Do you actually spend less for junk you don't need in HK?

[casualsurfer]

With the move to HK, we'll be living in a place that's 1/5 the size of our home back in the Midwest. I've been thinking that maybe now my wife and I won't be buying crap we don't need because the place will be so small & cramped. For example, shopping for food the way we do at Costco is no longer an option, which is probably for the best since it's so easy to pile up stuff when you have room. Another is furniture: we'll live in a service apartment for the first year so there's no need to buy anything except maybe a de-humidifier. Clothes: there is no walk-in closet in HK for us so we can't be buying clothes the way we do at outlets anymore, besides we have too much clothes anyway...

So, do you find yourself spending less on stuff you don't really need?

[MovingIn07]

Yes and No. I actually find I am buying less here - not becuase I cannot fit it in the house, but because I find shopping to be a pain in the neck. Difficult to find my size (clothing); difficult to ask about the stuff (language difficulties); shopping is less pleasant (very crowded) and how do I get it home? (no car). I also find I have less time to shop (more travel) and have found other activities (spend weekends hiking rather than shopping).

Having said that shopping seems to be the national past-time in HK - with all the shops packed all the time - so I don't know where they put it all! And depending on what other activities you like, which may or may not be available here, you may find it's what you default to doing too....

So, hard to say.

[jayinhongkong]

Until recently, I spent as much as I ever did, if not more, because I had a lot of stuff shipped to me from the US that I couldn't find locally. I've decided I needed to quit doing that. Trying to liquidate a lot of the stuff I've bought over the last few years, some of which is pretty valuable and has appraised significantly (fortunately).

[casualsurfer]

so if you wanted to unload your junk, is there like an eBay in HK? Or do you just post it here?

[jayinhongkong]

Here or on one of the other similar sites around town. Unfortunately, some of the stuff I buy is pretty hard to sell locally because the demand just doesn't exist in the English-speaking community, so I have to put it up on eBay in the US or UK.