[woodsta1]

Hey guys,

I am going to be studying in HK for the first 6 months of '06 and was wondering how much money i will probably be spending? My accommodation will be covered (in Kowloon) and I was wondering about $HK10,000 per month for stuff like food, transport, entertainment etc...? Im not the sorta person that will be eating at expensive restaurants and all that but at the same time don't wanna have to be a bit of a tight arse about things either. Any tips? also, any tips on meeting up with people over there cos I won't know anyone when i get there?

cheers for any help!

woodsta

[mrcheese321]

I'm an exchange at HKUST this semester. I've been here since late August.

I live in a dorm and that takes care of my entire accomodation (room + all bills). My budget shows that I have spent about 7k/month here. That is pretty much just for food, transportation and enteratinment.

My eating habits: I usually eat about 3-4 meals a week away from the campus dorm with costs averaging 150HK/meal. Other than that, I tend to just eat at the canteens here (20HK-60HK/meal) or I buy groceries and cook for myself.

Entertainment wise: I usually go out with this group when I can (300-500/night) and then hit the clubs and bars about once every two weeks with other friends (300-1000HK/night).

Traveling: Included in that budget is a trip to Macau for 3 days, a trip to Bali for 3 days, and a 5 day trip to Singapore/Kuala Lumpur. I've done other trips, but those came out of a different budget so they are lumped in this one.

HTH,
C

[mrcheese321]

You asked about meeting people...there will be a ton of other exchanges to hang around with. If you want more of a local flavor, then join a club for a semester and you will meet people that way (I joined the finance association). Also, this group is a good group to hang out with. A lot of people here are young enough to still be cool to hang out with

c

[woodsta1]

cheers mr.cheese,

well that gives me an idea cos i didn't really have anything to go on.

[EUChinese]

Depends on what your life style is like. some people who feed a whole family with $7k including paying rent. so you being a student anything $5k upwards you will survive quite comfortably

[GOODMAN]

Holy smoke ! you must be loaded if you spent 150$HK a meal ! You can get a decent meal with a drink at the local restaurants or Café-style joints for less than 50$HK.
As far as entertainment goes, it’s it can be the price of a movie ticket to a couple of thousands in a club. It all depends one’s life style….

Originally Posted by mrcheese321

I'm an exchange at HKUST this semester. I've been here since late August.

I live in a dorm and that takes care of my entire accomodation (room + all bills). My budget shows that I have spent about 7k/month here. That is pretty much just for food, transportation and enteratinment.

My eating habits: I usually eat about 3-4 meals a week away from the campus dorm with costs averaging 150HK/meal. Other than that, I tend to just eat at the canteens here (20HK-60HK/meal) or I buy groceries and cook for myself.

Entertainment wise: I usually go out with this group when I can (300-500/night) and then hit the clubs and bars about once every two weeks with other friends (300-1000HK/night).

Traveling: Included in that budget is a trip to Macau for 3 days, a trip to Bali for 3 days, and a 5 day trip to Singapore/Kuala Lumpur. I've done other trips, but those came out of a different budget so they are lumped in this one.

HTH,
C

[mrcheese321]

Originally Posted by GOODMAN

Holy smoke ! you must be loaded if you spent 150$HK a meal ! You can get a decent meal with a drink at the local restaurants or Café-style joints for less than 50$HK.
As far as entertainment goes, it’s it can be the price of a movie ticket to a couple of thousands in a club. It all depends one’s life style….

Ehh....I live pretty comfortably. But on the other side, since I spend only 20HK/meal for 5-6 meals out of the week (I pretty much don't eat breakfast), I figure that I can splurge and go out for a couple of meals every week. These meals are usually with friends and I pretty much balance to my food budget this way.

One thing that I wanted to mention. You are going to want to bring cash for your first month/month 1/2 expenses with you. I know that a lot of banks hold money for 30 days on foreign drafts and you will be moneyless if you don't bring the cash with you. Also, your first month is going to include a lot more expenses than a regular month. I.E. books (which really aren't that expensive if you compare them to the US), basic groceries, laundry basket, furniture, etc.

Have fun studying here, I know that I have had a blast so far...

C

[woodsta1]

yeah sounds good, my budget will hopefully provide for some short trips around the region such as Macau, possibly Yangshuo, and based on your info, sounds like that could be possible, cheers guys!

[mrcheese321]

It is definitly possible.

There are a ton of places to go from here that are really cheap flighst away. Of course, coming from Austarlia, I'm sure you have been to a lot of the more popular SE Asia destinations, but SE Asia has a lot of fairly cheap places to travel to as well.

Two more pieces of advice. 1) Travel early if you are going to travel and 2) Locals are really good at memorizing things and regurgitating, so if your classes are based on things like definitions, make sure you know them backwards and forwards of you will get killed on tests.

c

[woodsta1]

Yeah sounds like good advice cheese, actually you made me realise that i haven't really given much thought to actually "studying" in HK, i've been so preoccupied with all the logistics of the trip. I've heard so much about HK and the locals being really hard workers which is something i'm hoping will rub off on me while i'm there!
You mentioned that you hang out with these guys? do you get together with the others on this site? cos if so, i'd definitely be up for that because i'm sure its one thing to socialise with other students but i'm sure it would be just as interesting actually meeting some people who live in HK, cos thats ultimately what i am thinking about doing myself if all goes well!

woodsta