Help with flat at Central

Hi all,

i am in hk for over a week and about to sign a tenancy agreement for a 700sf unit just off Wellington Street for HK14,000 rent a month. I am pleased with the unit internally and i like the idea of being able to walk to my office building which is near the Central MTR and not have to over rely on public transport. But a lot of my friends advised me against staying there, bcos i could have gotten a place in Happy Valley or Causeway Bay for less and in their opinion, those are good if not better residential areas.But i am not sure whether they are making a fair judgement bcos they have never stayed in this part of town.


i was just wondering whether there is any catch with living near the CBD core, SOHO and LKF. Is the neighborhood undesirable? i did notice the shophouses are pretty old, and dinghy, and there may be construction going on. I will be staying on a low floor, so is the air usually very polluted and the streets noisy with cars or people? i will have a balcony, so am i supposed to keep it tightly shut all the time, bcos it is noisy and the air is not fresh? Or is the crime rate in this area high? unsafe for a female walking either in early morning or night? and whether it is tough to get a cab in the case when i need one?


Kindly let me know bcos i can still say no to the landlord if there are many cons to staying in this part of town.

Your friends are right in that you can probably get more value for money further out but Wellington Street is very convenient if you work in town and I personally feel very safe walking all around central at night on my own.

You can probably judge the pollution and noise yourself having seen the place and working in the area but one thing to consider is how much time you will be there. If you spend alot of time at home on the weekends is this the place you want to be? it may be convenient for work and nights in LKF but would you prefer something different on the weekend. I work out of the city so choose to live in the city but I think if I worked in town I might prefer living further out.

Hi fairlady05, nothign to do in this afternoon and just read your message. I was born and grow up in HK. Trust me. I would say in general most of the time, you will be safe for a female waling either in early morning or night. Crime rate in HK is low. If you work in town, I mean near central, then Wellington street is a good location. Very convenient to work and access to LKF, SOHO and even CWB and TST. Air pollution and noisy are in everywhere in HK, honestly. It's difficult to escape. Well, HK$14,000 have a lot of choice. Maybe you would like to see other place before you made decision. Good luck

Thanks allynz and sfsr, i guess i just want some reassurance that i didnt get a lemon deal, though i myself felt that i ve gotten quite a good deal after seeing a few more locations.

Just FYI, my other agent brought me to condo units at Olympic station - Island Harbourview and Central Park and those are like 30 mins door 2 door by MTR, up to HK$130 by taxi, smaller (~600sf) asking HK$15-16k. I also saw units at Sai Wan Ho at the eastern part of HK Island. New, but again 30-40 mins door to door, asking for HK$16-17k for 600+ sf.

Is my agent trying to rip me off? if not, it means i ve got a really good deal on Wellington St.

In my experience (looking at about 30 places in mid-levels a year ago) there wasn't alot of logic with the pricing - I just kept looking till I found something wiithin budget that I liked where I could actually imagine myself living and that was it. I saw alot of really bad places for the same as what I am paying now in the same area. If you are anxious about it then maybe it is not the right one. If in your head you start working out where to put the furniture then it is probably right.

allynz,wow. u ve seen so many places b4 u decide on where u are... u must have gotten a great place. do u mind me asking where u r staying now? and would u recommend the place to others?

To see if you are getting value, look at Tung Wah Hospital flats (someone may kindly provide link for you, otherwise s/b easy search). They own lots of flats so the pricing is close to market for their property type/location etc. Though they usually have a strict 2 year contract (they will sue you for payment if you leave), so you would pay more for flexibility. I saw that they have new flats in Aberdeen Street and I think they are around $17-20 per sq foot (in total).

Not sure how near you will be to LKF but trust me on this since i suffered living near there for 2 VERY LONG months. IF you happen to be a light sleeper or like to have quiet nights at home than i suggest you don't take that flat. But of course some people may like the noise....for me i prefer not to toss and turn all night long. As far as safety goes, HK is pretty safe. Hope this helps.

Tung Wah is a good option to check out - I totally forgot about it. If you walk along Staunton St it turns into Bridges St and they have some buildings there - it is commission free and the have the phone number on a huge banner outside. I haven't seen inside but you can't beat that location. I live at the end of Bridges St - it is super quiet and only a few minutes to Soho.