by It is only when you can no longer see your stuff that you start giving any thought to security. It is the awkward half of the renting the storage spaces in Hong Kong, you are investing your money in the location that is not in your control, at times in the building you do not know well.
Facilities are present which look refined. Light bulbs, key cards, cameras on every corner. It is comforting externally. But it is not necessarily such as I get to witness in a short visit in regard to security.
A majority of these warehouses are dug in the premises of a factory. Elderly, and rather tattered. It does not turn it necessarily unsafe but alters the vulnerability. Shared corridors (having various businesses on the same floor), multiple tenants. Nor is it only you, which comes and goes.
Some of my boxes were in a cheaper place in Kwun Tong. It was easy to get at, maybe excessively so. No human beings there, just a pin code which was not changed very often. Convenient, yes. But it brought me to ask myself who had that code a few weeks later.
It is also likely to be high following the more costly storage facilities. Single unit alarms, improved surveillance, restricted access. You will spend more but you will be in a position to sleep about this without having to think about it at 2 a.m.
The even better places do not last long. These are not insurances and even superficial security systems are implemented in case an individual has the real intentions of breaking in. This is where the insurance comes in and the big percentage of people forget about that aspect until it is too late.
Another problem that cannot be discussed is humidity. The Hong Kong atmosphere is not kind. Having no right climate control, everything starts to be sticky, then distorted, then a bit damaged. Papers curl. Leather gets weird. The world of electronic is changing at an appalling pace. It is not robbery but it is akin to losing something.
And this is fire safety. The stricter rules were brought about because of the incidence of two high profile events in the past two years. Fire sprinklers, inflammable substances, less complicated designs. That assisted, though not all facilities are equal. Some look upgraded. Others… less so.
There is also the belief of increased safety of storage facilities than leaving the things at home. That depends. Well-managed facility is very much controlled. Minimal oversight budget alternative? It is quite a gambling game.
One of the things that you discover after you have spent more than one time in the storage: the packing is nearly as important as the storing place. Good boxes, good locks, no labelling of the valuables. It is easy but people fail to take notice of it as they may be in a hurry when making a move.
The forgetting what you stored habit is also there. What seemed so harmless, this time, until months after, when you discover that you have not done a single step towards anything. Unseen things are not thought of and it is at this juncture that small problems become big.
Storage units of Hong Kong are not necessarily unsafe. But not all of them are created in the same way and the disparity is quite obvious in details, which an individual ignores until some point. There is security but it is not absolute. You are selling house room to a different section of the world.