ISTM in Hong Kong

So the question was : how much is the life in Hong Kong ?

Answer :

1) Food : twice cheaper than in France, except for Western products such as wine, cheese... at least twice more expensive ! For example, this pack of little yogurts (type "Petits Filous", les yahourts que mangent les bébés)costs 26 HK$ (2,60 euros !!), and this litre of milk costs around 15-20 HK$ (1,50-2 euros) I think (sorry I cannot remember the exact price)


Then at the canteen, you get this meal for 14,5 HK$ (1,45 euros !)

And if you go to the restaurant, for example in Nam Shan Estate, next to CityU, you can have a very good dinner (at least four dishes) for 40-50 HK$ (4-5 euros !) ...but in Nam Shan, you have to go with somebody who speaks Cantonese or at least, who can read Chinese, because the menu is not translated in English at all, as Nam Shan is a restaurant for locals !

But if you choose a Chinese high class restaurant (for example Jasmine in Festival Walk), it is around 160 HK$ (16 euros) for a very good dinner !




2) Room : I live in the student residence of CityU. For the semester I paid 7200 HK$ (720 euros) for 4 months, id it is 1800 HK$ (180 euros) per month ! And I have a single room, which means it is more expensive than a double room (around 1300 HK$ or 130 euros per month, but I am not sure). Maybe you will be lucky and get a single room (9 m²). Otherwise you will share a double room (13 m²) with another student. Your room mate can be either somebody you already know (hence specify it when you apply for your rooms), either a HK, Mainland China people, or another exchange student !

3) Goods, clothes and so on : cheaper than in France, but it depends on what you want.

4) Telephone :
- Local calls : if you call with the phone which is in your room, even though you call a mobile phone, it is free !

- Mobile phone : my mobile phone operator is New World Mobility. So I pay something like 0.25 HK$ (0.025 euro) per minute for any call I make or receive to/from Hong Kong or France ! Yes ! You pay when you call as well as when you receive a call on your mobile phone ! And yes again, you pay the same price even if you call in France ! I know that with another mobile phone operator, you can get different prices depending on whether you call Hong Kong or your home country, but I cannot remember the name, sorry.

So make or receive calls from your room phone, it is free !

5) Internet connexion : provided by the student residence : included in your room fees !

6) Subway (MTR and KCR)
The prices depends on where you go. For example, for a journey between Kowloon Tong (the MTR station of the University) to Tsim Sha Tsui, it is around 3 HK$ (0.30 euros). Please apply for a student Octopus card (with the Student Development Service in the University : 6th Floor, Amenities Building) as soon as possible, so you can get concessionary prices (50 % off).


So in total, including the room and a very nice way of life, I spend around 4000-5000 HK$ (400-500 euros !) per month.