Batgung

we're just back from Canada, important to look for quiet environment with lots of fresh air. We're considering Mount Parker Lodge in Quarry Bay, but wonder if there'll be any disturbance during sleep(esp in early morning) caused by noise from early morning strollers on the Mount Parker Road nearby and from the planes. If you're staying in the neighourhood, grateful if you can share your experience.

llam

You've found an area of Hong Kong you like, and chosen a development you're happy with. Now how do you choose the best flat?

Here are some questions to think about: Read more »

Many of the excellent reader comments made on this article about the cost of living in Hong Kong have focused on the relative merits of keeping a car here, and how having one can be crucial if you’re living in a village outside Hong Kong’s urban areas. Read more »

If you are planning to buy your first flat (aka apartment or condominium) in Hong Kong, you’re probably wondering how to get the best deal, while avoiding any expensive mistakes. Read on for Batgung's recommendations on trouble-free house-hunting.

As I mentioned in my previous article on Hong Kong town planning, it's curious -- in a wonderful way, of course -- that Hong Kong's extreme population density, coupled with 'Radiant City' town planning that's produced mostly urban hellholes in other countries, has resulted in a very livable city that's among the world's safest. Read more »

I've recently read a classic book on town planning, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, by Jane Jacobs. Jacobs burst on to the town planning scene with this book in the early 1960s, and has been the sage of what's been termed 'New Urbanism' ever since. She unfortunately passed away recently. (You can find a fairly recent interview with her here if you're interested.)

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I've griped about it myself: pollution and a general indifference to the environment in Hong Kong. But in one way, at least, Hong Kong is surely one of the world's most environmentally-sound cities. How can that be, you ask, through a haze of air pollution, standing next to a harbor that's a toxic soup? Read more »

Question: How about some basic info on things like rent prices, typical wages, cost of living, etc?

Mr B replies: For wages, a rough translation is that an HKD monthly salary is about the same value as an equivalent GBP annual salary (e.g. getting HKD30K a month is like getting GBP30K a year). Accommodation may be more expensive (though it's dropped a lot in the last six years), but you'll pay a lot less tax. I felt better off here on the same salary.  Read more »

As Mr T describes, life in a high-rise can be a shock for us small-town folk, and the side-effects take a bit of getting used to. All at once you live much closer to a bunch of families than you ever have before, but you have no idea who they are. The previous flat we lived in had an especially lively assortment of characters in the neighborhood.

Beans ! Every morning at around 8am we'd hear a rattling noise on the aircon and window panes. By chance the source of the rattling bounced in through the window one morning -- an uncooked red bean. So every morning, someone on a higher floor would reach out of their bedroom window and set free a handful of red beans. If you have any idea what significance this has, please share -- is there a local god that is particularly fond of red bean offerings? Read more »