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"...I'm leaving today..." Well, not today. At some point in July the Woolf family of Pik Uk Village, New Territories, Hong Kong will become the Woolf Family of somewhere in New Jersey.

After almost seven years in the sub tropics, we're making a rather large move. I'll still be with Text100 in the same Global Digital and Social Media role, just based in our Manhattan office. This is a big move and one I've wanted to make for some time and I'm very grateful to Text100 for making it happen.

I guess the genesis of the idea was way back in 2000 when I was part a global PR agency meet-up for a client in Silicon Valley. I was blown away by the scale of PR in the US, and have been fortunate enough to visit on and off for business over the years. Each visit has made me more interested in the possibility of moving.

But it was a tough decision. The past seven years in Hong Kong have been wonderful / chaotic / magical / frustrating / exciting / overwhelming... From a business perspective, we've had ups, downs and ups (as is Hong Kong). Personally we've made some amazing friends and thanks in no small part to the wonder that is Facebook I'm sure we'll cyber-stalk each other for the rest of our days. And there's always a warm house for you in New Jersey if you're ever in need.

We're looking down the barrel of a manic couple of months, so I'm capturing my thoughts here as I  close one chapter in my life and prepare for another. For now, I'll raise a glass to Hong Kong, the fragrant harbour, a city I love for...

* Poolside beers with friends at GreenPeak Villas in Sai Kung
* A pace of life that requires you to shut the elevator doors as people enter
* The Hong Kong PR Network, a networking group created with friends because we saw a need and no-one said 'stop!'
* Dim sum by the beach in Sai Kung
* Driving in Mong Kok on a Saturday morning (the most populous place on earth wasn't designed for cars)
* Trail walking, mountain climbing and road running in Sai Kung
* Halloween in Lan Kwai Fong where one or two drinks turns into a mid-week all-nighter
* Running PR for the Barclays Asia Trophy in 2007
* Chinese New Year fireworks over the harbour, rain or shine (frequently rain!)
* Leaping from the roof of a junk in the middle of the South China Sea

* The violent use of the umbrella (especially by octogenarians)

* Open mic night at Anthony's Ranch, Sai Kung. Actually any night where no-one was on stage and we'd had a couple

* Walking into a meeting and finding a room full of people wearing doctor's masks. Trying not to say 'hello doctors' - and failing
* Proudly mastering the ubiquitous Hong Kong mini-bus and crying 'Yau-lok m'goi' (next stop please) in my best faux-Cantonese

* IKEA deliveries whenever you want - with assembly included - for HKD80

* Mini-rugby with the kids on Sunday morning

* Dinner at Hutong overlooking the world's most beautiful harbour

* Hong Kong Disneyland, a little piece of Southern California in the China Sea

* The Chinese / Thai restaurant by the roundabout in Shek-O

* Cheap taxis that swarm around you unless it's raining, the week before Christmas, or the All Blacks are about to kick off at Hong Kong Stadium

* Being asked to reverse into an elevator in a car parking building with no wing mirrors, refusing and being sworn at in Cantonese

* Frequent and rather cool public holidays
* Leaky air conditioners that never fail to drip on your head

* The Hong Kong Sevens. 'nuff said

* The friendships I've made that will last a lifetime - you know who you are

A final parting thought from a certain Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain)...

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

- Jeremy