Posted by
Kuafor
16 yrs ago
We are moving to HK with 2 young kids from a big villa + big garden. I know that space is very expensive in HK and that we are going to live in a small flat but if possible we want to have a 3-4 bedroom (+ maid room) flat around 1800sq ft. Any recommendations for a child friendly building with gym and pool on island (east-central-west midlevels, pokfulam, happy valley).
Unfortunately our budget is below the average for such a flat (45k inclusive).
If our target seems to be unrealistic what can be other options (specially for the parents with young kids: what to comprimise - space, facilities, location)? TIA
Please support our advertisers:
45k inclusive is possible, but it won't be in one of the nicer buildings.
Personally, I would sacrifice space for location. I would rather live somewhere really nice in a smaller flat. Then again there ARE options. for example there are plenty of people who swear by Sai Kung despite the commute.
Also note that you can save money by going for a place without pool and gym but get a club membership that includes those things. Not as convenient but typically cheaper.
Please support our advertisers:
Discovery Bay is a great option. Tons of space to run around in child-friendly playgrounds, 2 clubs (which you get automatic membership to, tho' there is a mthly charge) and with your budget of 45k a mth for rental you might get a sizeable apt.
My kids love it here. There is such a community feel and an excellent transportion system.
Please support our advertisers:
The Savills website is quite good to get an idea of prices (http://www.savills.com.hk/). My feeling is that $45K would not be enough for that size in Midlevels. We have just looked at a place in a building with a pool and gym in higher numbered end of Robinson Rd (Midlevels) and the asking price was $57K exclusive (so add another $8K odd a month for management fees etc). But that was only one building as an example and there will be some ability to negotiate. We have also been looking in Discovery Bay and again, I think you'd need to go down a bit in size if you want to stick to $45K. As far as I know (and I have never lived in DB) none of the buildings have swimming pools etc and if you want that, you need to join the residents club. However, I agree that there is lots of space and playgrounds etc so very kid-friendly.
Sai Kung would certainly be cheaper but then there is the commute and also you'd need to buy a car and factor in that cost.
People also say Pokfulam is good for kids but not sure of the prices.
Overall I would say that you are looking at a very large apartment by Hong Kong standards and rents are definitely not cheap here. Also, 4 bedrooms are not common unless the place is huge. 3 plus a maids room is much more common.
Savills website or google Midland Realty will give you an idea of prices (and bear in mind there is some room to negotiate on the website prices).
Good luck.
Please support our advertisers:
Actually, we'd like to keep "Pokfulam" quiet (but is seems to be catching on!) ... in order to keep the prices down ... Thanks!!
Please support our advertisers:
My previous post was in response to another poster's comment about Pokfulam, which now seems to have been deleted. Anyway, so as not to confuse the OP, just to confirm that Pokfulam is a very nice place to live, with good schools in the area, both primary and secondary. Apartments are available within your price range, but if you want the pool/gym, etc, then you would probably struggle to find something for the size and price you mention. As previously mentioned, it depends what is most important to your family ... space or facilities ... we have a 2200sf apartment with a large roof, but no facilities, which is around your price range ... we moved from a smaller apartment with facilities because the extra space was more important to us.
Please support our advertisers:
THANK YOU everyone for your comments / inputs. Please keep them coming as I'm still can't figure out what is good for our kids and also us (we all need to be happy :-).
How is the commute in DB if you don't leave close to the wharf - are there frequent shuttle buses and how long would it take to reach to the warf? What if you want to buy a car - I've read somewhere that cars are not allowed in DB? In that case where do you keep your car? How do you carry your bulky grocery shopping if you can not have a car? Can you get a taxi / mini bus in DB or the only transport is shuttle bus & ferry? How much are the monthly fees for the clubs in DB?
Pokfulam also sounds like a place to check - thanks :-)
Anyone knows any info about rents at Bamboo Grove (huge blocks above Wan Chai - on Kennedy Rd.)?
Looking forward to hearing more.
Please support our advertisers:
DB has frequent buses and all are timed to connect to the ferries. No taxis or mini buses but there are hire cars which you can hire (like taxis) but I believe that they have a fixed fare per person. The fees for the resident clubs differ depending on what package you buy (eg: whether or not to include monthly gym membership etc). If you google Discovery Bay Residents Club you will find the website for the clubs which has a PDF of the prices. In terms of cars - no cars in DB but some people leave their cars at Tung Chung and catch the bus from DB to Tung Chung to pick up the car. I wouldn't bother unless you think you'll use it a lot as cars are expensive to run here.
Can't help with Pokfulam but second the Savills website - you can do searches with parameters of price AND size and see what comes up.
Please support our advertisers:
I hear DB will have car parks near the current turnoff in the future but you can imagine what they will charge for renting those...? I agree that DB is probably the best option if you don't mind ferry or bus currently...and re heavy shopping etc -there is the helper factor to assist with this...personally I am a boonies person -ie South Lantau is great for me but shhh! don't want it to get any more popular... can own a car ,get away from the madness and commute by ferry from Mui Wo...but its certainly a long way from the action if you need to go to HK Island a lot-.Pokfulam is fine but a concrete jungle like Mid Levels with a nice view and thats about it -Happy Valley looks good and Shoushon Hill -if you like a bit of green-Sai Kung is great but the commute is a killer and Sundays there are off putting with the crowds to me...
Please support our advertisers:
Please support our advertisers:
hmm
16 yrs ago
I live near bamboo grove and have friends who live there. I like the convenience of Kennedy road and its proximity to Central, Wan Chai, etc. I for one would not sacrifice location for a bit more size... I'd pay anything to avoid a commute from DB... just me.
Bamboo Grove do have some serviced flats in this price range but are smaller than your hoped for 1800sqft... you are paying for not only the flat, but playroom, podium, pool and other 'amenities' in such a building.... worth it I am sure, but above that price range.
2000sqft. could run you up to 70k at bamboo grove.
1700sqft. (3bdrm +1 ensuite) could run from 50k+
Get an idea here:
http://www.hongkonghomes.com/property_archive/apartment_in_Bamboo_Grove_Block_74_14476.htm
Please support our advertisers:
Please support our advertisers:
For families with children (and dogs), I believe Pokfulam is a dream.
It's not yet been mentioned that Pokfulam has one of the most beautiful parks in Hong Kong -- Cyberport Park by the sea. Up in Cyberport itself, families bring their toddlers to play every weekend. In the Cyberport Park below, their are children on roller-skates and bicycles and scooters -- almost the only place in Hong Kong where children have the space to do these things. And co-existing in this very child-friendly atmosphere are people with their pet dogs. Again, this is probably about the only place in Hong Kong where dogs can run freely. Most dogs are, however, the pampered smaller pedigree types, but one can see almost all types of dogs out there, all having fun.
And Cyberport has state-of-the-art movie theaters and a large variety of restaurants. It also has one of the largest, if not the largest, "Wise Kids" (featuring educational toys for kids) in Hong Kong. Wise Kids often has activites for kids on weekends -- as does Cyberport.
Transportation is never a problem. There are endless choices of buses going to a large variety of points throughout Hong Kong as well as an endless wealth of taxis. From the center of Pokfulam it takes no more than 10-15 minutes to Central.
Although Mid-Levels is a wonderful place to live for a variety of reasons (I loved all the years I lived there), now that I've discovered Pokfulam, I will never leave. I have one of the most beautiful views overlooking the sea. I also love the feeling of freedom I have living with so much open space, and yet I am close enough to the center of things that going just about anywhere is easy and uncomplicated.
Wow... really tough decision you will have in deciding where to live. So many great suggestions from so many people living in so many very different parts of Hong Kong!! Good luck.
Please support our advertisers:
"Again, this is probably about the only place in Hong Kong where dogs can run freely"
Now now. Let's not forget the country parks, which cover a huge chunk of HK Island. ;) Dogs are allowed off leash there. But I take your point. It might be the only actual PARK that allows dogs.
Please support our advertisers:
And as far as I am concerned it feels as if it is extremely inconvenient. If I had a choice between the south side RB or Stanley, as opposed to PFL, no question.
Though I appreciate in terms of the space you are looking for and budget you have it may not stretch there as far as you like.
Please support our advertisers:
Please support our advertisers:
Perhaps you should read the full post. Its an opinion, with a caveat.
which is well within my remit to do so.
And even if it wasn't, I don't need to justify why I write something to you do I?
Are you the thought police?
Please support our advertisers:
Now now everyone - lets just relax. Where to live always brings out very different opinions. I was also of the view that Pokfulam was not that different to Midlevels just 10 minutes further away from Central in terms of a commute but I do agree that it has some good bits - good supermarket, Cyberport cinema nearby and the top of Cyberport where there is a good space for kids to run around (where they hold the market). Other than a stint in NT, I have lived in Midlevels for the 6 years I've been here and am now ready for a change. It truly is a concrete jungle and add kids to the mix and your priorities change. In my opinion, Repulse Bay and Stanley would be well down the list for me as although there are some nice apartments and the sea view is lovely, they feel very inconvenient to me. I like going there to look at the market or go to the beach (although it is pretty dirty) or restaurants but that road drives me crazy with the traffic jams. So, each to their own huh? And agree that the budget of the OP is unlikely to stretch to RB or Stanley and, in any event, these places were also not on the OP's original suggested list.
SB2
Please support our advertisers:
Please support our advertisers:
Actually it was a response to PFL is so wonderful post, I am sorry you find it to be a put down.
The opinion is helpful PFL is just not my cup of tea, neither is DB. And that opinion is valid because the OP gets to know that the notion that PFL is wonderful is not a universal opinion shared by everyone.
Its just not as far as I'm concerned and I don't feel that way, and there are other areas I prefer and have chosen, though they may be out of the OP's price range.
the post was completely within my remit, it was within the posting rules and perfectly acceptable and a completely logical response if someone feels that way.
The OP can decide what they believe for themselves.
You don't get to arbitrate my response to posts or suggest whether they are relevant. There was nothing remotely offensive or irrelevant about it.
I'm not sure what you are complaining about, your complaint has no relevance to the OP's initial question either, so it kind of smacks of hypocrisy doesn't it. Pot, Kettle and all.
It' OK for you to digress unhelpfully about someone else digressing. I am guessing somehow, an opinion is valid and relevant only if you share it, and it doesn't offend you.
Kim Jong Il just called, he says he's looking for a new minister for propaganda.
Please support our advertisers:
Goodness me, some people do get themselves worked up don't they. I merely gave my thoughts on PFL as that is what the OP requested ... I didn't go on to tell him where I didn't like, because that would have just been my opinion and not what the OP wanted to know. I gave the OP an idea of what living in PFL is like, and as a long-timer living in the area I think I qualify to be able to do that.
Please support our advertisers:
Nope you were not merely doing anything.
Nobody questioned your qualification or said your opinion was invalid. In fact I appreciate the fact that you like or even love where you live.
Its just not my cup of tea.
You questioned my right to voice my opinion which differed from yours using a justification that it lacked relevance.
You were not merely doing anything.
The relevance of someone suggesting they disagree with something is equally as important as someone providing a recommendation. That I chose to expand the point by stating my preference, is my choice and perrogative.
I get to choose my own language and even if it is not on point, say what I want, so long as I do not break posting rules.
In fact the OP never once asked about PFL, only that he or she planned to take a look at it. I think you made it the centre piece of this discussion, not the OP.
I simply stated a perception I have, which is rightly or wrongly based on getting to my friends houses and back home again when I was a kid growing up in Hong Kong.
Please don't make out you were merely being anything. That is an insult to my intelligence. Merely would be a misnomer. You found something disagreeable, and then deliberately suggested I had no business voicing that particular view using some pretext about relevance.
Please support our advertisers:
The OP did ask for recommendations for accommodation in certain areas, one of them being PFL, so rightly or wrongly, I assumed that the OP would like to know more about the areas that he planned to look at and possibly settle in with his family ... as do most people when they relocate. It was not my intention to make PFL the 'centre piece of this discussion' and I apologise to the OP if I was wrong to assume that he would be interested in such information.
Apologies to Digital Blonde if he feels I have tried to insult his intelligence, it was certainly not my intention to do so at all.
If the OP would like any further information that I could possibly help with, without deviating any further from the topic, I would be more than happy to help.
Please support our advertisers:
cd
16 yrs ago
You can get a 4 bedroomed place with a garden in Clearwater Bay for that price, less than 30 mins to central on the MTR from Hang Hau.
Please support our advertisers:
HI, There are various possibilities, I live in DB and love it here, very easy to commute also. I may be biased though, I will PM you with some information on housing, I don't think I'm allowed to post them on here.
I got them in my letterbox this morning, although these leaflets are db orientated, the estate agents will have links on their websights for other parts of HK.
Please support our advertisers:
A BIG thank you to everyone who took their time to give me their perspective of which areas may be good to live with kids within my budget. Now I have a better idea of which areas I should be looking at....
Merry Christmas.
Please support our advertisers:
I think facilities is probably not the top on my list. Gym/fitness/dance/yoga memberships are not that expensive in hong kong in comparison to N.America. My membership includes as many classes i want, locker, towels and all for about $50 US a month.
Please support our advertisers:
I've tried a number of places actually. For just working out waterfall, physical, california are among the more reasonably priced. Choosing amongst those i think its best to see whats close to ur home/office as they dont cost that much different..
For the new year actually i joined a yoga gym (very popular in HK where u can take crazy classes liek bellydancing and bollywood dance!) those are a little bit more expensive but you get all the facilities and as many classes you want to attend.
I go to Planet Yoga, and there is also Pure yoga (quiet expensive though almost $100+ a month!!) Here if you want to check their website.. http://bit.ly/6Fi7B0
Please support our advertisers:
You must be logged in to be able to reply.
Login now
Copy Link
Facebook
Gmail
Mail