Post: #1

I am moving to Hong Kong until March and am looking for recommendations on all things nightlife/food/culture.

I've read through every thread on this forum on Hong Kong and the reviews seem mixed: some love it and others hate it and never want to return.

After taxes and rent I should have USD $3k to live off of each month, which I assume should be more than enough money to have a good time.

I was told by a friend from Hong Kong that things change super quickly there, much like NYC or London, so that travel guides are pretty outdated.

I imagine some of the intel on the forum might be a little dated as well.

If anyone has any tips to offer I would hugely appreciate it.

Post: #2

The good:
- great hub for weekend getaways to all of asia. The entire region becomes your playground, if you're smart about money. That's seriously very tempting for me to make that move
- nightlife: I found most of the venues pretty interchangeable in LKF, but a good tip is that you can usually find one or two clubs on a given night doing no-cover promos - just walk around LKF and find some promoters. The clubs are obviously not the best on that night relative to others, but as with LKF, there is enough talent at every club to satisfy your needs. Also, I think after 2 AM, a few of those clubs in that megaplex where Levels is (Levels included) are no cover. Thursdays in LKF I believe are Ladies nights - it's not very active, but you can get free cover into a few places (I remember getting into magnum that way), and the few girls who are there are generally, uh, on the prowl.
- culture: can always go to one of the islands for fun and hiking, though they all seem the same to me after a while; go to the north of Kowloon for some seafood (forget the name...); oh and if you're into basketball, hong kong has a ton of public basketball courts that are full of people playing. There's usually both enough space and enough people to get a good game going while getting sufficient playing time; night hoops are good because all the parks are well lit. I rather miss balling in HK.
- food: I'm not a huge fan of HK food, but I will say Kowloon city is little thailand and has some of the best thai food i've ever had.
- tips: stay away from the domestic helpers. I know they're low hanging fruit, but they really, really are not very attractive (maybe you will feel differently). All of them are in dire straits, and you're never gonna wife any of them, so you really do have to pity them. Granted, if they're gonna fuck a bunch of old pot-bellied wankers anyways, you might as well

3k after taxes and rent? That's pretty good. Do you mind me asking what industry and/or ballpark salary range you're commanding?

Post: #3

First-- very jealous. I lived in Hong Kong for a few months, and consider it the best city in world. $3k for play money is plenty.

Best things to do:
- LKF, Wanchai, TST, Causeway Bay, and Soho nightlife: each has a different sort of feel. LKF is awesome for getting rowdy in the streets (see: 7/11) and has a lot of bars and clubs as well. Wanchai is great for the late night, after LKF, and is also home to ladies night on Wednesday. Causeway Bay is a big karaoke scene. TST is on the mainland side, has more local oriented bars/clubs, and is big on Tuesdays. Soho is better for pre-gaming; more low-key (tho there are some nice clubs tucked away) but I found the area around the midlevel escalator really cool from an environment standpoint
- Rugby 7s: this takes place in March and is the biggest party of the year. Sit in the south stands and dress up in costume
- Racetracks: there are races on Wednesday in Happy Valley which draws a more expat crowd and on Sunday in Sha Tin that is more local oriented. Happy Valley pregame followed by ladies night in Wanchai is a solid 1-2 combo on Wednesday
- Boat Parties: rented a boat for my birthday one time; think it was around $200 and fit 20 or so people
- Monkey Hill: park where monkeys roam free
- The Peak: view that never gets old
- Hiking/Camping: Dragon’s Back, Sai Kung, etc.
- Beaches: Shek-O, Big Wave, Stanley, Repulse, etc
- Islands: Lamma, Lantau, Cheung Chau, etc.; nice for biking, hiking, seafood
- Macau: casinos and spas are worth checking out
- Tailors: decent pricing on made-to-measure and bespoke clothing


Things that may be outdated:
- Red Bar: located between the two IFC towers, and is BYOB
- Mr. Wong’s: sort of a hidden restaurant in Yau Mau Tai, run buy a guy that loves foreigners. Around $5 for all you can eat and drink
- SushiOne: they run half price sushi and drinks after 10pm
- Jashan: dankest Indian food I’ve had in my life-- located in LKF

Post: #4

I'm jealous too... how did you pull it off? A secondment at work?

Post: #5

LKF and by extension Soho is, logistically and in terms of talent, one of the best nightlife areas in Asia, if not the best. Even though the bars and clubs themselves are overpriced and mediocre, the street game opportunities are endless and people are generally eager and happy to make new acquaintances, especially if your game and style is good.

As has been pointed out there are always plenty of bars and clubs with free entry and even if something sucks, you can be out of the door and in another place 3 mins later and do some street game on the way.

Local girls do not have gold digger tendencies as much as mainland girls. Generally foreigners are viewed more positively than in China, Korea and Taiwan because HK attracts quality expats and the barrier of entry is too high for the English teacher rabble. The biggest danger will be intoxicated Brits and other Western guys especially when thirsty or jealous.

And if you do not like the local girls there is still plenty of tourists and exchange students.

You will have a good time with your kind of budget.

Post: #6

One more point to add:

HK is the only city where I have come across the concept of the "Fuck Pack"

What I mean is that when I was ready to bounce a girl from a bar in LKF, she went and grabbed a small duffle bag. As I later found out, this duffle had toiletries, clothes, etc for a sleepover.

Post: #7

(08-05-2015 03:12 PM)HankRearden Wrote:  I am moving to Hong Kong until March and am looking for recommendations on all things nightlife/food/culture.

I've read through every thread on this forum on Hong Kong and the reviews seem mixed: some love it and others hate it and never want to return.

After taxes and rent I should have USD $3k to live off of each month, which I assume should be more than enough money to have a good time.

I was told by a friend from Hong Kong that things change super quickly there, much like NYC or London, so that travel guides are pretty outdated.

I imagine some of the intel on the forum might be a little dated as well.

If anyone has any tips to offer I would hugely appreciate it.

You will love it, let me know how it goes !

I have only passed through HK as I lived on the Mainland but its a great city. Very atmospheric, good nightlife, very nice girls and a lot of opportunity for business potential etc.

Post: #8

Many thanks for the tips so far.

For those of you who guessed it, it's an investment banking secondment. We're given an apartment so there's no rent to pay (!)

Ideally I would like to save some £ as well, so perhaps it would be more realistic if I end up spending $2k USD per month as my bankroll (excluding travel costs around Asia).

Post: #9

For some fun reading, I highly recommend getting a copy of "Straight to Hell" by John Lefevre (aka @GSElevator), with stories about his time being an investment banker in Hong Kong.

Post: #10

(08-10-2015 03:26 PM)Tengen Wrote:  For some fun reading, I highly recommend getting a copy of "Straight to Hell" by John Lefevre (aka @GSElevator), with stories about his time being an investment banker in Hong Kong.

Not to knock your recommendation or the book (I actually plan on reading it), but I got the impression from sneak previews that a lot of those stories center around domestic helpers and/or whores. Not saying that's not fun, but not my idea of fulfilling game-driven conquests, and I would temper expectations at how good looking these girls are.

Post: #11

(08-10-2015 03:22 PM)HankRearden Wrote:  Many thanks for the tips so far.

For those of you who guessed it, it's an investment banking secondment. We're given an apartment so there's no rent to pay (!)

Ideally I would like to save some £ as well, so perhaps it would be more realistic if I end up spending $2k USD per month as my bankroll (excluding travel costs around Asia).

Not that you know for sure yet, but out of curiosity, how do you feel about the prospect of asia hours? i've heard HK services jobs are brutal, but obviously the money and expat packages make up for it.

Post: #12

I'm in your industry as well and would be thrilled to go to HK for a secondment. Are you fluent in Manderin?

Post: #13

(08-10-2015 08:12 PM)SHANbangs Wrote:  

(08-10-2015 03:22 PM)HankRearden Wrote:  Many thanks for the tips so far.

For those of you who guessed it, it's an investment banking secondment. We're given an apartment so there's no rent to pay (!)

Ideally I would like to save some £ as well, so perhaps it would be more realistic if I end up spending $2k USD per month as my bankroll (excluding travel costs around Asia).

Not that you know for sure yet, but out of curiosity, how do you feel about the prospect of asia hours? i've heard HK services jobs are brutal, but obviously the money and expat packages make up for it.

In terms of Asian hours I'm expecting to get absolutely raped. Apparently it's New York on steroids.

My aim is to go out every Wednesday (apparently a big night) and Friday/Sat with a trip to a foreign country monthly.

Aaron - I don't speak Mandarin. Apparently it's Cantonese there but English dominates anyways.

Post: #14

This thread is one of the most recent on HK, and since I'm moving to HK in December as well, I figured I would ask some of my questions here.

Just like OP, I will be working in a bank so my pay will be decent, but the prices of the rent for a studio near the centre worry me.

Do you guys have any recommendations for a good neighbourhood to live ? Obviously a central location (will be working near Wan Chai) is ideal, but I don't want to live in a closet. I'm guessing I'm ready to spend somewhere around 1500-1800€. That can change, depending on the quality of what I find. Flatsharing is an option I'll only consider if living alone really is too expensive.

Also, what's the best way to look for a flat ? I've got a feeling like what I'm seeing on English websites is slightly overpriced, so maybe it's better to contact local agencies directly once I'm there ?

Thanks guys.

Post: #15

That budget will give you something marginally larger on the island. Perhaps anywhere from 30-40 sqm depending on the location. Best neighborhood really depends on what matters to you. If you plan on going out often then I'd say Sheung Wan and anything west of it (Sai Ying Pun, Kennedy Town) is a good choice, that way you're both close to the nightlife and to your workplace as well as to Western amenities if that matters to you. It's also still a reasonably quiet area the further west you go. The other options are Wan Chai itself, if you can find a good deal there, and the neighborhoods east of Causeway Bay, which are a bit more local (North Point, Quarry Bay, Chai Wan).

Kowloon is also an option but in my opinion, it will seriously stress you out if working on the island as you'll have to depend on crowded cross-harbor buses or the even more crowded MTR in the mornings and evenings (though mind you taking the MTR at rush hour anywhere will be really crowded), and finding a cross-harbor taxi at night can be a nightmare. I don't think the rent savings will be significant at least until you move up a bit further north.

Some NT neighborhoods like Tai Po are really nice and have better air, cheaper apartments and fewer crowds. But it will take you 50-60 mins to Wan Chai from there. Overall unless you're living really far away, the actual neighborhood doesn't really matter, public transportation gets you anywhere anyway. It just depends on how far your budget gets you.

I'm not too familiar with websites these days but I think GoHome.com.hk is decently representative of prices and so on. As long as you don't choose some agency that focuses on expat ballers who don't give a shit if it's 80,000 or 95,000 per month, no real Westerner price gouging in HK as far as apartments are concerned...everyone's getting gouged.

Post: #16

Thanks for the great intel atlant.

Actually I'd very much like to live in a modern condo with a pool and gym (if possible), I don't know if that writes off some of those area ?

Post: #17

Those condos make up a large part of the rental market so you will find them everywhere. However on the island you'll have difficulties finding a place with those amenities under 25,000 HKD.

Post: #18

Roger that, thanks for the answer. I'm sure I'll have a better idea of what's possible once I'm there.

Post: #19

(08-21-2015 04:06 PM)HankRearden Wrote:  My aim is to go out every Wednesday (apparently a big night) and Friday/Sat with a trip to a foreign country monthly.

Wednesday is ladies night there, clubs are packed with 90% ladies in groups. Loads of fun for a westerner.