Posted by
whoever
19 yrs ago
Just interested to hear from any gweilo who lives in a village - eg on Lantau or in the New Territories.
We have been thinking of moving to one, but we have recently heard some worrying stories and we have read about the expat couple in Lantau who, allegedly, were recently beaten up by Chinese villagers over a parking dispute.
Any views about safety?
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I lived in a village up in Shek Kong for 18 months - its a very different way of life but I really enjoyed as a break from the hustle and bussle of island life. I am good friends with the son of one of the village elders and the only trouble I ever had was when I parked in my scum bag mainland chinese neighbour's parking space and he parked me in with 3 of his sh*tty cars. I told my friend and it was passed back among the elders and "there were words" I never heard a peek from him again.
It is a bit different though, I remember when I used to take my trash out to the bins and then all the poor elderly people would go routing through my garbage for valuables.
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In my opinion, it is quite safe to live in a village. I lived in a village in Sai Kung for 2 and a half years and never once had any problems where I felt threatened. Like you, I had heard all of these horror stories before I moved in (such as illegal immigrants breaking into your home and forcing you to pay them). However the only difficulties I every had was with the village dogs (pick up some rocks and they'll usually go away, I had to pretend to throw the rocks a few times but never actually did) that aren't very nice and lots of creepy crawlies but if you treat your neighbors with respect and courtesy then you shouldn't have any problems.
A point to consider before moving into a village house is to carefully check the condition of the plumbing, aircons, water damage, traces of termites, etc, as it can be a battle to have anything fixed after you move in. I lived in 2 different villages and it was the same in both cases, a nightmare to get anything repaired. However that being said, it is a very peaceful and tranquil environment that is very nice to go home to after a day of work in the city. I loved the weekends there!
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Live in a Lantau village, totally safe and love it. Did hear a different side to the newspaper report but can't comment as (a) I don't live there and (b) I don't know the couple in question. Plumming and leaks should all be checked out but had problems with those in major residential areas throughout HK, not villages alone. Repair work is no problem over here and purchasing/installing appliances can be done in half a day. I love it and can be in Central in 30 minutes.
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Was that Lantau? Only asking beacuse although there have been break-ins here, nobody has been threatened as far as I know, and apart from the usual mobile phones, our burglars tend to take food!!!
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I lived everywhere in HK (been here 17 years)and I feel safer living in a village than in town.
Villagers, in general, have more sense of community and strangers are easily spotted.
Yes you have the occasional dogs barking, it is not as clean as a well managed building in town, but:
Fresher/Cleaner air (for HK standard)
Sound of birds in the morning and crickets in the evening
Better value for money
Safer
Can (in most cases) easily access town when needed.
Wouldnt want to go back living in town.
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I have heard that burglaries tend to be more violent in Sai Kung, but I can't understand why that would be the case. Still, we have many prisons in Lantau so it's not too far to take them if you catch them!!!
I find our villages pretty clean over here and rarely see roadside rubbish unless it's a bank holiday full of bbqers.
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You are right I loved the weekends there and waking up to the sound of birds and crickets / frogs in the evening.
However, I became a bit of a recluse up there, it was very difficult to get me to do anything after work or venture into town on the way back because of the commute.
If you do move to a village I suggest you give your neighbours a few donations, such as furniture you no longer need or something. That seemed to work for us.
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I have lived in both Sai Kung and Clearwater bay now for over 5 years.. I love it and never had any issues or felt I was in danger. I have heard of one or 2 break-in's in our area but nothing like those stories about people being robbed etc. There are a lot of Dogs in our area and we have one ourselves and yes they all bark but it has never kept me from sleeping. The usual morning bark when people start leaving yes but not much problems there either... Our neighbours are all very friendly and they all chitchat with each other over the weekend when washing the car etc. Only issue I have is that there has been some new houses being build in the area which means big trucks are passing by our house regularly. Its means some noice, dust and bad roads..
For the rest, its great. Good value for money. Especially if you compare to Stanley etc where lot of my friends live. I find that one big tourist spot where you will never find the real peace and quietness as you have here...
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Lantau is fairly safe in a sense that at break-ins (frequent) burglars will only steal stuff, not harm people.
You may find yourself waking up to chirping birds if you manage to get some sleep, especially at weekends, when the BBQ crowds descend and PARTY!
Also, be prepared for close up and personal encounters with wildlife inside your house (ants, frogs, snails, c*ckroaches, an occassional snake) and most of all, get used to mosquitoes.
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