Found a place to live!

Tonight is the night... after work I am signing the contract for my apartment in Hong Kong! Very pleased about that, it means my nomad style living is coming to an end. When I first arrived in Hong Kong I stayed in a hotel for two weeks. After that I cold stay with my colleague Robin for a week, until his in-laws arrived last saturday. I then found a serviced appartment where I was going to stay for a month, but the same day I came across the apartment I am going to rent. So for the past few days I could stay with another colleague instead of having to pay for the serviced apartment.



The apartment is in Tin Hau, vlakbij Causeway Bay which is one of the busiest areas in Hong Kong. The contrast could not be bigger though. The neighbourhood is an oasis of low rise buildings in a city where 30-40 floors is becoming the norm. I am on the top floor of a 5 storey building. No elevator. Downstairs is a car repair shop, just like there is in most of the buildings in the area. The people work on the streets, they know each other, this is a neighbourhood with a social feeling that has become very rare in this megacity.



A bit more about the apartment itself. Surface is 600 square feet. Living room with wooden floor. Two bedrooms, one with windows on two sides (no tall building next to mine so i have corner windows) and another one, slightly smaller, with one window. Kitchen is basic and has a strong 70's design: green-yellow structured tiles with the occasional bunch of grapes. Dito decoration for the bathroom, but it has a separate shower area which is not always the case in these old chinese buildings.



Nice bonus to all this is that I have the exclusive use of the rooftop terrace right on top of my apartment. It's about the same size as the apartment itself, and the cables and tv antenna make it the perfect starting point for an über-cool urban hangout. Pictures will follow once it is ready!



In a bid to be one person in this ecological disaster of a city who actually recycles, I will try to use recycled materials and second hand furniture as much as possible. I'll be the king of DIY - trying to keep Ikea at bay.