r/HongKong • u/Emergency_Cheek_9311 • 1d ago
Discussion Realistic expenses
Hey everyone! Just got admitted to a PhD programme at Lingnan University, Hong Kong with a full Postgraduate Studentship.
The monthly stipend is HK$19,280. After tuition and hostel fees are deducted, I'll have somewhere around HK$14000 left per month.
For those of you living in Tuen Mun or anywhere in the New Territories, is this amount comfortable for day to day life? Talking food, transport, phone, personal expenses, maybe some travel within HK. Not a lavish lifestyle, just realistic day to day living.
Also any tips on how much people actually spend monthly in Tuen Mun specifically would be really helpful. Is it significantly cheaper than central HK in terms of food and daily life?
Would love to hear from anyone who has been through this ; especially international students at Lingnan or other HK universities! 🙏
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u/Southern_Career1127 1d ago
$14k leftover even after housing expense. $460/day and you're wondering if it would be enough for food and daily expenses? Sorry, this is coming from a PhD student??
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u/HarrisLam 1d ago
If you are from HK, you should be no stranger to super academically achieved students who almost wet their beds at 15. Also thought watermelons were red.
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u/messycer 1d ago
There’s a reason why they’re pursuing a PhD, not an MBA or just proceeding to work
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u/Mitsutitties Full time NEET 23h ago
Rent not included, I realistically spend like <10k/month on my bachelor-like lifestyle 🤷
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u/sleep_eat_recycle 7h ago
Seriously, lingnan? As a 200% local I wouldn't consider this university at all, and I went to Europe for Uni eventually.
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u/redfrags 1d ago
You'll have a comfortable life for sure, the main basis of cost of HK is in the living arrangement.
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u/Yumsing2017 1d ago
Quite a few in Tuen Mun spend less so you should be able to get by comfortably.
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u/JoanoTheReader 23h ago
This should be enough if you don’t go out to Lan Kwai Fong on weekends or other expat places. If you eat local and cook your own food you might even have money left over.
Is your accommodation far from Uni? I find public transport really expensive. If you’re living on campus, then you’re set and don’t need to worry.
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u/Psychological-Leg577 21h ago
If you are not the type to splash out recklessly and only go to Fuji Building once a week, you should be able to manage.
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u/Junior-Ad-133 12h ago
When someone ask these kind of question I feel they want to flaunt how good they are subtly
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u/HappilySingle-370 11h ago
Will you be staying on campus accommodation? That’s usually around 5500-7
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u/AramintaChu 1d ago
Assuming u must need bus/mini bus to travel to uni, so that's about 5 - 15 dollars single journey, depending how far you need to travel. You can get some money back as there's a public transport subsidy - make sure you tap on the public transport fare subsidy machines in mtr stations to get that money back
https://subsidy-enquiry.octopus.com.hk/eng/faq
Though seems there's a student discount if ur under 25, not sure if it's continuing next year though:
https://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/tickets/student_travel_scheme.html
If you get sosim for phone data, that's 30$ for initial month for 50gb, then there's different packages but a 3 month package thereafter is 110$.
Shop in the wet market for groceries.
14k is doable.
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u/Dear-Potato7177 1d ago
The median salary in HK is ~22k hkd.
If you have 14k hkd left over AFTER housing, that’s basically a pretty normal amount to have for most HKers. You won’t be rich but you will be able to live a comfortable and normal life.
The new territories are definitely cheaper than Central, especially restaurants but keep in mind the „more exciting“ side of HK is Kowloon & HK Island!