Living in Hong Kong Apartments
Posted on October 23, 2009
Filed Under Apartment Living | 9 Comments
With more than 250 islands, Hong Kong is the special administrative region of China. Earlier a British colony, Hong Kong became a part of China in 1997, under a special agreement. Hong Kong has now become one of the prominent economies of the region.
Since an ex-British colony, a strong westernized influence is prevalent in Hong Kong’s culture. Al though, the majority of population of the city is the Chinese, the area does have a significant contingent of other nationals including Americans, Australians, British, Canadians, Japanese, and Koreans, as Hong Kong offers a great stop for Western business firms who want to crack the local market. Further, the liberal tax system has attracted many Expats to fill employment options in the region. Hence, it is no wonder why property market is booming in Hong Kong.
Among the accommodation options available in Hong Kong, perhaps the most sough after one is apartments. An apartment in Hong Kong is a self contained residential unit, which is mostly a part of a large building or property. For many reasons, both expatriates and natives choose to live in Hong Kong apartments. Perhaps the most important reasons are convenience and lifestyle it renders.
Another prime reason to choose apartments as dwelling place is that it allows to live in an environment of sophistication and luxury. When it comes to expatriates, these apartments provide them a feeling of living in their home country, thereby enabling them to lead a smoother life in the region. Additionally, living in Hong Kong apartments avoids the problems with the language barrier. Above all, a foreigner who wishes to own an apartment in Hong Kong need not have to comply with any specific legal requirement.
Based on your requirements, you can choose from a continuum of superb apartments, from garden and furnished apartments to self contained and serviced apartments. There are also apartments that are specially designed for students, such as, student apartments.
Mostly, this type of apartment comes complete with superb facilities including excellent accommodation, high speed internet access, and uninterrupted power as well as water supply. Further, many of these apartments are located within the easy reach of top academic institutions in Hong Kong. All of this provides a great atmosphere in order to promote your academic success. For those seeking luxury, then one of the best choices would be stunning serviced apartments coupled with extensive recreational as well as sporting facilities. Usually, these apartments range from 1000 to 5000 sq ft.
Different types of apartments in Hong Kong are further categorized into duplex apartments, studio apartments, and townhouses. Duplex apartments are mostly situated on the bottom floor, and range from small building with two to five apartments to large property with more than 50 or 60 apartments. A studio apartment is an accommodation facility with a large living area, apart from a kitchen and bath area. In townhouses, a family will get more space as well as a comfortable feel. One of the specialties of townhouses is that mostly they are located in rows.
Likewise, depending upon the members of the family, apartments types include apartments with one bedroom – which come with built-in wardrobes, luxury bathrooms, and fully equipped kitchen; two-bedroom apartments, which in most cases garage unit will be included in the price; and three-bedroom apartment, which is much spacious and inclusive of high end comforts such as kitchen, lounge, laundry, and a marvelous terrace.
One of the prime advantages of living in Hong Kong apartments is that it enables you to live amid diverse community. Another advantage is that you will be always surrounded by a large number of neighbors and friends. If you acquire apartments on rental or lease basis, then some of the apartments charge rent, which is sometimes inclusive of electricity, local telephone service, cable TV hook up, and trash disposal. Another great benefit of owning an apartment in Hong Kong is that it serves as an excellent long term investment.
For example, according to certain recent records, a luxury three-bedroom apartment in Hong Kong cost about $9000 per month to rent. Benefits of living in apartments also include low maintenance cost. Many of the people living in Hong Kong are engaged in high powered jobs, which make them difficult to maintain a single detached home. But, living in an apartment allows you to avoid lengthy commutes and eliminate high maintenance charges.
Owning or renting an apartment in Hong Kong is no longer a chaotic process. A plethora of real estate companies and construction companies are there in order to help finding your dream apartment. However, the prices of apartments in Hong Kong are exceptionally high.
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Help answer the question about studio apartment living
how much would electricity cost monthly for 1 person living in a studio or 1 bedroom apartment/artist loft?please give me estimates. i'm planning on moving out on my own. The apartment costs about $550 a month for a studio. Electricity has to be paid by the renter (me) and I'm just wondering if I can afford additional costs. Hopefully electricity does not cost more than $50 a month or so.
This apt./loft is in MD. A loft has unusual windows that can be "energy saving/efficient". you know those? I'm sure heat and AC is in the place. Not sure if it's electric or not. Right now I live with mom and the utilities are free, but this place I am looking at you'd have to pay only for electricity (and rent). I also have a PC, TV, stereo, etc. Everyone has these, right? It's not like I have a gadget with me that requires an entire building's electricity requirements. Just looking for estimates. I've seen some good answers so far. Not bad.
I have to give props for the guy who lives in MIAMI and does not use AC! LOL.
About Author
Wantanee Khamkongkaew is an independent author evaluating and commenting on leading International Property Consultants in Asia and Greater China, especially CB Richard Ellis.
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9 Responses to “Living in Hong Kong Apartments”
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The cost of living in Hong Kong is notably high compared to several other Asian regions. It used to rank among the top three in the past two decades in having the highest cost of living.
Recently, it only made the 5th spot in all Asian states and 79th globally. The deflation was mainly due to the weakening US and Hong Kong dollar. Expatriates are looking forward to making the move since the turn of events. Living in Hong Kong is 50% more expensive than Thailand and 20% more expensive than Singapore and Guang Zhou.
Wow – good question!
Unless you are a HK resident, don't hold your breath for public housing. As in HK, everything that can be speculated for $$ are snaped up like money on the ground.
The average middle of the road residential rent run between US$1.5 – 2.0 per square foot of unit space. ( which is usually about 120% of the actual space ) Of course that highly depends on the area. The peak or the mid hill areas can easily cost 4 -5 times as much.
Just remember, in HK, the cost of land per square foot is always in the tops. But on the other hand, don't let that scare you. As many peasants survive on monthly income of US$1000 or less.
It's not bright or rosy, but that's how many live from day to day amongst a crowd of almost 7 million.
Well that's an interesting question, but there are a few things you need to get cleared up with your firm.
1) See if you can get your company to pay you in HK$$, the main reason is because you won't have to pay taxes because 65k USD falls bellow the taxable limit, and because you're an expat the US government actually allows you something like a 70k USD allowance for living in HK, so in a way your 65K USD will be tax free cash while you're there.
2) The rent in HK is pretty crazy, but don't think this reflects the rest of your living expenses. HK is a pretty expensive city, but most of it is just in the rent. Other living expenses (food) aren't dirt cheap, but it's really no different than major cities in the US.
3) most firms will give people an expat package, which includes housing, when they move them to places like HK. So it's kind of interesting that your firm won't.
Anyways, on one hand I would say Yes you can afford to live there, but on another I think your firm should be doing more for you if their sending you there.
Hope this helps.
It seems as though you aren't seeking an answer, but I would say that no government should establish any pension plan.
People should be free to keep their money rather than hand it over to the government, then invest it as they see fit. After you pay taxes then account for corruption and government waste, the return on investment into a government pension would be horrible.
It basically costs about HK$4000-5000 for living per person a month.
more info about HK
http://www.chinafacttours.com/travel_destinations/guide-to-hongkong.html
Yes, I use to lived in Ma On Shan where there are this apts. called The Villa or someting like that. It was like 5 years ago.
The problem you'll most likely face in terms of job search is there will be tons of other people looking for jobs too. Many of these people might have an advantage with a degree and/or can speak/write/read Chinese. Trust me, it won't just be local Hong Kong people, but also people from China as well as people from other countries. I've met a few non-Asians who can speak Chinese better than people in Hong Kong.
Because you're going for a very specific field of study, you might want to check with your profs to see if there's any opportunities for you to work with labs or university programs in Hong Kong in similar field. That would give you your advantage.
I am not sure if you can stay there for 6 months on a visitor's visa. You might need to apply for a working visa. Most apartments in Hong Kong, at least the ones you've mentioned require a 12-month contract with 1 month deposit, 1-2 month in advance, so unless you've enough to pay 3-4 months of rent up front, it's going to be difficult. Yes, there are tons of apartments in Hong Kong, but do keep in mind that because the cost of buying a place in Hong Kong is quite expensive, most people rent, so you might have a hard time finding a nice little decent one. Oh yah, most apartments in movies are considered the larger units. The majority of apartments are between 500-700 sq. ft. So, don't be expecting anything 2 spacious bedrooms with a large living room and dining room and kitchen, etc.
In regards to living in Hong Kong and Hong Kong people, times have changed. Most people just go on and mind their own business (they don't short change you unless you act like a clueless tourist). Just stick to supermarkets where you just pick whatever you need off the shelf. Stay away from the fresh food markets, cuz you'll need to communicate with the merchants in Chinese.
There are tons of foreigners living in Hong Kong and they manage well, so I don't see how you can't.
people offically turn into an adult here when they touches 18. if the parents & family allowed…they can live independently w/ no doubt.