Anyone had a shoebox living experience in HK Island?

[ingenue]

I was on the border of Central/Sheung Wan by the Man Mo temple...it was 400 sq ft but beautifully done and I was paying $15k until I moved out last month. If you've always been a city dweller in smaller apartments (I lived in New York for years) then you will definitely get adjusted to a smaller space quite quickly, especially cuz you'll hardly be home due to work/socializing and all that.

However, apartments like that tend to be starter ones for the newcomer to HK...it does get a bit claustrophobic after a while, especially if you constantly have visitors staying with you. I managed to get through 1.5 years myself.

My old apartment may still be up for grabs (not sure though), if you're prepared to pay $15-$18k...just send me a PM if you are, and I'll ask my old landlord. If you're looking to spend less, consider checking with local agencies instead of the more expat-oriented ones...my friend just found himself an older 650 sq ft apartment with great space usage on Wing Lok Street in Sheung Wan for under $12k.

Good luck!

[Simtub]

I guess a little bit of it is about luck and whether you find a decently renovated place to live in. I've seen some horrid pics of these studio flats advertised on some rental sites but at the same time I've seen pretty decent contemporary looking ones.

I have minimal gear to bring with me to HK so space for storage isn't such a big issue, I could try and live it out for a year in one of these places as it will mean less travelling around to get to my local hotspots.

[carang]

i lived in a hostel in Chung King Mansions back in 1995. I paid about $8000/month for roughly 50'. I think that qualifies as a shoebox! it was a private room with a "bathroom". the door touched the helper-sized bed when you opened it and the bathroom was the kind where you stand on the floor and shower standing on the floor. it was less than 2' wide...but i NEEDED a place to stay, so i took it. it was immaculately clean (strange for CKM!)

I couldn't afford the deposit for a flat, although i could afford the rent!

you do what you have to do. it wasn't the best experience of my life, but it certainly wasn't my worst.

[PDLM]

It's 343 sqaure foot and has a seperate bathroom and kitchen and a double bed/sofa/tv/desk for laptop combo area.
...
$15,100 per month

Am I alone in thinking that this is an extraordinary rip-off? A quick Gohome query shows 96 properties available on HK Island at less than $15,000 and over 800 sq.ft!

(Yes, I know that Gohome has its limitations)

[Trebor]

Well unfortunately I didn't have that site when i was looking for somewhere and although the extra space would have been nice, i doubt i would have used it and as im not paying i don't really care as i go home in 2 months.

Plus where i am now is a 5 minute walk to my office.

Edit - And some of those on that list have the actual space down as a lot less than the advertised space.