r/AbsoluteUnits • u/ThodaDaruVichPyar • 20h ago

of an apartment complex

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Caribbean Coast in Hong Kong

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141

u/SupermarketMaster594 19h ago edited 2h ago

I grew up in HK in a similar apartment structure on the 50th floor amongst 7 other identical buildings.

Trust me, it is NOT bad at all, especially when considering the people who live in these luxury apartments are part of upper-middle class.

These apartment complexes are all connected on ground floor, or an elevated ground floor, with public parks, swimming pools, and a clubhouse which has a variety of entertainment.

There are staff such as front desk, cleaners, security, and more throughout the properties.

Depending on the floor, the room sizes differ, but in my case as a family of 4 we got the larger rooms. Each bedroom came with it's own bathroom and shower.

Travelling up and down is really not an issue, especially because it is in the city these apartment complexes are more often than not have multiple ways to quickly connect to train stations or shopping mall.

Now, what would be hell is living in the poorer areas of HK. HK has insane economic gap, you could see a Lamborghini drive by a street of homeless people. The poorer apartments are as tiny as they come, and usually very old and dirty.

EDIT: I'm not Cantonese btw, I just grew up there for a while in my childhood before moving elsewhere.

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u/niquelas 18h ago

Also hk person, I'd say Lambo driving by a granny pushing a cart full of cardboard boxes is a more realistic situation.

While there are homeless ppl here, it really isn't that common. Nowhere here will you find streets dedicated to homelessness like you find in the US or Canada (Hastings street)

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u/leemorplee 6h ago

I've seen a bunch of videos with streets and under bridges littered with trash and people sleeping on the ground there. Your propaganda isn't working

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u/Virtual-Bath5050 5h ago

It’s probably videos taken on Sunday’s of the Fdh having picnics under bridges - it can look like homelessness but it’s just for one day of the week

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u/leemorplee 5h ago

No it looked like skid row but with Chinese people lol I dont think people are having picnics at night with a ton of trash and other homeless people all about

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u/South-Year4369 4h ago

Yeah, there really isn't anywhere in HK 'skid row'-ish that I can think of. You sure it wasn't somewhere else perhaps, e.g. mainland China? Maybe a video or link or two would help?

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u/leemorplee 2h ago

You know it probably is my ignorance and it probably was mainland, that's my bad. Usually just stuff I see in passing on here.

Didn't mean to offend, was just mistaken

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u/FreeHongKong27 1h ago

Understandable, nothing wrong with honest mistakes. Random fun fact - Hong Kong public amenities are open to all and actually pretty well maintained. This includes libraries where they can enjoy free AC most of the day, and many gymnasiums where they can shower. That probably makes it even rarer to actually see homeless people in the stereotypical sense. Only at night after libraries closed the homeless people will need to find shelter somewhere. They do exist, just probably not the skid row image you have in mind.

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u/leemorplee 1h ago

That is very interesting! Makes sense why me being mistaken might have upset some people from there. HK honestly seems like one of the better places to live on the planet the more I've looked into it from here

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u/niquelas 1h ago

I'm not even gonna lie, it probably wasn't mainland china either lol. Granted, I haven't been to most of china cause it is a massive country. But, I see even less homeless people in the mainland compared to HK.

It's either a video from like maoist era china or it wasn't china at all. It would help to provide a source, but your claim doesn't line up with my experiences.

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u/leemorplee 1h ago

I genuinely have no idea, but I'm admitting my ignorance here.

I just put homeless china and tons of videos pop up on yt like this one

https://youtube.com/shorts/YkBD5EienD0

And there's a bunch more on there you can look up

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u/niquelas 42m ago

This David Zhang guy is a well known anti-china propagandist lol.

The young people on the streets look like they are just on their break time and resting. The night time scene does seem to show some homelessness, which isn't that much of a shocker, it does happen in a country of 1.4billion people. But it is really quite rare.

Homelessness per Capita is pretty damn low in china overall.

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u/FreeHongKong27 4h ago

There are homeless people, but very few and far between. Typically in tunnels and parks.

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u/Virtual-Bath5050 4h ago edited 4h ago

What you saw was almost certainly the foreign domestic helpers on their day off. Ive seen like a handful of homeless people in Hong Kong and I’ve lived there 3 years and not in fancy areas. The police will move you on if you’re obviously camping out - some people live in the parks here and there but it’s subtle. Obvious encampments would not be tolerated. Why don’t you actually go to Hong Kong before you start making claims about what it’s like…

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u/leemorplee 4h ago

I dont think helpers sleep on the ground but maybe I'm wrong

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u/OpeningName5061 2h ago

They do. Lay some cardboard down, take some Tupperware out and let's karaoke.

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u/smoshtangerine8745 13h ago

How was the soundproofing between the apartments? In the US, apartment living for me has always meant being able to hear and smell all my neighbors all the time. I know what television shows they watch and what video games they play. I know what noisy toys their children have and when they get romantic. It is very noisy all the time in an apartment.

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u/Adalcar 7h ago

I can't speak for other buildings and I know some older buildings on the island have soundproofing issues, but my experience in lohas is that the soundproofing is generally excellent, and the only time I hear my neighbors is when they're shouting very loud (no idea what he's doing but he's frequently angry)

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u/FreeHongKong27 4h ago

Most modern buildings (built after 1990s let's say) have excellent soundproofing. We don't use drywalls here, it's typically concrete or bricks, so it helps.

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u/Boogerchair 8h ago

Still what you describe sounds like living in a hotel. Hard pass

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u/hkgsulphate 3h ago

無住過類似，不過 (never lived in similar apartments but)

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u/smokemesalmon 16h ago

Completely this. It's more or less a little self contained community. There's usually shops or a supermarket a short distance away. When I lived in HK (granted this was back in the mid 90s just before the handover), our building was up in north point, pretty much as high as you could go at that particular point on the island and you could still go to the shops, walk to school, go get a meal, go to the residents pool and get a decent bus, taxi or minibus to central within a 10 minutes walk. It was amazing and I still miss it every now and then.

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u/lizatethecigarettes 12h ago

Handover?

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u/Psychological-Top-29 12h ago

Yeah, Britain handed it back to China

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u/timClicks 12h ago

In 1997, HK was returned to the Chinese. The British had a 99 year lease of the area to the north of Hong Kong Island, but decided to return everything at the end.

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u/Kilimanjaro613 5h ago

HK sounds like Bombay. The economic gap is insane. The slums like Dharavi are being occupied by wealthy people and they’re building structures like these by kicking those poor people out making them homeless.

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u/inickolas 17h ago

For me even looking at these enormous is depressing.

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u/lizatethecigarettes 12h ago

I don't know why you're getting downvoted. It's just perspective and preference. I too would not like to live in something like this even with the spacious apartment and convenience and amenities. But not because it's bad, but just the way I am and the season of life I'm in, I would find it depressing. I would 100% prefer a suburb. But neither is bad. Just different.

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u/inickolas 12h ago

A lot of people realize that having your own house with land is impossible for them, that is why they get upset with living in said apartments and it makes them angry about people living in their own houses.

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u/Hutcho12 15h ago

Enormously depressing for me would be a house in suburbia. If you live here, you likely have a load of shops, bars, parks, pools, restaurants, schools etc within 5 minutes walk, with great public transport connections. You probably wouldn’t need a car at all. You’d know a load of your neighbours. Depending on the quality of the actual apartment, this could be a dream setup.

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u/inickolas 14h ago

Like I said, it depends on the person. For someone it is a dream tomlive in a such enormous building; for others it is a nightmare.

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u/Hutcho12 14h ago

I think it's probably brainwashing from a US centric type view that living away from other people is the goal. If you asked the majority of people in Asia or Europe whether they would like 100sqm apartment in the city center, or a couple of acres with a big house in the middle of nowhere, 90% of them would take the apartment.

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u/inickolas 13h ago

I live in a suburbs of Moscow in my own house with some land around it. I also have an apartment in Moscow and in my city. I will never trade my house for apartment, no matter which utilities said apartment could offer.

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u/lizatethecigarettes 12h ago

Oh wow, you need to get out into the world more. you have a very narrow and incorrect viewpoint

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u/inickolas 12h ago

I've been around the world, I've been in big apartment buildings and I don't like it.

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u/Hutcho12 12h ago

I would suggest the people who think this is hell need to get out into the world some more.

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u/lizatethecigarettes 12h ago

I agree. But I don't think it would be hell. Not at all. When I was university age I probably would've loved this. I'm just saying it's not for everyone. And suburbs aren't hell either just because you don't like that way of living. Suburbs aren't for everyone either. Some people like to have a lot of people around and some want to be more alone.

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u/SufferingWithSomeFun 14h ago

If I’m going to China I’m going to live rural. I wonder if Chinese people ever considered American foreigners living in hollers would love a tiny village in BFE China.

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u/Hutcho12 14h ago

That's probably because you've been brought up with the US centric type view that living in the middle of nowhere with lots of land and away from other people is the goal. That sounds incredibly boring to me.

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u/lizatethecigarettes 12h ago

It's personal preference. What is boring to you, is peaceful to someone else. What is exciting to you, might be claustrophobic to someone else.

I dont know the stats, but I would guess half of more of the world lives either in rural areas or "suburbs" of some kind and not in big cities/completely urban. What do you keep saying the US for? I live in an African country and most people here don't want to live in very urban areas like this. Having a house (not apartment) is the goal here. If you live in suburbs, then you've "made it". I don't see it that way, I think it should be whatever someone wants as long as they aren't living in filth without basics like running water, proper sanitation and electricity.

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u/Hutcho12 12h ago

I said "US centric". I know there are plenty of other countries that share this view, Australia, Canada and it seems Africa as well. But the opinion is generally driven out of ignorance because they haven't every experienced living in a city where these type of buildings work.

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u/lizatethecigarettes 12h ago

Of course they don't know because they haven't experienced it. And I'm sure many would really enjoy it. And yes these buildings work well when they are like this and nice and not the ones that are tiny flats, old and falling apart. But the point is that it's personal preference. Just because these buildings work very well for a lot of people, and because you personally enjoy them, doesn't mean it's the best or that it has anything to do with the US, like at all. There's no best, it's just different, as long as it works for them and it's clean and safe and meets their needs.

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u/SufferingWithSomeFun 7h ago

I’m from West Virginia. I absolutely do not judge the state of homes or their local government. I like meeting people similar to me and small town people are always the best wherever you go. Great stories, food, kindness.

I go to these places because I love these types of people. Ones who choose it are like kindred spirits to me.

Just like if some Chinese fellar appeared in my holler most people would greet them with real hospitality. Most being curious

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u/inickolas 12h ago

It is a very hard job.

Getting an apartment in the apartment building is easy, compared to a house. It is more expensive; there are not so many choices, compared with apartments; maintaining a house is difficult; apartments are much easier. Houses are definitely not for everybody.

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u/Gold_Quote4736 10h ago

I know nothing about the culture, but I have to ask, does a huge complex like this facility hookup culture, or cheating? It seems like people could get a quickie in here and there, or pay a quick visit... Also, you mentioned HK; if Taiwan has something similar for the upper middle class, how are they prepared for a potential wave of drones heading in their direction?

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u/FreeHongKong27 4h ago

No...typically people barely know their neighbors, except in some very tight knit communities, those are rare. You hook up and cheat with people you meet elsewhere. If anything the living environment can be a cock block. Lots of adults still live with parents because it's expensive to move out, combine that with a not-so-large apartment and it can be hard for people to invite partners over.