I thought I'd use this blog entry to answer some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)..
Where do you live?
I found a one-bedroom apartment in Repulse Bay; an expat beach resort on the south side of Hong Kong Island. The place I have is nice, and it's quite large for Hong Kong standards (about 700 square feet). It's ridiculously expensive; rent is about $3,500.00 USD per month, but the school subsidises most of that cost. Repulse Bay is one the most exclusive neighborhoods of Hong Kong. It's where HKIS is located, and I wanted to be close to work each day. The fact that I'm three blocks away from a gorgeous beach is great, too.
How do you get around?
I rely almost exclusively on public transportation. If I want to go to downtown Hong Kong, I catch a bus (the big double-decker, British kind). There's a bus stop right in front of my apartment and I can get to Central Hong Kong in about 20-25 minutes. The bus fare is about $1.25 each way and busses come buy every 10-12 minutes.
Taxis are another affordable option. I can get almost anywhere on Hong Kong Island for less than $20.00 and most of my taxi rides are $5.00 - $10.00; depending on where I'm going. Taxis are everywhere (just like New York), and all drivers speak enough English to get me to my destination.
To get to work, I ride a school bus with students. HKIS runs a fleet of about 25 busses, which fan out across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. That means that there's a pretty good chance that a school bus route passes by a teacher's house. Luckily, there's a school bus stop outside my apartment and the bus (#37) takes me directly to school. It's about a 10-15 minute ride along a seaside road. Every morning I get panoramic, sunrise views over the South China Sea.
What are Telecommunications Like?
I have cable, home internet access, and a mobile phone. All three are significantly cheaper than in the United States. I get about 20 cable channels in English; stations like CNN, BBC, FOX, FX, Discovery, National Geographic, History, Biography, etc. I also use a Slingbox which allows me to stream TV from the United States. I use that a lot. In Hong Kong, you can buy cable channels a ala carte. I think my cable bill each month is about $34.00.
My Internet connection is pretty good (even if I had to search for the right provider). I get speeds that are about twice as fast as those in the USA for about $19.99 per month.
My cell phone costs about $24.00 per month and I get unlimited calls and data. Oddly, text messages are ridiculously expensive in Hong Kong, so everyone uses an app called Whatsapp which sends texts through the data network. Cell phones are out of control in Hong Kong. Everyone is glued to their screens and it can actually be dangerous to walk around downtown on Saturday afternoon because you're bound to slam into someone who is looking down at a phone screen. It's crazy. The network is fast and robust though. Even in subway tunnels, we get 4G LTE connections with 5 bars.
What's the food like?
Hong Kong is a global city, and it's relatively easy to find any kind of cuisine. Naturally, there are plenty of Chinese restaurants. Some are amazing; many more are horrible. The best food I've had here comes from Vietnam, Thailand, and India. It is possible to find a good steak. Most "good" beef comes from Australia. U.S. beef if available, but it's incredibly expensive ($75.00 for a 8 oz. filet). Hong Kong has many fast food chains: McDonalds, KFC, and Subway. There are countless one-off places that are great too.
The grocery stores stock an amazing array of western goods. My local market (aptly named Jason's) is practically an American grocery store. Sure, they have asian goods, but they also carry plenty of names you'd recognise at Dierbergs', Schnucks', or Kroger.
What's the best thing about Hong Kong (so far)?
The view outside my classroom and the view across Victoria Harbour are jaw-dropping. This is a gorgeous corner of the world. 75% of Hong Kong Island is devoted to national parks, so there's plenty of hiking to do. I hope to explore a few trails when the weather cools down in November. The beaches and islands are pretty to look at, too.
What's the most annoying thing about Hong Kong (so far)?
Downtown crowds on the weekend, IKEA, rush hour traffic, two-year contracts for everything (cable, phone, rent, etc.), pollution days, typhoon days, and the general lack of ice in drinks.
What do you miss most about St. Louis?
Family, friends, my car, yards, St. Louis sports radio, and news, knowing where to go for everything.
What do you do with your free time?
I've made a few new friends; mostly new hires. We explore the city together. We have dinner at a new restaurant every Tuesday night. We've been to a Michael Jackson concert, done a few touristy things, and generally helped each other settle in. We're planning a trip to Macau in a few weeks.
My family has been here lately, so we've been exploring, too.
I'll do another section of FAQs soon.
Where do you live?
I found a one-bedroom apartment in Repulse Bay; an expat beach resort on the south side of Hong Kong Island. The place I have is nice, and it's quite large for Hong Kong standards (about 700 square feet). It's ridiculously expensive; rent is about $3,500.00 USD per month, but the school subsidises most of that cost. Repulse Bay is one the most exclusive neighborhoods of Hong Kong. It's where HKIS is located, and I wanted to be close to work each day. The fact that I'm three blocks away from a gorgeous beach is great, too.
How do you get around?
 |
| The 6X bus is my connection to Central HK |
Taxis are another affordable option. I can get almost anywhere on Hong Kong Island for less than $20.00 and most of my taxi rides are $5.00 - $10.00; depending on where I'm going. Taxis are everywhere (just like New York), and all drivers speak enough English to get me to my destination.
To get to work, I ride a school bus with students. HKIS runs a fleet of about 25 busses, which fan out across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. That means that there's a pretty good chance that a school bus route passes by a teacher's house. Luckily, there's a school bus stop outside my apartment and the bus (#37) takes me directly to school. It's about a 10-15 minute ride along a seaside road. Every morning I get panoramic, sunrise views over the South China Sea.
What are Telecommunications Like?
I have cable, home internet access, and a mobile phone. All three are significantly cheaper than in the United States. I get about 20 cable channels in English; stations like CNN, BBC, FOX, FX, Discovery, National Geographic, History, Biography, etc. I also use a Slingbox which allows me to stream TV from the United States. I use that a lot. In Hong Kong, you can buy cable channels a ala carte. I think my cable bill each month is about $34.00.
My cell phone costs about $24.00 per month and I get unlimited calls and data. Oddly, text messages are ridiculously expensive in Hong Kong, so everyone uses an app called Whatsapp which sends texts through the data network. Cell phones are out of control in Hong Kong. Everyone is glued to their screens and it can actually be dangerous to walk around downtown on Saturday afternoon because you're bound to slam into someone who is looking down at a phone screen. It's crazy. The network is fast and robust though. Even in subway tunnels, we get 4G LTE connections with 5 bars.
What's the food like?
Hong Kong is a global city, and it's relatively easy to find any kind of cuisine. Naturally, there are plenty of Chinese restaurants. Some are amazing; many more are horrible. The best food I've had here comes from Vietnam, Thailand, and India. It is possible to find a good steak. Most "good" beef comes from Australia. U.S. beef if available, but it's incredibly expensive ($75.00 for a 8 oz. filet). Hong Kong has many fast food chains: McDonalds, KFC, and Subway. There are countless one-off places that are great too.
The grocery stores stock an amazing array of western goods. My local market (aptly named Jason's) is practically an American grocery store. Sure, they have asian goods, but they also carry plenty of names you'd recognise at Dierbergs', Schnucks', or Kroger.
What's the best thing about Hong Kong (so far)?
The view outside my classroom and the view across Victoria Harbour are jaw-dropping. This is a gorgeous corner of the world. 75% of Hong Kong Island is devoted to national parks, so there's plenty of hiking to do. I hope to explore a few trails when the weather cools down in November. The beaches and islands are pretty to look at, too.
What's the most annoying thing about Hong Kong (so far)?
Downtown crowds on the weekend, IKEA, rush hour traffic, two-year contracts for everything (cable, phone, rent, etc.), pollution days, typhoon days, and the general lack of ice in drinks.
What do you miss most about St. Louis?
Family, friends, my car, yards, St. Louis sports radio, and news, knowing where to go for everything.
 |
| Stanley: My "Main Street" |
I've made a few new friends; mostly new hires. We explore the city together. We have dinner at a new restaurant every Tuesday night. We've been to a Michael Jackson concert, done a few touristy things, and generally helped each other settle in. We're planning a trip to Macau in a few weeks.
My family has been here lately, so we've been exploring, too.
I'll do another section of FAQs soon.
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