Finding a Flat and Living in a Hotel

Love and I started looking for flats immediately following the interviewing process.  I contacted and stayed in contact with an agent while still in the states.

We scoured the websites looking for a flat.  We came up with a ton of choices (none of which we actually chose).

Now realty in Hong Kong is interesting.  Each property is listed with an agent. Instead of choosing an agent to show you place listed anywhere, an agent can only show properties listed with them.  IT’s not uncommon to see properties with various agents depending on the location.  And rent is negotiable!!  I’m so glad someone told me that before we signed for our flat.

We ended up in a totally different compound from where we wanted to be.  We did learn not to jump at a place (even though we love our flat).  You really should take your time.

As it stands, we found a flat with our requirements and with a mildly reasonable rent. We’ll see how it all works out.
It will be nice to finally get the keys to our new place.  We have been living in the hotel for just under two weeks.  As we speak, I am sitting poolside while my three kids play in a very full pool (darn teen boys splashing).

Monster is in a huge floating tube while Dude is trying to jump in.  Monkey is standing in the pool not far from me watching the other two.  She is bemoaning the rowdiness of the teen boys.  Pretty funny to me.

We’ve been here for what feels like forever.  Tomorrow is our last full day here.  Love will have to check out on Monday while I am at the school working.

So the pros?

1. There are people cleaning up after us.  Now I make the kids pick up before we leave, but Monster has loved having her bed made every day.
2. The school is paying for breakfast for us for the full stay.It’s a buffet and quite lovely really.  One less meal to worry about.  Eating out is not normal for us, and it’s sort of been torture to both find and pay to eat out.  This hotel has gotten a good amount of money from us from the pizza place alone.  We’ve also bought quite a bit of ramen and have eaten that for meals.
3. The pool has been great.I am kind of curious if there is a charge for using it now that I think about it.  Hmmmm…..  Anyway, too late now. This is our second time here today.  It’s been great tough with how hot it gets here.  It gives the kids a break from the heat.
4. Because the school is paying for it, it has given us time.Time to get done what we needed to.  We leave here on the day we can move into our flat.

I’m sure there are more pros.  That’s what I’ve got for right now.

So the cons.

1. It’s so small.While our flat will be small, at least the kids will have their own space.  We also came from wide open spaces.  Having no privacy and no way to get away from each other has been draining.
2. We are spending more money eating out.I hate spending money unnecessarily.  I could be making dinner.
3. It isn’t our own.I don’t feel comfortable.  There are so many people around, and they are constantly changing.  It would be nice to get to know people and get a routine.
4. It is all so artificial.It’s like being in a holding pattern.  We didn’t have an address until a few days ago, so we were sort of homeless, but not really.

So we are almost done with this stage.  I’m grateful for the place to stay, but I can’t wait to have a home.  I know Love is struggling.  I worry about him.