An Expat Talks about Moving to Hong Kong, Hong Kong

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Hong Kong

What advice would you give someone preparing to move to your area about the actual move, choosing a neighborhood and finding a home?

I love the location - we have water views and back up against a mountain and there is lots of greenery around. Least favourite? Mosquitos! Go through an expat agency as opposed to a local agency as the expats agencys tend to understand what Westerners are looking for in accomodation. Local agencies seem not to understand certain requirements eg I went through three separate local real estate agencies and asked to see 4 bedroom apartments and I was shown one bedrooms with walk in alcoves, two bedrooms and three bedrooms. This is not a language thing but they kept suggesting that we could just squeeze in and I had a hard time explainign that my list of criteria was not really negotiable. Location was, price was but my needs weren't.

What type of housing do you live in? Is this typical for most expats in your area?

Apartment. Yes, very typical - houses are a rarity in HK.

Are your housing costs higher or lower than they were in your home country? What is the average cost of housing there?

Substantially higher. $40,000HK gets you around 2000 plus feet per month depending on location.