Great Expectations is a novel set in early Victorian England, a time when great social changes were sweeping the nation. At its core is the desire for wealth and social advancement. The Industrial Revolution of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries had transformed the social landscape, enabling capitalists and manufacturers to amass huge fortunes.
Does this sound just a little bit familiar to today’s Macau – albeit that in place of manufacturing is the gaming business?
As in the book, the divisions in the territory between rich and poor remain nearly as wide as ever. Pip, the novel’s protagonist, works at a job he hates, considering himself too good for his surroundings but experiences material success he would otherwise not have achieved.
With economies in tatters and work opportunities scarce in many countries in the West, Macau is certainly a draw to many expatriates. Good money can be made.
It never ceases to amaze me however, how little research people do before getting here, to prepare their expectations, especially when it comes to housing.
Some have more of a challenge than others in a acclimatizing. “I have a 6 bedroom house in Las Vegas, a garden, pool and parking for 3 cars” explained one new arrival, and whilst he realized that he would need to downsize in Macau, he found the cramped high rises in central Taipa depressing so “I’m hoping to rent someone’s pool house”.
Does anyone in Macau have a pool house I ask myself? If you do, please give me a call – we’ve got a tenant for you!
Sure, a lot of the properties are poorly constructed, built at breakneck speed to please the hungry developers. Its not unusual to find the security guard cooking his fish and rice lunch in the lobby. Ovens, a basic necessity in Western homes, are a luxury here. Shortages in quality apartments enable greedy landlords to keep putting up rents. Since January 2012 we note rents have increased 34% in one managed Taipa apartment complex; offering exactly the same unit and services, just that the furniture and fixtures are 2-years more worn!
We may not be able to find the brand of cereal or peanut butter that we have, “back home”. Some days the pollution hangs suspended in a haze over the city. Traffic jams, parking problems, no taxis just when you need one, frustrations that its impossible to find enough skilled local staff – and if you do, they’ll likely move within the year to another job offering MOP100 a month more. It can be exasperating not to be able to read official documents or government websites, that when it rains you get wet walking to board a ferry whilst the long-delayed new ferry pier continues to be built …..
But I say, take Macau as it is. Temper your expectations. Instead of grumbling, we should be pinching ourselves and remembering our good fortune to be able to be witnesses and be part of one of the most exciting places on earth, perched as we are on the edge of a river delta of the most populous and fast-developing country in the World. Unfolding in front of our very eyes, infrastructure programmes the likes of which it would be rare to match elsewhere. With revenues five times its sister in Las Vegas, Macau is an amazing, exciting, happening place, a growingly vibrant, cultural melting pot. How lucky we are!
