[david1974]

I will be moving to HK in 8 weeks & have decided to move to the Midlevels - I have been looking at a few estate agents etc....my budget will be between 12 & 15K per month - will this get me a decent 2 bedroom place?
Its difficult to tell from the photos on their websites.....

How much are utility bills in general?

Thanks, D

[david1974]

hi Paul,

Thanks for that - it was very useful!

Originally Posted by Paul

Decent, yes, but probably smaller than you might be used to. Two-bedroom places here can start from 400sq.ft upwards! But, particularly if you go for a building more than 10 years old and aren't worried about the lack of swimming pool, clubhouse etc then it should be no problem.

Utilities depend very much on whether the apartment will be empty during the day and whether you get addicted to aircon. As a single guy in a 1200swq.ft mid-levels apartment which is empty during the day I spend:

Water: about 200-300 HKD per year
Electricity: 250 per month in winter up to 900 HKD per month in summer. (But note that some people seem to burn a lot more - I only put the aircon on when I need it, not by default)
Gas: about 130-150 HKD per month.
Phone: starts at about $110 per month for the line and local calls then whatever you use. UK, US, Canada, Aus calls are generally about HKD 0.4 per minute off-peak (7pm - 9am)

[GraemeK]

Worth noting that all the utilities require deposit payments, ranging from $2000 for Elec to $500 for Gas in my case. Also, the bills come monthly and are generally payable within 7 days. They have no fears about rapidly disconnecting you either, desipte holding these vast deposits..