Enjoy the Density of Hong Kong in the Middle of the Pandemic

Hong Kong, CNN Indonesia —

I used to think that it would be difficult to balance life in Hong Kong, because the city is very busy. In fact, after four years of moving here to continue my doctoral education, I was finally able to enjoy the comforts of Hong Kong.

The 27th Annual Cost of Living Survey released by Mercer in June 2021 wrote that Hong Kong is the second most expensive city in the world, behind Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) and even two positions ahead of Tokyo (Japan).

The Hong Kong government does impose high taxes, but it is rewarded with many qualified public services, such as free school fees from elementary to junior high school, and public hospital fees are quite cheap.

Many campuses in Hong Kong are also included in the ’50 Best Universities in the World’ which provide scholarships for those who wish to study here. Local students who continue their studies to postgraduate level are also exempt from tuition fees.

And which can be an example for many countries including Indonesia, the Hong Kong government pays considerable attention to its education sector in terms of salaries of educators, especially professors at universities, which are among the highest in the world for academics.

The high cost of living gives rise to many dense settlements in Hong Kong. The lower-middle class residents don’t mind living in tiny houses, often called micro-apartments, so they can still access the city center.

One example is the settlement of The Monster Building, a dense apartment complex that towers over Quarry Bay, which before the corona virus pandemic was crowded with foreign tourists to take Instagramable photos or videos.

Fortunately, during the pandemic, the government did not apply lockdown (provincial lockout) in Hong Kong, so residents don’t have to feel “imprisoned” at home.

Incidentally, I also live in a dorm at the university, which has quite a large area and many public facilities, such as a place to exercise, so it doesn’t make me too stressed during the pandemic.

Although there is none lockdownHowever, restrictions are still in place when cases of transmission are high, for example, restaurants are asked to limit their capacity to 50 percent.

Only two people may sit at the same table at the same time. Currently, when local cases are decreasing – because they are dominated by cases from abroad – the limitation is to four people in one table. Likewise, when in the park, crowds of more than four people close to each other are prohibited.

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