Student

[jrose]

I am an American moving to Hong Kong with another person to attend the University of Hong Kong. We are looking for the most affordable housing. If anyone has a room to spare, we can pay rent. We are not looking to live at the school. We only need one room as well.

ANy suggestoins for poor students trying to find a place to live in HK????
Thanks!!

[greentea]

Why you don't stay at the student hall at HKU? The cost is cheaper and the location is close to Central / downtown of HK.

[jrose]

CAmpus housing is my second choice, the housing looks crappy plus i will be with my boyfriend.

[jimmymakss]

it would possibly a good idea to rent a open-plan apartment, which is normally a big apt (e.g. 1200sft) and divides it into 3-4 open plan apartments with rennovation. You ve got your own space and all facilities such as toilet, kitchen & living area with privacy.
The rent is usually at around HKD$3000-4000 depends on the size and location.

[jrose]

jimmy,
can u tell me more about these open-plan apartments. im starting to stress over my living sitauation. m y boyfriend has a friend in shenzen area he wants to live near him bc its cheaper but i think the comute to hku would be hard. you think?

[Laughing_Monkey]

Thats not an ideal commute. If you aer going to HKU then you want to be on the island or at most in Kowloon. Shenzen is NOT in HK, its in China. It will cost you quite a lot to keep making trips across the border.

HKU is not near an MTR station, so i would suggest looking at bus routes (citybus website is pretty comprehensive, cant remember URL tho, so google it) and choosing it that way. If you are going to be in HK your better off being near the north side of the island because thats where most stuff is.

Alternatively, you could try somewhere like aberdeen that actually still has some character...

I wouldnt recommend Halls in HK, unless youve never lived away from your parents and are looking for a similar environment...

[jrose]

Thank you for your suggestions. I thought the same of the commute from China (I knew Shezen was in China not HK). I am on a gradaute student budget. I have lived on my own in NYC for 3 years and would rather not live in the Halls. Also, my boyfriend will be working so unless we get married we cannot live on campus together.
So you see I am in a situation where i need to find affordable housing off campus. I heard of W Studios, but think it will be tooo small for 2 ppl. what is the cheapest housing you feel we can find?
Also, when renting what paper work/information to show the renter I need when renting an apartment?*****
Thanks again for your help and please keep the suggestions coming!!!!

[-jC-]

possibly explore the Sheung Wan and Sai Yin Pun areas in the western district, they're right at the bottom of pok fu lam, where HKU is...the rent is pretty alright there too. I'm sure you can find open-plan apartments as mentioned earlier in this thread, but if you prefer having your own apartment as well, the rent can range from about HK$4000-HK$6000 a month...but you may have to talk to your estate agent to get the best deal. I'm not sure if you're planning to get an apt before you move down here or otherwise.

You can actually walk to HKU from the Sai Ying Pun area, but there are buses upon buses to take you up there as well.