things are going crazy in hong kong.
my micro world is just fine, kids okay (although the triplets took a NAP this afternoon…what does that mean, a NAP?) …but economically, rents have gotten out of control.
our building is a fine example of this.
when we moved into 122 everyone said it was a great deal. and it was. for four years, we have enjoyed living in government quarters with a huge play area for kids, and like minded people as neighbours. unlike many hong kong residences, at 122 we are a real community. we have 122 block parties, barbeques, easter egg hunts, girls nights out, and good times. we are mostly like minded people.
so you can imagine how we felt one year ago when our rent was increased by 50 per cent. it was a blow to the solar plexus. 122 went from being the great deal of the century to a pretty good value for your money.
unlike some of our neighbours who got their rent increases around the same time, we didn’t even bother looking around. why bother, really? moving expenses, we demurred, the cost of travel to school each day, bla bla bla, but what it really comes down to is this is our home. this is the only place we have ever lived as a family.
we live within 300 steps of the hospital where the triplets were born. charles was in this flat the day i told him i was pregnant. this is the only home our children have ever known. these kids are their peeps. they don’t have nearby relatives, but they have andrea, susan, tara, katie, mel, weng, jennifer…and all their kids. this is their safe place. and mine for goodness sake.
so we paid the rental increase. and people kept moving into our building, talking about what a great deal it was, while the rest of us old timers lamented about "the good old days" when the rents were so much lower.
in the past two weeks i found out that the top floor of the building is renting for approximately twice what we are paying currently. today i found out that the fifteenth floor is renting for USD$7.500 per month. the unwritten code of our building says that rents increase $500 HKdollars per floor, which means that when our turn for rental increase comes up, we will be asked to pay about $55,000.(6.5Kusd)
that would be close to 40 per cent increase in what we are currently paying.
if we gave up our flat, which would be the logical thing to do, there would be few options of where we could live. the logical thing to do would be to go home, if we had a job to go home to. but we don’t have a home. so that is not an option.
so where to move to? this is something we are praying about. in the purpose driven life rick warren points out the futility of worrying about things we have no control over and asks how many hours we dedicate to such troubles. i am going to take a stand that i won’t (overly) fret about this. i am going to pray about it, and that is the best and only thing i can do.
but if we did move out, i would feel like the new occupants of 6a were living my life. imposters in tesstown. moving from room to room in a flat that was still mine. how do families leave homes? i know only bricks and mortar, but it is so much more. it is friends, it is love it is my kids joy coming home, changing, and racing off to play happily with their friends and try out different toys.
i don’t want to leave here.
but God knows that.
let’s see how it gets resolved.
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10 Replies to “forget the porridge, momma bear … who’s sitting in my chair?”
Ah well, things change and perhaps (ok, don’t say it). Here in the western US moving is common; I think the average run of one address is under five years. We bounced around a lot, kids didn’t like changing schools and friends, but good luck whatever you do.
If your old rent was a deal, what is the ‘average’ HK rent? That all seems like quite a lot, but perhaps for big city it’s not. Vegas house rentals (three bedroom) average $1,100 per month.
I had NO IDEA the prices were that high. Of course I live under a rock in the woods of Alabama, so what do I know?
WOW – this is tough. It’s not just rent – it’s your life! I’ll be praying for you. xoxo
Hi Tess- wow, those rents have me aghast!!! I’ve moved a lot – my experience has taught me that the way to approach moving is to focus on moving toward something rather than away from what you’ve had and love. If you decide that yes, the current situation is not working for whatever reason, then you shift your mind to the future. (Often in life, we cling to what we know until we get the boot to go, and later when you’re on to the new thing, you see why it had to happen… so this is a good thing, unabiguous, time to go…)
So – what do you want for your future, what’s your dream? Make the move fast, like a bandaid coming off, and look forward to your future. All you need is to find something exciting to move towards and much of the grief of moving is eliminated. Though getting that last box packed and closing the door is never fun. Have a glass of wine and make it quick!
All the best – Peggy
Would this be a move to a new flat or a move out of HK????
I have a lovely lot in Komoka I am trying to split, wanna come live with me? In less than one year you can pay for the land at that price!!!! And I would be lavishly bathing in your dollar bills.
Aren’t I wicked.
Yes, I have a plan…and a selfish desire to have you every day of teh week.
Now, the job…hummmm….will start working on that too.
ps. My daughter’s birthmother is 5 months pregnant.
It sounds like your 122 community is a great place, and it is clear how much you love your home and your neighbours. Good luck – I will pray that whatever happens, you will be in the right situation for everyone in the family.
Hi Tess I am so sorry that you find yourself in this situation. When i helped my mom move out of the house i grew up in we threw it a party and the whole neighbourhood came… i have actually wiped the actual move day out of my memory come to think of it but after that move she and we moved in excess of 20 times! we got it down to a fine art to the degree that we all met for breakfast one morning and by the end of it we had organised removal trucks and boxes… not in the plan for another three weeks but like one of your commenters said we got to the point that we had to rip it off like a band aid.
I am lucky that a year and a half ago my brother helped us find a property that gives us a community feel – a 1700m stand that we built an extra house on so my parents and sisters live in that one and my husband and our two kids stay in the main house with a cool “kaya” (outhouse) that my sister redid for them to hang out in. It has luckily worked out for us and i dont want to scare you cos obviously the situation is very different but its taken us nearly the same amount of years that we lived in our old home to find another one!! Im just glad that we did.
You are right fretting wont help but not being prepared and looking at all the options wont help either so at least you are on the right track! Good luck
Tess-
Since I have been an adult, I have moved almost every year. Most moves have been out of state until I got to Texas and I was there for 9 yrs but moved to lots of different cities. The kids just went with the flow, chainging schools and making new friends. Here in FL in less than 2 yrs I am at my 3rd residence, but no more school changes since its almost high school now.. While I hate moving, I learn there are things I love about each place I have lived. I will be praying that your solution comes soon and that you are at peace with it. The kids will be ok no matter what happens as long as they have you and MC, so dont worry too much!
Lots of love!!
The average rent here in the Orlando area for a house is $1300 monthly for 3 bedrooms.
Did I mention how much I’d love you to return to Canada?? But no matter what you decide to do, as long as you and your family are together, you’ll have all that joy to support you and you’ll be fine!