Family moving to HK

My family and I are considering moving to HK from Singapore with our 2 year old.


I would really like to ask for your advice on:


1. What are the best expat areas to live (budget 50-100k)? We would like to be close enough to enjoy the great shopping and restaurants of hong kong, but also have an apartment in an area that is good for kids.


2. What is it like having a baby in Hong Kong? What are the hospitals like?


3. Is HK a good city to live in with kids?


Thank you very much.

Also I was wondering if you generally drive in Hong Kong or just take cabs/public transport? What do most mothers with little kids do?

Ok thanks. I'm just not sure what we need to spend - we are open to spend more to be able to live in a really nice area that is child friendly. To narrow it down I guess around 80k would be reasonable.

1. 80k is a good budget. You can look at Discovery Bay, Repulse Bay, Stanley, Shouson Hill, Tai Tam, Pok Fu Lam, Cyberport, Midlevels, Sai Kung. All child friendly in their own way. You will get 2-4 bedrooms depending on location and building. If you want "facilities", i.e. pool, gym and so forth expect to pay 10-30k more per month than in a building without.


On some sort of more "child friendly scale", I guess you could look at Disco Bay, Stanley, Repulse Bay, Shouson Hill, Sai Kung and Tai Tam more than the rest, but it really depends on the building. I wouldn't really call any of those areas "child unfriendly".


As for access to shopping and restaurants, HK Island itself is fairly small. So even from Repulse Bay, which is "on the other side" relative to Central/Wan Chai, you're just 20 minutes away from "the action".


2. Hospitals are world class and on par with anything you'll find in the West. Health care is free but you will get prompter service and nicer facilities in private hospitals. Health insurance that pays for such is a good idea. For giving birth, this would mean the difference between staying in a ward with other people and having a lovely private room with a view.


3. A subjective question but here is my take. HK is crowded and rather polluted. Apart from that, it is a fantastic place to live with kids. Affordable domestic help, excellent schools, a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities, very safe, very easy to arrange playdates.


"Also I was wondering if you generally drive in Hong Kong or just take cabs/public transport? What do most mothers with little kids do?"


A mix. Public transport is cheap, efficient, reliable and ubiquitous. Very easy to get most places. Taxis are cheap and also ubiquitous. We take our car in some cases when public transport is less convenient and we would have to make 1-2 changes. Also depending on parking where we are going. We didn't buy our car until we had been here over a year and at the time our kids were 2 and 0 years old. Certainly don't think you must buy a car the minute you arrive unless you live in Sai Kung or Tai Tam for example. My wife commutes by motorcycle and I use one a lot as well. Very convenient given that parking in the downtown areas is way cheaper for two-wheelers, and you can bypass congestion.