Traveler's Nest

Housing in Hong Kong

2015-08-13T08:49:00.002-07:00

Hong Kong has one of the costliest housing in the world. The apartments are typically very small in size. Typically a 500 sqft apartment is considered a luxury, while 300-400 sqft is a norm. The rents can vary from 8,000 HKD up to 200,000 HKD per month depending on the location and building.

Old Chinese Building vs Modern Design

There are lots of old design buildings throughout the city and they are inter-mingled with new design buildings. There can be significant difference in the rents for the two in the same locality. Sometimes, if somebody wants to live in a posh area (like Mid-Levels/Soho), they can choose to live in an old building to make it more affordable. One typical feature is a 'walk-up' building. These are buildings that have only stairs and no lifts due to their old design. They can run up to 5 floors and even 7 floors in some cases. The rents can come down tremendously for upper level floors and some good apartments can be found for a bargain (with free workout everyday).

Areas for Expats

A lot of expats live around Central District as that is where most of the MNC has offices. Some offices are located in Wan Chai and some even in the Kowloon side. Many westerners live in Mid-levels which can be a 15 minutes walk from the office. Mid-levels escalators which move down from 6:00 am to 10:00 am and go up from 10:20 am to midnight can help traveling up and down the hill for people living in the mid-levels. I have been living in mid-levels for the past 7 months and like it a lot personally as it's minutes away from my office in central. If I have an hour long lunch, I can sometimes even come home for lunch.

If you are looking for a larger apartment and more open spaces, you can consider moving to outskirts. Either move to the beach side in the south or you can move to the discovery bay, or even the new territories area (Tsing Yi or Tung Chung). These areas can provide better value for money. However, there can be an increased commute time.

How to Search?

The most common way to search for apartment is through brokers. There are many brokers with offices spread in almost all localities. Just pick up an MTR map. Mark out your office location and look for the places in the lines connecting directly to the office for best commute times. Over the weekend, just visit that location and go to the broker offices that you can easily find roaming around that area. They will show you some apartments and sometimes even ask you to sign as a proof that they showed you the place. Regular stuff.

However, searching through brokers might not be the smartest way to search for housing in Hong Kong. A better way is through Craigslist or ExpatForums. There are lots of fake ads also, but if one searches hard enough some good deals can be found, and sometimes even without brokerage which can save a lot of money.

Contract Period & Brokerage Fees

Typically the contracts are for 1 year long with 1 year extension possible after 1 year. However, this can be tweaked after negotiating with the landlord and the broker. For my case, there was a chance that I might leave Hong Kong after 7 months, so I negotiated for a contract that has an option to vacate after 7 months with a notice period of 1 month. Brokerage Fees is very standard. Half a month rent is paid by the landlord and half a month rent paid by the tenant. The brokers are typically helpful in getting repairs done. They will also take care of getting all the utility connections transferred in your name, which can save a lot of hassle. So, it's not such a bad deal to pay the brokers if they are good.

How much to spend on Housing?

As discussed above the rents can vary a lot and mostly remain on the expensive side for most of the people. Average household income in Hong Kong is HKD 20,000. However, a rent of HKD 8000 is as low as it can get. So, a lot of families spend more than 40% of the salary in rent. Target around 30-40% of the salary as rent and you should be able to save sufficient amount for other things (and there are lots of things to do in Hong Kong as we'll discuss later).

Things to keep in mind before finalizing a house

- Distance from the office for both you and your spouse or partner

- Distance from the grocery stores

- Distance from Sports Complex/Gym/Swimming Pool

- Distance from Schools

- Eating out places in the surroundings

New York Metro (Subway) Map

2012-06-29T02:25:00.000-07:00

London Metro Map

2012-06-29T02:20:00.000-07:00

Rome Metro Map

2012-06-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

Singapore Metro (MRT) Map

2012-06-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

Hong Kong Metro (MTR) Map

2012-06-28T04:38:00.000-07:00

Paris Metro Map

2012-06-28T02:40:00.000-07:00

Bangalore Metro Map

2012-06-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

Hyderabad Local and Metro Maps

2012-06-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Delhi Metro Timings

2012-06-27T09:17:00.001-07:00

METRO TIMINGS

The Metro Trains run from 6/00 AM in the morning till about 11/00 PM in the night.

The trains on the elevated section between Dilshad Garden and Rithala cover a distance of 25.1 Kms in about 45 minutes. The frequency of train services in the elevated section varies from 3 minutes during peak hours upto 12 minutes during non peak hours.

The 44 Kms section between Jahangirpuri and HUDA City Centre(Gurgaon) is covered in about 1 Hrs. 30 minutes. The train frequency varies from 3 minutes at peak time upto 12 minutes in non peak hours.

Line III (Noida City Centre - Dwarka Sector 21) covers a distance of 49 Kms approx. The frequency varies 3 minutes at peak hours and 12 minutes in non peak hours and is covered in 1 hrs. 30 Mins. approx.

Line IV (Yamuna Bank – Anand Vihar(ISBT)) covers a distance of 6.25 kms. The frequency varies 6 minutes at peak hours and 12 minutes in non peak hours. The 6.25 Kms section between Yamuna Bank – Anand Vihar(ISBT) section is covered in 10 minutes approx.

The 15.15 KM long Inderlok – Mundka section is covered in about 30 Mins. Frequency on this section is about 10 mins.

The 20.16 KM long Central Secretariat – Badarpur section is covered in approxi. 30 mins. Frequency varies from 4 mins during peak hours to 12 mins in non peak hours.

The cost for traveling in Delhi Metro ranges from Rs. 8 (minimum) to Rs. 30 (maximum) at present

Metro Timings

Click For First Train Timings Of All Lines

Click For Last Train Details

Metro services will start from 0600 hrs as usual.

Airport Express Metro Line

Operation Timing - 05.00 hrs to 23.00 hrs.

First Train From Dwarka Sector 21 towards New Delhi: 4:45 hrs

First Train From New Delhi towards Dwarka Sector 21: 5:00 hrs

Last Train From Dwarka Sector 21 towards New Delhi: 22:50 hrs

Last Train From New Delhi towards Dwarka Sector 21: 23:00 hrs

Delhi Metro Rail Map

2012-06-27T09:12:00.000-07:00

Mumbai Local Train 2nd Class Train Pass Fare

2012-06-27T08:28:00.001-07:00

Mumbai Local Train 2nd Class Train Pass Fare List Western Railway to OtherStations From Andheri:

Station	Monthly II Class	Quarterly II Class
Churchgate	125	345
Marine Lines	125	345
Churni Road	110	305
Grant Road	110	305
Mumbai Central	110	305
Mahalaxmi	110	305
Lower Parel	95	265
Elphiston Road	95	265
Dadar	95	265
Matunga Road	95	265
Mahim Junction	70	195
Bandra	70	195
Khar Road	70	195
Santacruz	70	195
Vile Parle	70	195
Andheri	0	0
Jogeshwari	70	195
Goregaon	70	195
Malad	70	195
Khandivali	70	195
Borivali	95	265
dahisar	95	265
Meera Road	110	305
Bayander	125	345
Naygaon	125	345
Vasai Road	125	345
Nalasopara	140	385
Virar	155	425
Vitarna	185	510
Safale	205	565
kelve Road	220	605
Palghar	235	645
Boisar	280	765
Vangaon	295	805
Dahnu Road	330	885

Mumbai Local Train 1st Class Train Pass Fare

2012-06-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

Mumbai Local Train 1st Class Train Pass Fare List Western Railway to OtherStations From Andheri:

Station	Monthly 1st Class	Quarterly 1st Class
Churchgate	460	1255
Marine Lines	460	1255
Churni Road	400	1095
Grant Road	400	1095
Mumbai Central	400	1095
Mahalaxmi	400	1095
Lower Parel	340	930
Elphiston Road	340	930
Dadar	340	930
Matunga Road	340	930
Mahim Junction	260	710
Bandra	260	710
Khar Road	260	710
Santacruz	260	710
Vile Parle	260	710
Andheri	0	0
Jogeshwari	260	710
Goregaon	260	710
Malad	260	710
Khandivali	260	710
Borivali	340	930
dahisar	340	930
Meera Road	400	1095
Bayander	460	1255
Naygaon	460	1255
Vasai Road	460	1255
Nalasopara	520	1420
Virar	580	1580
Vitarna	700	1905
Safale	770	2095
kelve Road	830	2260
Palghar	890	2420
Boisar	1070	2905
Vangaon	1130	3070
dahanu Road	1260	3420

Mumbai Local Train Map

2012-06-27T08:04:00.003-07:00

Mumbai Auto Fare Calculation

2012-05-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

Mumbai Autos are the best in India. They pretty much never overcharge you for their service. With increase in prices, nowadays they will often tell you that the meter reading is not what you actually need to pay, but you need to pay a bit more. Don't fight with him! It's true that the fares have increased. But it's very easy to calculate the actual amount you need to pay based on your 'old' meter reading.

The reading starts from 1.0, this translates into Rs. 12. This is the minimum charge for up to 1.6km of initial travel.

For the rest of the journey, the charge is Rs. 7 per km. Every 0.5 of meter reading = 1 km.

Let's take an example.

Meter reading = 4.5.

So, calculation = 12 + (4.5 - 1.0)*2*7 = Rs. 61.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!