My Prerogative

I cannot be given choices. I have enough trouble with baked, mashed or French fries. So where have I been for the last couple of days? Inside my own head trying to decide where to live.

The rundown:
Our temporary apartment is in a neighborhood called the Mid-Levels. Hong Kong, as I mentioned, is one hilly place. So the area gets its name from being midway between the Peak and Central. The Peak is the high point (geographically and symbolically) where those with unlimited resources live. Central is closer to the water where most of the office buildings are as well as many shops and restaurants. Central is the North end of HK Island while you progress south through Mid-Levels to the Peak. The is a conceptual problem for somebody like me who sees north as up. But I'm over that. Paul works in Central and it's currently a twenty minute walk from here in Mid-Levels to his building with the aid of the escalator that we live a few steps from. It would take longer if we lived farther east or west and had to first walk to the escalator. There are southern and eastern areas of the island that are supposedly greener and more residential, but you have to commute a bit if you work in Central. He works in the Cheung Kong Center. (It's visible in the picture I posted)

Going west from Central, you pass through Sheung Wan and Pok Fu Lam to Kennedy Town at the western end. Going east, there's Admiralty, Wan Chai and Happy Valley and Causeway Bay.

This site has a very good interactive map.
http://www.hoteltravel.com/hongkong/maps.htm

Or go to
www.maps.google.com
type in Hong Kong and click to zoom in as far as you want.

Now that the geography lesson is complete, the fact is that ex-patriots live in every area of the island and many even live across Victoria Harbor in Kowloon. Mid-Levels is filled with expats. Everybody speaks English in the shops and restaurants in nearby Soho. There are almost as many Italian restaurants, from mediocre chains to upscale, as there are on Staten Island! We ate Chinese food in a restaurant exactly once since we've lived here.

So our real estate agent started by showing us options in Mid-Levels. Most are towering structures crammed next to other towering structures. You may have a view of the mountain when you move in, only to have it obscured by a new tower in a few months. The flats in our price range were typically in older buildings. Some were renovated, some not. Rooms are much smaller here in general, but older buildings tend to make better use of square footage and the rooms are a little bigger. Renovated or newer flats have better bathrooms and kitchens but the bedroom may barely fit a queen size bed. The elusiveness of an affordable as well as new or renovated flat of a generous size was not encouraging.

I also saw apartments west of Central in Sheung Wan. The flats were an improvement and the location was convenient, but when we further explored the area, it just didn't feel right. It's a more 'traditional' Chinese area. In other words, every store you pass sells pungent dried fish, dried fish parts, dried herbs, dried creatures great and small, and I don't know if the identifiable items were more or less scary than the unidentifiable items. We saw something that looked like a black wool scarf. Do I want to know what that was?

I then saw apartments east of Central in Wan Chai and Happy Valley. Happy Valley seemed like a suitable location and the flats were nice enough, but you pay a little more there just for a view of the Happy Valley Racetrack. Eh, maybe if we were into horse racing. The nicest, newest flats were in two buildings in Wan Chai. One opened in December 2007 and the other July 2007.

The first mental hurdle: Wan Chai

Wan Chai used to be Hong Kong's red light district. It particularly gained infamy during the Vietnam War when U.S. soldiers were stationed here on leave. Today, it is more like the current Times Square of New York, frenetic and grittier than, say, the Upper West Side, but ultimately cleansed of its former ways. Oh, don't get me wrong - there's still a stretch of girly bars contained on one street, Lockheart, and a girl can supposedly make a living around there, but from what we have heard, the entertainment is still relatively tame. It seems as if these places are almost relics. They are mixed right in with regular bars and business establishments. And Lockheart St. is several blocks away from the buildings we were contemplating. Paul consulted coworkers who said that we had nothing to worry about. HK is a generally safe place all around. Wan Chai is the oldest district and could be considered the 'heart' of HK. It is actually known for its nightlife, the legal type as well. It is a convenient location with a lot of personality and a greater mix of locals and expats. And strangely, it has many, many home furnishing shops. A lot of the buildings are aged, but the government, in the form of The Urban Renewal Authority, has stepped in to tear them down and build back up. There are signs everywhere of construction under this authority. There is an immense new exhibition and convention center and many upscale restaurants along the water.

I get attached to things quickly. Mid-Levels already started to feel like home. So, we scrutinized Wan Chai a few times before we (I) was ready to give up on Mid-Levels. Soon after that decision was made, I've become a little sick of that escalator, and I look forward to moving and seeing some Chinese people.

Ugh, there's more.

Background information: You may think we need no more than a one-bedroom flat, but rooms are so small that additional bedrooms would be needed to fit the bedroom furniture that doesn't fit in the bedroom once the bed occupies it. Though, most of our furniture is expendable; we intentionally brought things that we wouldn't be heartbroken to part with.

We saw flats in Wan Chai in two buildings, J Residence and Zenith, both brand new. Here are the sites. Something funny to note is that neither site's location map has Lockheart St. on it.

http://www.jresidence.com.hk/

http://www.thezenith.hk/

I am so sick of myself and hearing my own wheels turning that I don't even feel like pouring out the details of the comparisons between the two. As quickly as possible... we decided we liked J Residence, bid on a two-bedroom flat, were strung along for a few days, then the landlord upped the price which was already beyond our comfort, so we had to let it go. There are one-bedrooms there also but after we decided on a two-bedroom it seemed like we couldn't turn back and sacrifice the extra space. Then we looked at a three-bedroom in Zenith where the rent was more affordable and made a bid on the Friday of Easter weekend. The agent said we would sign the lease the following Wednesday. Then I thought and thought and thought. For some reason, I couldn't let J Residence go. Paul said he would be content with either place, though we would definitely have to get rid of furniture if we went to a one-bedroom in J.R. Both buildings had similar desirable features like a pool, a balcony, a gym. Both are new and attractive. But one had more space and the other had a pull on us.

I wavered endlessly. Then I did what anyone would do in that situation; I called my Daddy. I explained the situation and he told me to look at the big picture. I did. Then I stayed up for a few more hours thinking. Then I got in bed and continued thinking. Then I woke up when Paul was going to work on Tuesday because we had to tell the agent that morning if we were backing out of the Zenith. I told Paul we should stick with Zenith. Then he went to work . Then I called him 90 minutes later and said, "J Residence."

So we looked at what was available yesterday and we chose a place in J Residence. So far, it hasn't fallen through. And I will question my decision for about two more months. I always wonder what I have given up to live with the choice I made. In economics (remember when I was a business major?) it's called the opportunity cost. My little brain can't handle the idea that, ultimately, either place would have been the right decision.

Now, what should I have for lunch?