My 360 square foot Hong Kong dream house

Some people–my mother is one of them–find it strangely enjoyable to peruse real estate listings online and in the newspaper, even when they have no intention of moving to a new location. Others even frequent open houses on Sunday afternoon, just to see what the property is like. I, however, only look at apartments when I must; and for the past two weeks now, it was a must.

No bathroom? Time to move…

For the past year, I shared a 300-square-feet, two-bedroom apartment with another female teacher. Off and on throughout the year, something in our bathroom had apparently been leaking down into the flat below us. So, our landlord said she must renovate the entire bathroom, which would take a month. Of course, it’s hard to live without a bathroom, so we had to find a new residence.

In the past two weeks, my roommate and I probably saw a dozen or more apartments, after visiting with three or four real estate agents. There was one that we quite liked, and the price was right; but when we called the agent to move ahead, just a couple of days later, someone else had already signed a lease. So we had to carry on looking, and it felt a bit like starting all over again.

The trials and tribulations of flat hunting

It’s funny the things you look for in an apartment here. A decent bathroom is at the top of the list–often many flats have bathrooms that are a bit like wet rooms, where there is a shower head, but no separate shower area. Ditto for the kitchen, where some don’t even come equipped with a stove. Security is also important–a locked entrance to the building and/or a doorman–but it’s something I never had in the US.

And so finally, on a whim, my roommate picked another estate agent at random — one with an office the size of a large walk-in closet. He took us to 360-square-foot dream. Perhaps that’s an exaggeration. But in comparison to our old flat, this one is fancy. There are built-in cabinets, a small washing machine, a microwave, a refrigerator with a freezer, a bit of a sea view, and most importantly, beds. Yes, I said beds. Our previous abode had rooms where the IKEA mattresses fit, but the bed frames were too long. And, for 360 square feet, it doesn’t feel too small. Honest.

Author Sydney Stonner is addicted to traveling. After studying journalism and music at the University of Missouri (where she studied abroad twice), she worked for a time as a newspaper reporter. Now, she is living in Hong Kong teaching English to primary school students. So far, she has visited 15 countries and hopes to visit many, many more.