Loads of these cost of living questions on a budget before which I have endeavored to answer in detail previously :should be searchable .
My call is you will need to almost double your accommodation budget for what you want .
Anything clean does not exist in sham shui po or like areas : I'm not fussy but even for me it's a crowded cess pit these days .
By the way I'd love a poster to up date their post one day after a move' and tell us how wrong we were in our advice: or otherwise .
One other point is if you share you will often be sharing a maid to maintain the flat : that alone ups the price : just something to keep in mind to ask about any flat share
Last edited by hongkong7; 04-08-2015 at 10:07 PM.
A friend of mine who offers her 2 extra rooms for flat share in Wan Chai area, and they are within your budget. You may contact her when you come here.
SSP is not a total shit hOle. They have a great Michelin starred cha chaang teng if that means anything.
Yes sham sui po appledorms are tiny but very clean. Your standards gotta be dirty dog low to do anything even half way affordable on island side. I live in SSP and im cozy. Lots of 20 something intern from europe and n. America here. Mtr closes everwhere at 12 30 am nightly but cabs are plentuful and crazy cheap. From sham shi po to Lan kwai fong is $80 hkd on a saturday night
Wow, how do you manage $80? Tunnel fees included?
You may be able to get a smaller subdivided unit or flat share on the island - suggest you check facebook groups like Hong Kong Expats, Hong Kong Apartments for rent, Desperately Seeking Hong Kong, Live in Hong Kong, Expats in Hong Kong etc lots of people seem to have suitable accommodation within your budget. Clean and small is possible luxury not likely. As others have said as a general rule (some exceptions I know) HK Island more expensive than Kowloon > New Territories > Lamma Island etc (not DB).
Your sexuality may (please don't jump on me for saying this it is my observation/view) cause issues with those who think its negative/are narrow minded etc which is an unfortunate issue in HK - unlikely to be an issue with an expat or foreigner. Sorry to say this but homophobia will be present in some places just like racism/any other ism/phobia. Feel free to pm me if you need more Facebook group names.