机会，享受来自世界各地的

美食和文化。还有一种安全感，一种骑墙往两岸，不用抛弃任何一边花香的安全感。进可攻美帝IPO走一圈，退可去二三线城市做调研。虽然还很junior，每天仰望大神，偶尔也是能稍微见下世面，这时候，就是像小黄人一样开心到二的表情。工作带来最大的不真实是，我和那些叱刹风云大佬的合影。当你真正走到他们面前，他们都是那么的容易亲近和风趣。我也是很努力才克制了发朋友圈的冲动。然后顿悟，原来装逼好容易，云淡风轻地呵呵才难。几年前，还在读书的时候，我也在中环和金钟中间的那一栋楼里遇到过crush。具体几楼你们不要猜了啦。我们曾无忧无虑的聊天到天亮。没有酒精，只有三五朋友，后来散落天南地北。那时未来是天马行空的想象，如今就是那未来了，我又回到了这里。今天早上我也是7点多走在香港公园，香港我最爱的地方之一，水泥森林隔壁居然还有这么清新的茶馆和喷泉。也正是在这里，analyst和MD肩并肩，还有晨练的大妈们一起共享新鲜空气。关于香港，关于融入，关于两岸矛盾，关于语言隔阂，这样的话题不管是吃日料还是早茶，总在饭桌上；关于boat trip，万圣节parade，大黄鸭和如今的蹦床摩天轮，也都妥妥在我的相机里。我爱香港的ABCD，但也巴不得他的EFGH可以改一改。别人总会问“你喜欢香港吗”？这是多难一句话回答的问题！就像哪一个结婚的人能一句话给你概括婚姻？特别是，当对着一个普通的朋友的一句随口而问，有

无数私人的回忆和感情，又何必讲出来成长篇大论。某一天我也可能会离开香港，也许是有了异地的爱人，或是有了更好的机会和平台。这会是带着感激的和平分手。虽然你懂得，表面上都会唠唠叨叨“终于轮到老子可以走了！”。

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