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Hong Kong housing
Old 05-12-2017, 05:26 PM   #1
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Hong Kong housing

I just very recently learned of the barely livable conditions some residents of Hong Kong have to endure. For about $300 to $400 USD a resident of Hong Kong gets a 120 Sq. foot living space. Often times they have to share that tiny space with other family members. Wow! It makes me think how good I have it. The poor residents can't afford anything else. I know some residents of HK can afford the very best the city can offer. Other residents must struggle just to survive with old appliances that hardly work and just dirty conditions. Has anyone been to Hong Kong and had the unfortunate experience to see such horrid conditions?
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Old 05-12-2017, 05:48 PM   #2
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I saw in on TV, a small box. But I've heard they even get them smaller, like 64 sqft.
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Old 05-12-2017, 06:44 PM   #3
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That's true in most of China, at least the bigger cities. I've been several times. It's just endless rows of skyscrapers so tall you can't see the tops of the buildings through all of the smog. Poverty is quite high there, and the standards of living are not anywhere near the US.

With all of that said, the people there seem very happy. And obesity is almost non-existent there. And you don't see any processed food there. Even the items in the supermarket, like Nutella, are made with real ingredients, where the Nutella here would be made with HFCS and partially hydrogenated oils. So while we eat crap in the US but live like kings, they live in obscurity but eat lost of fresh vegetables and freshly prepared meals. If they would just stop smoking so much, they would probably live 20 years longer than we do.
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Old 05-12-2017, 07:06 PM   #4
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My daughter did her internship in Hong Kong. I think her apt was under 100 sq ft, and it was over $1000 for rent. They had room for a double bed (not even a queen). Across from the double bed was a little countertop with a single burner hot plate. Under the counter on the left was a dorm sized fridge, and on the right was a combo washer/dryer. If I recall, they had some small drawers next to the washer/dryer. Right after you entered the door, there was a wet bath on the right, with a tiny (10" maybe) closet for hanging clothes. They stored their suitcases (one for DD, one for DSIL), under the bed. They lived like that for 6 months. It is an experience that they cherish and will always remember. Of course, they'd been married less than two years, had always lived a student's existence until then, no kids, lots of time to explore, etc. DD had been to HK with us on a few occasions before from when I was working in Asia, but had only been to pretty nice hotels. I am glad she had the experience because it helps her to appreciate thing that she has a lot more.

When she was finished with her internship, DSIL had arranged with us to surprise her and just show up a week before they were to return. We stayed in a hotel with big front windows right on the street, and we sat in the lobby looking out to the street, and he took her for a walk to pass by the hotel. The look on her face was priceless when she saw us...disbelief and joy all at the same time.
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Old 05-12-2017, 07:16 PM   #5
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That's true in most of China, at least the bigger cities. I've been several times. It's just endless rows of skyscrapers so tall you can't see the tops of the buildings through all of the smog. Poverty is quite high there, and the standards of living are not anywhere near the US.

With all of that said, the people there seem very happy. And obesity is almost non-existent there. And you don't see any processed food there. Even the items in the supermarket, like Nutella, are made with real ingredients, where the Nutella here would be made with HFCS and partially hydrogenated oils. So while we eat crap in the US but live like kings, they live in obscurity but eat lost of fresh vegetables and freshly prepared meals. If they would just stop smoking so much, they would probably live 20 years longer than we do.
I think twice about that kind of claim. If I remember correctly, they recycle cooking oil. Not that healthy. In fact I avoid anything from China, ginger and garlic are two things I've seen often at the supermarket that are from China.
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Old 05-12-2017, 07:21 PM   #6
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That's true in most of China, at least the bigger cities. I've been several times. It's just endless rows of skyscrapers so tall you can't see the tops of the buildings through all of the smog. Poverty is quite high there, and the standards of living are not anywhere near the US.

With all of that said, the people there seem very happy. And obesity is almost non-existent there. And you don't see any processed food there. Even the items in the supermarket, like Nutella, are made with real ingredients, where the Nutella here would be made with HFCS and partially hydrogenated oils. So while we eat crap in the US but live like kings, they live in obscurity but eat lost of fresh vegetables and freshly prepared meals. If they would just stop smoking so much, they would probably live 20 years longer than we do.
Wow, it must be incredibly crowded in the large cities and very,very busy. How were you able to communicate? Do you speak Chinese?
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Old 05-12-2017, 07:51 PM   #7
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Wow, it must be incredibly crowded in the large cities and very,very busy. How were you able to communicate? Do you speak Chinese?
Not a word. They speak a few words of English, but I always had hosts with me for business meetings, and I got by with pointing to things when wandering around on my own.

I have to admit I'm not that crazy about the food in China. Hygiene is not their top priority. The locals I met with, who have been to the US, say they would never eat "Chinese food" in the US. They make fun of our orange flavored chicken and sweet and sour pork. You won't find any of that stuff in China. And I know I'm just a typically naive American, but I really like the orange stuff and the sweet and sour stuff. Chinese food in the US is probably my favorite type of food to eat.

But Chinese food in China...forget about it.
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Old 05-13-2017, 03:13 AM   #8
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I worked 6 months on assignment in Hong Kong in the early 2000's and was given a per diem to cover my living expenses. I tried to find a cheap place so I could allocate my per diem to other stuff. Even back then it accommodations were pricey for what you got. I had a housing person take me around to different options around the island side and Kowloon side. Didn't want to stay in New Territories as it was too far and I didn't want to endure a long commute. One of my coworkers even offered to have me stay at his place he lived with his uncle which was a bit of an eye opener. I ended up "splurging" a bit to stay on the island side but a little further out from the business district in a tiny apartment with a kitchenette instead of potentially being miserable for 6 months.

We've recently stayed a few nights in HK a few times in the last number of years as a jumping off point to other destinations in Asia and it's been pretty difficult to find nice budget accommodations.

With regards to the food, I try not to think too hard about equating the hygiene there versus North America. But I'm also typically game for eating street food within some reason.
Conversely, I think we have some pretty exceptional Chinese food in Vancouver and like it better than most equivalents in HK. The theory being that in anticipation of HK being handed back to China in 1997, there was an exodus of skilled chefs, with Vancouver and other westcoast cities being the primary beneficiaries of this talent.
On the other hand, I'm also not immune to occasionally ordering "North American" Chinese dishes.
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Old 05-13-2017, 04:55 AM   #9
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Over 30 years, I've spent a lot of time in China...maybe a few years all added up. It's an interesting place for sure.

I'd be in a luxury hotel suite (3 rooms and a butler) for about $150 a night (Shanghai, not HK) and look out the window at some concrete building next door with one light bulb and 15 people living in one room. Actually once walked by a guy in a dentist chair on the sidewalk having a tooth pulled!

I was once in a cab that hit a woman on a bike but we kept going. I was told that if the driver stopped he'd have to pay for the bicycle!

But.
The food is great! Always fresh ("they were walking an hour ago!") and good quality vegetables. The people seem generally well fed and healthy and there's an interesting energy going on in the cities with the young people. Of course the pollution gives you a sore throat every day and you can't see the tops of the skyscrapers, but.....

Outside the cities it is what we'd consider third world but the people seem to get along quite well in an agrarian lifestyle.

The thing with Asia in general is that you need to lose your Western expectations of what is right/wrong, good/bad and your view of how things should be.
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Old 05-13-2017, 09:24 AM   #10
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I just very recently learned of the barely livable conditions some residents of Hong Kong have to endure. For about $300 to $400 USD a resident of Hong Kong gets a 120 Sq. foot living space. Often times they have to share that tiny space with other family members. Wow! It makes me think how good I have it. The poor residents can't afford anything else. I know some residents of HK can afford the very best the city can offer. Other residents must struggle just to survive with old appliances that hardly work and just dirty conditions. Has anyone been to Hong Kong and had the unfortunate experience to see such horrid conditions?
Sounds like some areas of the USA right?
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Old 05-13-2017, 11:52 AM   #11
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Sounds like some areas of the USA right?
I don't know if the U.S. is quite like that for what could be considered quite a lot of money for what one would get for a living space. Any step lower than that on the social ladder and it is living on the streets. No room for mistakes in a situation like that.
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Old 06-10-2017, 08:47 PM   #12
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I live in Hong Kong and have been here for more than 15 years. Hong Kong is the most densely populated city in the world, which explains why a living space of 200-300 square feet for families is common and prices are high, and some residents have to deal with even smaller than even that ("coffin homes"). The following articles may explain this better than I can:

‘Nano’ flats on the rise as Hong Kong homes shrink amid high property prices | South China Morning Post

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/20...g-kong/526881/


I've been in some of the sub-divided housing units before, and it's been around for decades. Yes it's very sad.

I believe most Americans are very lucky compared to other parts of the world. Hong Kong is a wealthy city with increasing division between the rich and poor, like everywhere else, but the difference in Hong Kong is that the social safety net is much much less than in the US and so as you mention, really "no room for mistakes". Being in such a compressed city, sometimes we more fortunate folks will get a glimpse those less fortunate have to deal with these difficult situations. Reminds me how lucky I am.
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Old 06-11-2017, 07:55 AM   #13
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Outside the cities it is what we'd consider third world but the people seem to get along quite well in an agrarian lifestyle.

The thing with Asia in general is that you need to lose your Western expectations of what is right/wrong, good/bad and your view of how things should be.
I say in the United States.... it's the opposite. In some area, inside the cities it is what we'd consider third world. ..:-)
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Old 06-11-2017, 09:05 AM   #14
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I just very recently learned of the barely livable conditions some residents of Hong Kong have to endure. For about $300 to $400 USD a resident of Hong Kong gets a 120 Sq. foot living space. Often times they have to share that tiny space with other family members. Wow! It makes me think how good I have it. The poor residents can't afford anything else. I know some residents of HK can afford the very best the city can offer. Other residents must struggle just to survive with old appliances that hardly work and just dirty conditions. Has anyone been to Hong Kong and had the unfortunate experience to see such horrid conditions?
I personally know people that work 2 jobs to pay their rent on their apt in NYC, they have ZERO savings. 529 plan for the kids?? they never heard of that either. I feel bad for them, they are my neighbors. They are still working on their emergency fund, not the 3-6 month one ,they are working on the first $1000 one.
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Old 07-29-2017, 03:15 AM   #15
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I just very recently learned of the barely livable conditions some residents of Hong Kong have to endure. For about $300 to $400 USD a resident of Hong Kong gets a 120 Sq. foot living space. Often times they have to share that tiny space with other family members. Wow! It makes me think how good I have it. The poor residents can't afford anything else. I know some residents of HK can afford the very best the city can offer. Other residents must struggle just to survive with old appliances that hardly work and just dirty conditions. Has anyone been to Hong Kong and had the unfortunate experience to see such horrid conditions?
I lived in HK for 6 years until 2014. The worst living quarter would be the cage home. The landlord would install bunk beds stacked 3 high, as many stacks as possible with narrow walkways in between, the tenants share a bathroom and kitchen. The cage home gets its name from the wire mesh that envelopes each bunk bed which prevents theft. A humanitarian group did a series of temperature measurements at cage homes throughout the city a few years back. At the height of summer when the external temperature was 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit), the interior temperature in one of the cage homes was 57 degrees Celsius (134 degrees Fahrenheit). It is inhumane living conditions and legislations should have been in place to disallow this.
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Old 07-29-2017, 06:43 AM   #16
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I just very recently learned of the barely livable conditions some residents of Hong Kong have to endure. For about $300 to $400 USD a resident of Hong Kong gets a 120 Sq. foot living space. Often times they have to share that tiny space with other family members. Wow! It makes me think how good I have it. The poor residents can't afford anything else. I know some residents of HK can afford the very best the city can offer. Other residents must struggle just to survive with old appliances that hardly work and just dirty conditions. Has anyone been to Hong Kong and had the unfortunate experience to see such horrid conditions?
Actually, that is not much smaller than the studio apartment mi BIL and hid GF occupy in Manhattan - however, they pay many times that amount (assuming you mean $400 a month - if you mean 400 a week then it's about the same ballpark, though still higher
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Old 07-29-2017, 07:07 AM   #17
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I just very recently learned of the barely livable conditions some residents of Hong Kong have to endure. For about $300 to $400 USD a resident of Hong Kong gets a 120 Sq. foot living space.
When I was in the USAF, my room was 12' x 12'. It was designed for three people, but at that time they were 'only' putting two to a room.

I seldom feel sorry for others in other countries, as many right here in the USA have it worse.
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Old 07-29-2017, 07:32 AM   #18
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I've been living in Hong Kong for over 25 years. When I first came out here as a 20 something expat, I rented what was a maid's room in the back of an old walk-up room for what would have been about USD400 per month. Getting a 1 brm on my own would have left me with very little headroom for savings. Housing has always been expensive here - and the premium for larger units over smaller ones is very steep. About half the population lives in housing which is wholly or partially subsidised by the government. And, yes, the rich/poor gap is very wide (although it has a tendency to contract quite dramatically every time we have one our periodic housing busts).

You get used to the smaller living spaces and the congestion. And there are some benefits. The taxes are low and simple - a sizeable proportion of the working population pay no income taxes, dividends, interest and capital gains are not taxed. Public transport is excellent. The dining out options are varied and excellent. Education is of a very high standard.
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