[henkka]

Hi Everyone,

I am moving with my girlfriend to HK in end of august to study as exchange students at CUHK. We planned that we would rent a room from some hotel for a week or so when moving and during that week we would hopefully get some apartment rented. Is this too optimistic, meaning that is one week enough to get an apartment ?

We would prefer to live somewhere in Kowloon from where to the trip to CUHK wouldn't last more than 40 minutes. She wants to live in some neighborhood where there's a lot of shops, nightlife, etc. ,in general where there is a lot happening. I then again would appreciate if there were good possibilities to go jogging nearby. Are there any good neighborhoods where both our needs would be fulfilled ?

Our budget for rent is 1300HKD/month.

All advice which i didn't notice to ask for is also appreciated.

[PDLM]

If you haven't missed a zero off that figure then I think you have a huge shock coming. HK$1300/month would get you a "cage". It might just get you a tiny bedroom in a shared apartment.

The cheapest you are likely to get any sort of standalone studio apartment (of perhaps 150sq.ft) is, I would guess, about $3000/month.

If you only have $1300 for rent what makes you think you can afford nightlife and shopping?

[henkka]

I actually had missed an zero, our monthly budget is 13000HKD and not 1300.

[desmondng]

I may help you guys looking for apartment, negotiate with the landlord and check the lease agreement, and among others that you need to know living in HK for a reasonable fee. I am a freelance worker and worked in the bank before for 7 years. PM me if you need the help.

[paul9]

If public transit is part of your equation, I highly recommend the book below. It seems that there is no comprehensive bus map online, and since there are two (?) bus systems in HK it can be a pain to figure out the routes. This book documents the transit system very well, even showing where to stand to pick up your bus or mini-bus (trains too). The index is Chinese - ingore that part :-)

Regarding place to live, my only suggestion is to not pass up Hung Hom area. There may be bus to CUHK from there, and it's within range of entertainment action.

Universal Publication,Ltd.

[bullworth]

13k is plenty for a good-sized apartment. May I suggest the New Territories (Tai Wai > Sha Tin > Fo Tan) ... you will get more for your money and i find the locations very convenient - more so than many apartments in Hung Hom. There are buses everywhere and buses back from Central and Wanchai at all hours of the night (which is useful when you're less than sober). It's also not too far from the university. There are also bars in Tai Wai filled with expats in case you can't be bothered travelling.

As for shopping, Festival Walk and New Town Plaza are just 1 stop/5 mins away by train. Mong Kok markets are only 2 stops away as well. I'm a girl and this is one of the best features for me.

There is also plenty of space to jog; along the Shing Mun river is a track, for example.

You can find bus routes at: Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Ltd. or 城巴/新巴 - 周大福企業及新創建集團成員 - 主頁

You can find a map of bus routes at YPMap

Hope that helps...