Skip to main content

Living in Hong Kong

Yesterday I finally arrived in Hong Kong and moved in my new temporary flat, where I will be spending the next two months.

Hong Kong is known for having one of the most expensive property markets in the world. As South China Morning Post reported,  "prices per square foot now exceed HK$10,000 even in drab, unglamorous districts such as Taikoo Shing on Hong Kong Island, where thousands of 700 square-foot units sell for more than US$1 million apiece, more than a large cottage in Provence, France, a 2,700 square-foot bungalow in Hawaii, or a 1,300 square-foot flat on Manhattan’s Upper West Side."

I now have the privilege to experience myself the consequences of the shortage of land and high population density that characterize Hong Kong (and also of recent years' speculation). My new really tiny room (it's the smallest room I've ever lived in) costs 4,000 HKD (around 400 Euros).

Hong Kong's lack of space and huge population are the reasons why the city's skyline is totally different from that of Taipei and other world's major cities. Hong Kong's apartment building are huge, in order to accommodate as many people as possible. Here are some pictures of the area where I live:




View from the window of my room

Another picture taken from my room

Square right in front of my building




Hang Hau MTR station



Apartments, apartments, apartments

After living in Taipei for so long I really appreciate garbage bins. In Taipei, there are almost none (apparently it's because of the unique recycling system in Taiwan, but it's still annoying)



Hang Hau MTR station - front side


Typical Hong Kong taxi

There's no space for flats, but there's always space for a huge department store 



The world’s leading TEFL course provider, i-to-i TEFL has trained more than 127,000 people in the last 18 years. i-to-i TEFL offers world renowned training – either face-to-face training in the classroom, distance learning online or a combination of the two! Learn more!
You Can Live And Work In China

Comments

  1. Danica25 March 2013 at 15:27

    Living in Hong Kong can be more convenient if you can be able to prepare yourself better. You may check the web for guidelines when living in this country.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aris Teon28 March 2013 at 00:14

    Hi Danica, thanks for your comment: ) Well, I had already been to Hong Kong twice, so I was not a total stranger in the city when I arrived. But I guess one can never be fully prepared. Staying in a place for just a few days is totally different from living there for a longer period of time. But so far I am doing fine here: )

    ReplyDelete
  3. CityCabs11 April 2013 at 17:38

    Wow there is a lot to know! I would be totally lost if you didn't post this. It's almost intimidating! But so exciting. I can't wait to go!


    Van Rental Hong Kong

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Window Trick of Las Vegas Hotels

When I lived in Hong Kong I often passed by a residential apartment complex commonly known as the " monster building ".  " Interior of the Yick Cheong Building November 2016 " by  Nick-D  is licensed under  CC BY-SA 4.0 . _____
15 comments
Read more

Living in Taiwan: Seven Reasons Why It's Good to Be Here

Chinese New Year can be a pretty boring time for a foreigner. All of my friends were celebrating with their families, and since I have no family here, nor have I a girlfriend whose family I could join, I had nothing special to do. Shops and cafes were closed - apart from big chains like McDonald's or Starbucks, which were overcrowded anyway. So I had a lot of time to think. On Saturday evening I went out to buy my dinner. While I was walking around, I heard the voices of the people inside their homes, the sounds of their New Year celebrations. Then I suddenly asked myself: "What on earth are you doing here? Why are you still in Taiwan?"  Before I came to Taiwan, some Taiwanese friends of mine had recommended me their country, highly prasing it and going so far as to say that Taiwan is a "paradise for foreigners" (bear in mind that when I say foreigners I mean 'Westerners').  "It's easy for foreigners to find a job," t
30 comments
Read more

Is China's MINISO Copying Japan's MUJI, UNIQLO and Daiso?

Over the past few years Japanese retailers such as UNIQLO and MUJI have conquered foreign markets, opening shops in cities such as Paris, Berlin or New York and becoming household names in several countries. But the success of their business model seems to have inspired people with dubious intentions. As the website Daliulian recently showed, a new chain called MINISO, which claims to be a Japanese company selling ‘100% Japanese products’, seems to be nothing more than a knock-off of UNIQLO, MUJI and Daiso, copying their logos, names and even the layout of their stores. The company’s webpage proudly announces – in terrible English – that “ MINISO is a fast fashion designer brand of Japan. Headquartered in Tokyo Japan, Japanese young designer Miyake Jyunya is founder as well as the chief designer of MINISO, a pioneer in global 'Fashion & Casual Superior Products' field. ” According to the company’s homepage, MINISO advocates the philosophy of a simple,
Post a Comment
Read more

Macau: Gambling, Corruption, Prostitution, and Fake Worlds

As I mentioned in my previous post , Macau has different faces and identities: there is the old Macau, full of colonial buildings and in which the pace of life seems to resemble a relaxed Mediterranean town rather than a bustling, hectic Chinese city, such as Hong Kong or Shanghai. On the other hand, there is the Macau of gambling, of gigantic hotel and casino resorts, and of prostitution. These two Macaus seem to be spatially separated from each other, with an intact colonial city centre and nice outskirts with small alleys on the one side, and bombastic, modern buildings on the other.  The Galaxy - one of the huge casino and hotel resorts The Importance of Gambling for Macau's Economy Dubbed the 'Monte Carlo of the East', Macau has often been portrayed as the gambling capital of China. Media reporting on Macau tend present pictures of the city's glistening, apparently luxurious skyline. But a visit in Macau suffices to realize that it is fa
3 comments
Read more

Trip to Tainan

Tainan Train Station Last weekend I made a one day trip to the Southern Taiwanese city of Tainan (Chinese: č‡ŗ南, pinyin: TĆ”inĆ”n), the former capital and one of the most important centres of culture, history and architecture of the island. This blog post is also intended as a special thank to Grace, a Taiwanese friend who was so kind to show me around, and very patient, too. Since Tainan doesn't have an extensive public transport net, Grace picked me up at the train station with her motorcycle, a vehicle that, along with cars, is regarded by locals as indispensable for living comfortably in Tainan. To my great embarrassment, though, I had to admit that I cannot ride a motorcycle. That's why we had to take busses to move around. It was the first time she ever took a bus in Tainan. And now I know why: busses come more or less every half an hour, and service stops early in the evening. No wonder Tainanese snob public transport. Grace had no idea about the routes and about whe
4 comments
Read more