[marianna]

Hello all. I am relocating with my company to open a branch office in Asia. The plan is to stay in Hong Kong for 6 months and then decide on a permanent location for our office. My paperwork is squared away, just waiting for work visa approval. Having never been to HK myself, I am reaching out to all available resources for advice on living location.

I am looking for a 1 bedroom furnished apt to lease for 6 months to both live and work out of. For work, I will need high-speed internet access for VPN and server access in the US. I also need access to public transport, preferrably MTR to get to Wan Chai for visits to our partner office and the airport for frequent travels to customers. For personal, I like being around people and having easy access to shops and food but I don't go out socially often so access to bars/nightclubs is not a priority. I would also like to bring my dog if possible, so I am looking for pet-friendly areas and properties.

Company is paying living expenses except food and personal items such as dvds, books, etc. Boss has given budget of $600-$800 USD/month for room, utilities, etc. Is this possible given my requirements for business and short-term lease needs? I have looked at serviced apartments, but I think the boss would faint if he had to consider that budget.

What areas do you suggest to best meet all of my criteria?

Thanks all.

[jaykay]

Originally Posted by marianna

Hello all. I am relocating with my company to open a branch office in Asia. The plan is to stay in Hong Kong for 6 months and then decide on a permanent location for our office. My paperwork is squared away, just waiting for work visa approval. Having never been to HK myself, I am reaching out to all available resources for advice on living location.

I am looking for a 1 bedroom furnished apt to lease for 6 months to both live and work out of. For work, I will need high-speed internet access for VPN and server access in the US. I also need access to public transport, preferrably MTR to get to Wan Chai for visits to our partner office and the airport for frequent travels to customers. For personal, I like being around people and having easy access to shops and food but I don't go out socially often so access to bars/nightclubs is not a priority. I would also like to bring my dog if possible, so I am looking for pet-friendly areas and properties.

Company is paying living expenses except food and personal items such as dvds, books, etc. Boss has given budget of $600-$800 USD/month for room, utilities, etc. Is this possible given my requirements for business and short-term lease needs? I have looked at serviced apartments, but I think the boss would faint if he had to consider that budget.

What areas do you suggest to best meet all of my criteria?

Thanks all.

Firstly you do need to speak with your boss about budget. US$800 is only about HK$6240 which is not a lot to lease any apartment let alone a funrnished one with all utilities paid. The second issue is the 6 month requirement. 99.9% of rentals are for 12 months at least. So to meet your requirements you would have to consider services apartments or flat shares. Every so often though you do get people advertising short term leases of their places directly on sites like this. Not the norm though.

HK is very densely populated so you will always be around people. Shops are everywhere. Not all buildings accept pets so you will need to find out from real estate agents or building management the rules. Public transport here is some of the best in the world and bus and train travel is so easy an extremely cheap.

High speed internet here is the norm so not a problem, again extremely cheap as is all telecoms here. Again you will need to sign at least a 12 month contract.

Hard to say where is the best place to live. But it looks like you will have a limited budget anyway. Maybe you should consider areas such as Tung Chung on Lantau, close to airport, has an MTR station that takes you HK side and is relatively cheap. Your budget wouldn't really get you anything decent in Kowloon, not convenient anyway.

Frankly speaking if your boss is serious about moving into HK he needs to do a bit more research first and needs to be prepared to dig a little deeper into his pockets.

[Sleuth]

Where are you coming from? I'm with jaykay, your budget is way low. I doubt that budget would work in smaller city-USA, let alone HK. When you are looking at HK, think NYC plus.
Not sure who my company used to figure the budget, but they were told you would need about 10 times your budget for a 2 BR with a long-term lease. That might also have included utilities.

[marianna]

Thanks for the responses. I had a feeling about the budget already. Can anyone give ideas on properties on Lantau?
About internet, when you say cheap what do you mean? Is there any company better than the other?

[Bobbybo]

Marianna, how do I have the feeling your company and your boss are from Veneto in Italy? I had a couple of offers that just look like yours from that area...

[marianna]

Originally Posted by Bobbybo

Marianna, how do I have the feeling your company and your boss are from Veneto in Italy? I had a couple of offers that just look like yours from that area...

Sorry. We are in the US.

[Bobbybo]

Originally Posted by marianna

Sorry. We are in the US.

Never mind. It was a guess just based on my experience and from your name that sounds Italian.
I personally refused both the offers and waited for a better one. In 1999, after waiting for almost one year, I got the good one and I finally moved to Asia.
Wish you good luck!

[Sleuth]

Here are some links for HK propety:

http://www.gohome.com.hk/english/home.asp?
http://www.centanet.com/ehome.htm
http://www.sallmannsres.com/properties/
http://www.hongkonghomes.com/hong_ko.../eng/index.htm

[sunniefaith]

Originally Posted by marianna

Thanks for the responses. I had a feeling about the budget already. Can anyone give ideas on properties on Lantau?
About internet, when you say cheap what do you mean? Is there any company better than the other?

You might want to have a look at Park Island. It takes about 30 mins or so to get to the airport. A shuttle bus to Tsingyi and then the airport express. To Wanchai, catch a ferry and then a train. Took me about 40 mins yesterday. A 1 bedroom flat costs probably about HK$6000 or so. It's about the same distance as Lantau to get to Wan Chai but I would think Lantau would be nearer to the airport.

http://www.centalist.com/listing/search_e.asp

Try this link and do a search on outlying islands. A list of both sales and rentals will come up. No pics though and very little description.

[marianna]

Originally Posted by Sleuth

Here are some links for HK propety:

http://www.gohome.com.hk/english/home.asp?
http://www.centanet.com/ehome.htm
http://www.sallmannsres.com/properties/
http://www.hongkonghomes.com/hong_ko.../eng/index.htm

Thanks for the links.
We are going to go with a 12 mo lease. I've been looking at flats online at various property sites including the above. Carribbean Cost keeps coming up in my searches, but the reviews here are mixed. I like what I see in the pics as far as layout and size for the money. Can anyone recommend properties with similar features?

Thanks