From one of my favourite columnist - the budget tai-tai Tabitha Wang.
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/254147.asp
Home, sweet home
In Hong Kong, you are where you live
Topping my list of things to do the moment I touched down at Chek Lap Kok airport was to find a place to live.
Despite the dire warnings I had been given about how rents in Hong Kong are the highest in Asia, if not the world, I wasn't too worried.
Unlike in Singapore, property agents have brick-and-mortar shops here.
There is no need to wade through the classifieds to find them — they are everywhere. If an area is very popular — such as the Mid-Levels — there are rows of such shops, all displaying enticing photos in their windows. All you have to do is pick one and pop in.
But I had reckoned without a few things. One was that owners don't tie up exclusively with an agent here, which means there could be up to a dozen trying to rent you the same flat.
It may sound convenient — one agent can show you every flat available in the area if you wish — but it also means you don't get a chance to bargain prices down.
With so many agents competing, the owner is likely to choose the one who comes up with the best offer. So, most agents try to get prospective tenants to go for the flat with the highest rent.
Having dealt with nightmarishrealtors in Singapore, aggressive sales tactics were the least of my worries. The real headache was trying to decide which area to live in. It was no use asking the locals.
Don't get me wrong. It's not that they don't care. Hong Kongers are as obsessed about land as Singaporeans — perhaps more so, given how much of Hong Kong Island (the most desired piece of real estate in the Special Administrative Region) is made up of mountains so that the only build-able areas are along the coastline.
The problem is, if you ask a local where the good areas are, you never get a straight answer. Instead, he is more likely to profile you: “Hmm, you strike me as someone who likes to shop, has no children, so you don't need to be close to schools ... try Causeway Bay.”
Even strangers you have spoken to for about one second at a party will try their hand at this amateur personality profiling.
It was only after I arrived that I realised why the Hong Kong-based friends I had emailed before the move refused to commit themselves to which would be a good area to live in.
“It depends,” they had said. If pressed, they would reluctantly tell you where they are living but added quickly: “It suits me, but I don't know about you.”
Eventually, someone spelt it out for me: “Where you live says something about who you are. If you pick The Peak or Repulse Bay, you are old money. If you plumb for the Mid-Levels, you are either a new expat or an upper-middle class local. If you live in the Outlying Islands, you are either a farmer or a hippie expat.”
It finally made sense. It wasn't how much you could pay, but what sort of image you wanted to project.
I was shown flats in North Point — an area that had no recommendable qualities other than being an interchange station for even more ulu areas with flats costing as much as those in the Mid-Levels.
We have the same thing in Singapore too, don't we? Katong for old money, Marine Parade for beach-loving family types, Toa Payoh for heartlanders, Orchard Road and Tanglin for the expats — every area has a personality.
My problem now was to pick a place that would suit a laidback Katong Girl who loves bargain shopping and a city-lover who wants to be within walking distance of Central, the equivalent of our CBD.
I wanted Wan Chai, the world of Suzie Wong, with its wet markets and dark alleys selling counterfeit goods. My husband wanted somewhere in the city, as close to his office as possible.
We settled for the Mid-Levels, wheremost first-time expats end up, because it's only 10 minutes' walk to Central. So, what does it say about us?
I don't know and I don't care because the flat has a roof terrace with a view of The Peak and that's good enough for me.
Tabitha Wang loves her roof terrace, never mind that it’s grubby, hot and good only for hanging the laundry out to dry.
Lucky them, without children, Mid-Levels is quite a good place for a couple to stay.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to work and live in HK for a while, I seriously don't know which area to choose.
Fat chance of the budget allowing me to live at the Peak. But HK urban is just ... well, too urban. Unless I stay near the University which is near the zoo. Marketing could be a problem though. Hmmm,
I thought Katong is for old money no more, not since land reclaimation. Probably some families descended from old money are still living there, but I'm not sure how much of the old money they still got.
ReplyDeleteTrue about Toa Payoh though, just about every family I know living there is either first gen Toa Payoh HDB dwellers or came from such a family.
When I finally get to purchase a HDB in a few years' time, I wonder which area I'll settle on.
Wife came from Ghim Moh, but her antecedent is from Bukit Merah, and her mum & brother moved back there now to Tiong Bahru.
Me, I always loved the Marine Parade, especially near Parkway Parade, but the prices are astronomical.
Not for me the extreme West, East, North, NorthEast or NorthWest.
I don't really like the Marine Parade area because it's a reclaimed land and there are so many incidents of instability over there for the past years whenever there are huge earthquake in Indonesia.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's expensive and secondly it's inconvenience because there are no mrt.
Well, unless you love the beach.
Original intend to move to Bukit Merah area but the price are too expensive and my brother is fortunate to have one 4A resale flat --big, spacious and windy but then prices are too steep.
ReplyDeleteOn the very next para your favourite columnist proceeds to let the reader know she is a Katong girl... whether else she may be, she is certainly image-conscious (and obviously belong to the 'cosmopolitan' crowd here in Singapore)
ReplyDeleteIt depends on where you would be working. Say if you worked in Central or near Central there are lots of possibilities all within a 45 minute commute. (And HK public transportation is excellent even if their bus drivers drive terrifyly fast even in bus lanes)
ReplyDeletePeople judge you, much more so in HK than in Singapore, by where you stay. Spending any amount of time in HK around the different areas will also give a very distinct impression of different areas (not just dwellings, but shopping, etc) for different demographic.
AMK or Bishan. :-) (ok, I am biased)
ReplyDeleteRelatively good schools around the area, quick access time to city and town is a given and very reasonable access to Bukit Timah, Farrer Rd and even Holland Village (for reasons that might be important as your girl gets older)
Not sure if you have been to AMK recently but it is one of the best maintained old Heartlander areas. New blocks are also being built. AMK also have a reputation for having large living areas (Before the government 'wised-up' and decide to built smaller flats) With literally three parks within walking distance, you have no shortage of greenery.
Then of course the Mandai Zoo is (metaphorically and an exaggeration) a stone throw away.
Do at least come see the flats (there are condos units here as well if you prefer) when your time comes. I plan to have games gathering at my place later this year so please come visit if you can.
Dont even think about it, i hate to reveal, but even the beach there is not clean..
ReplyDeleteNot too long ago one night after supper at a nearby restaurant, I was there on the rocks with ET, guess what I saw.. or smell? Cockroaches! Lots of them.. I screamed and ran off, leaving ET behind.........
Actually, there's many types of Katong girls, but that's really besides the point.
ReplyDeleteI do find her articles amusing most of the time, but on the score of being conscious of her background, it's nothing to hold against a person, unless it extends to looking down on others.
I got "looked down" before, both for coming from "too good" a background, and "not good enough" a background.
I'll be avoiding AMK, Bishan & Toa Payoh, don't ask.
ReplyDeleteThe water in Marine Parade is unclean and I won't think of swimming in it, but the seaside is a great place for morning jogs and evening walks. I was rather dismayed at the news of speculators buying up properties in anticipation of an MRT station there.
But in any event, I'm not likely to shell out for the prices there, and it is rather distant from my in-laws.
Hmmm, really? Didn't know about that. I only heard from a friend who used to stay at Bayshore about the Bayshore lands being sort of ... not as stable as hoped for.
ReplyDeleteWonder if Kit Meng knows anything about this. He stays there and he's an engineer, so I guess it is safe enough for now. They might have to do something about it if the place was en-bloc'ed.
Its not about holding it against her, but I thought it a good explanation on why she associates Katong with Old Money then in the next breath mentions she is a Katong girl.
ReplyDeleteSnobbery! :-)
ReplyDeleteIn fact not many people knew because it's not very serious compare to the two tremor last year.
ReplyDeleteI remembered there was once that tremor was so bad that the all the residents rushed out to the ground floor.
So far only the Marine Parade area have been affected.
When I was in Primary school, I thought Serangoon Gardens was the finest place to live in in Singapore. I attended a primary school there, and roamed the neighbourhood quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteBack then, it exuded the colonial charm - many of the families were "WOGs" or educated/moneyed migrants, mainly from former European colonies. This was very much evident from the offerings from the shops.
Something changed - I guess it was mainly to do with the passing of those who grew up during colonial times, and the neighbourhood lost its original character and become rather commercialised. Prior to that, sometime in the late 1980s/early 1990s, it became a senior citizens' zone.
Found this site offering some notes on the changes, albeit it was written in 2001
http://www.littlespeck.com/content/development/CTrendsDev-010722.htm
I never actually lived there, though I had some distant relations who did. But it was my happy hunting ground after school. During my Primary school years, I stayed at nearby Lorong Chuan for the first couple of years, then @ Upper Serangoon/Paya Lebar area not too far away.
We moved to Farrer Road area in preparation of secondary school, though I still initially tried to visit Serangoon Gardens as much as possible at my own time.
ReplyDeleteFarrer Rd then was a different world from now. Split almost evenly between private and public residential areas, a whole new array of offering awaited. Yet its proximity, and my secondary school's proximity, to Orchard Road and Holland Village meant I did not spend as much time in my own neighbourhood as I could have.
The only haunts I ventured regularly was Coronation Plaza, which then had 2 used book stores, and the then NIE grounds which had basketball courts accessible by the public.
I was in secondary school, and priorities changed ... well, except for my reading hobby.
The most positively worst area I stayed all these years must be at Bukit Timah, in the vicinity of Jalan Jurong Kechil near Beauty World. Despite all the trees around, and its proximity to the Nature Park, it was the hottest place in Singapore I've known, along with Jurong. Some days, I felt like I was living in a furnace.
ReplyDeleteI was living here when I got my first job. Commuting by public transport was a nightmare, taking easily 2 hours and more, one way. I had to either take a shorter but rarer bus service to Clementi to catch the train, or down all the way to Rochor and make my way to the station @ Bugis, then east to Tanah Merah, then bus, then another 15 minutes walk.
In the mid 1990s, I made the worst mistake of my life to jointly buy a HUDC at Shunfu. Location-wise, it wasn't that bad, but it was nothing spectacular either.
ReplyDeleteThe eateries @ Thomson Rd though, declined in quality since the earlier times when they offered good authentic local cuisines.
Thomson Plaza too had gone into a slump.
And Bishan's Junction 8 was the place to be, if you like being deafened by teenagers.
Ultimately, this venue bore the worst memories of my life as I learned the hard way why married couples should have their own homes.
Stayed with my in-laws for nearly a year after the birth of my firstborn. They had moved to Boon Lay then, from Ghim Moh. I thought I was done with this area after graduating from NTU, but story of my life, it almost seemed I am fated to revisit areas from my past bearing ... sharp memories.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the first time it happened, but I pray no more.
Back to Farrer Rd again now, due to unexpected twist in life.
ReplyDeleteI've been around and I don't think very much about the validity associating certain areas to certain types of dwellers. Things change a lot, and they keep changing.
Having been to HK, I can now understand the article better. I think the Mid-Levels would be an ok place for a DINKY couple or a single expat. Best thing is that Soho is located at the Mid-Levels, so that makes for a vibrant nightlife in your very own district.
ReplyDeleteClarification came yesterday's TODAY article
ReplyDeletehttp://www.todayonline.com/articles/308518.asp
Community zest
How I long for the times when people used to look out for each other out of sheer neighbourly love
Tabitha Wang
voices@mediacorp.com.sg
AS I’M still subscribed to many Singapore e-newsletters, I often get emails telling me about this concert or that exhibition happening back home. So far, none of them have been able to entice me to book that flight back ... but recently one really, really tempted me.
It was an advertisement for The Really Really Free Market, to be held at the Post Museum this Sunday between 3pm and 9pm. The concept of the market is simple: Everything there, from massages to tarot-card readings and clothes, is free. You just bring yourself and whatever services or goods you can offer and get ready for a blissful grabfest.
It’s not the first time the market is being held. The first one was in January, and I missed that too. So, when my friend told she’s be there, giving out her clothes, I almost booked a ticket on the spot.
It appealed to my “cheap is good, free is even better” mentality. But there was also a sense of nostalgia about the whole event, harkening back to a kinder, gentler time when people looked out for each other and helped one another out without putting a monetary value on their services.
I grew up in a housing estate made up of single-storey terrace houses. None of our neighbours were really rich but because there was such community spirit, everyone managed to get by.
We had a corner garden. Almost every day at about 6pm, when the housewives were starting dinner, there would be a shout at the gate and one neighbour’s kid or another would be standing outside with a small knife, asking: “Can we have some curry leaves/lemongrass/coconuts?”
The answer was always yes and, an hour later, the same kid would be standing outside our gate with a small dish made from our raw ingredients. We never asked for it, but they always felt it was “the neighbourly thing to do”.
There was an informal babysitting arrangement, too. If I went home but found I’d forgotten my key, I could always go over to the family opposite to play with their kids and watch TV until my dad came home from work. My mum, a teacher, would return the favour by tutoring their kids for free or allowing them the run of our garden while their mums were busy.
Whenever we went away for holidays, my father’s friend would stroll over to feed our dogs and when it was his family’s turn, we’d go over to water their plants and switch on the lights in the evening to fool any thieves into thinking the place was occupied.
It was all very casual. There never was a time when one would say: “Oh, I babysat your kid for four hours. That’ll be $10 an hour.”
These days, we’re all so busy that we don’t have time to create that sense of community anymore. So instead of having our kids over at the neighbours’, we pay money for after-school services. The last time we went on holiday in Singapore, we had to pay a professional pet-sitter $40 a day to look after our cat.
With the economy being what it is, perhaps the time is ripe to resurrect such a system again.
They have something similar here in Hong Kong. At the Time Coupon Store in Wan Chai, people give their time for services such as hairstyling and facials. Instead of being paid in cash, they get time coupons, which they can then exchange for donated goods at the store.
It has the double benefit of helping the poor while drawing in marginalised people – those who have skills not considered financially viable or who can’t commit to full-time jobs.
There are plenty such barter currencies around. In the United States, the most famous are time dollars, Ithaca Hours and PEN exchange. In Britain the biggest is