Review of PolyU Student Halls of Residence (Hung Hom)

By Anna Belsham, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

When deciding to do an exchange year one of my main concerns was going back to living in student halls, especially as most of the exchange options were shared rooms, which is unheard of in the UK. But I have ended up having a very positive experience and I would not let this put you off doing a study abroad, I think it is a great experience and very character building.

Price:

Hong Kong is known to be very expensive to live in, with extremely high renting prices. However, the price of PolyU halls is extremely cheap (in comparison to anywhere else in Hong Kong or even Manchester), when I first saw the price I thought that it was a mistake! The price the biggest positive of the accommodation and means that you will have a lot more money to spend day to day, which balances out well as the cost of living in Hong Kong is more then Manchester, so it ends up costing about the same as it does to live in Manchester, which was a big relief ad many other universities, do not offer exchange students halls or they are very expensive.

Sharing a Room:

The rooms are shared between two people, with 2 single beds, 2 wardrobes (plenty of storage), 2 desks and a bathroom attached too the room shared with 2 other people that live next door. I was lucky enough to share with someone I already knew from Manchester, so we requested to be together, but I heard many other stories from other people sharing with complete strangers that it was a positive experience. It is a great way to make friends and meet new people. You also do not even end up spending much time in the room apart from sleeping as the lifestyle in Hong Kong is so fast paced and when on a study abroad you want to make the most of the new city you are in. If you do end up having a bad experience with a roommate, they do give you the chance to swap, which is great.

Facilities:

• Kitchen- 1 on each floor.
• Social area with sofa- one on each floor.
• Washer and dryer- one on each floor.
• Gym.
• Pool.
• Table tennis.
• BBQ.
• Canteen.
• Vending machines.
• Aircon- you top this up as you need it with your octopus card (not expensive).

Positives:

• Once you are accepted to do an exchange at PolyU, you are guaranteed a place at the student halls. This means you do not have to worry about sorting private accommodation, which can be very expensive and is the case for many other university options.
• Proximity to University- The halls are only a 10 minute walk to get to the university campus and it is all along a bridge that is covered, which is good as Hong Kong can be very rainy.
• Transport- There are 2 MTR stations within 10 minutes walk from the halls.
• Canteen- has been recently renovated and is very cheap.
• Social- living in the student halls rather then renting privately, gives you the chance to be more social and make friends.
• Storage- big wardrobe, drawers under bed, desk with shelves and more drawers.
• Cleaner.
• Safety- there is a lot of security 24/7 so you feel very safe.
• Price.
• Facilities.
• Lots of hall activities.

Negatives:

• Mattress- the mattress (more of a leather mat) was a big shock at first but you can get a topper or another duvet to put underneath, but you do end up getting used to it.
• Lack of alone time.
• Lifts- there are 2 lifts in the building which has 21 floors of people, so you do end up waiting for a long time (especially when people are moving in and out), just need to factor this in and leave more time to get to places.