Moving to Hong Kong

Hi everyone


My husband, baby and I are moving to hong kong in august, we are really looking forward to the new start in our lives. My husband has been offered a position at Cathay pacific as an FO and we have are due to move out on august 1. We have been to hong kong before when he has been on duty for a few days to sample the life there and we really liked it. But as we are moving there we could do with some pointers in the right direction. First we need somewhere to live, our budget is 25,000, and we need somewhere that is family friend, what is the city like to get around with a buggy and a child. Will we need a car to get around or is public transport good enough? What is the cost of living out there? If anyone has any pointers it would be a great help for us.


Many thanks


Kd2011

I think the thread started by Sharee2 has most of the answers:


http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/forums/living-in-or-moving-to-hong-kong/threads/147287/moving-to-hk-with-2-children-from-australia/


I can't answer about baby and stroller, but I see them in HK Getting around with them is probably not too bad, but not always easy. I doubt you'd need a car.


Good luck!

As your husband will work for Cathay you may want to consider gold coast as a location to live - its out of the city so you can get a lot for your 25k and is v popular with people based in and around the airport due to proximity so good for meeting others in the same boat. Dbay and tung Chung are other more obvious locations that are family oriented. Transport is a tricky question but as a gauge I know several couples with kids Inc babies, and those who have cars are in the minority.

Kd2011

You will be spoilt for choice with a budget of 25,000 if you look in Park Island. There is a direct bus service to the airport. You don't need a car living in Park Island - infact car access is banned on the island (except taxis and removal vans of course). Try looking at following website for yourself.

http://parkislandhongkong.blogspot.hk/

As a former Park Island resident I can confirm with Lingwu and others have said. Park Island, for anyone working on HK island or at the airport is an really high quality living option. Outstanding facilities such as multiple resort style gyms, pools, open and nicely landscaped gardens, and beach all around. I always felt like I was going to a resort when I finished work. Nice people living on the Island, and only 20 mins by ferry from Central (at $18) per trip, and 15-20 mins by taxi too. I have only positive things to say about the place and think its well worth checking out if you are not familiar with it.


To buy a Hong Kong apartment Park Island is also suprisingly good value, by HK standards. A place like the one here goes for around 20m http://parkislandhongkong.blogspot.sg/2011/12/nice-park-island-apartment-for-rent.html and if that was anywhere in HK island with those views you would be looking at 50m+.


Finally, here you can see some examples of the pools on Park Island http://parkislandhongkong.blogspot.sg/2011/05/pool-facilities-on-park-island.html


There is also ao good community facebook group for Park Islanders but not sure if one can post the invite for that group here or not.


For agents you can just one of any of the major franchises who all have branches and eager sales personal working directly on the island itself.

If you have kids and like things peaceful and quiet, I would check out Discovery Bay. If you don't mind a little chinese chaos ,as I call it, than maybe Tung Chung. Disco Bay is nice but a little more expense.


I don't really see the advantage of living in Park Island vs. Tung Chung for someone who works at the airport? Than again, I don't know alot about Park Island.

A few comments unattendedbag.


Park Island has a regular shuttle bus that goes right around the island and then direct to airport every 20 minutes. So, for that reason, the location is very suitable for cabin crew, pilots, airport employees, etc.


Due to the wide range of facilities on Park Island, it also suits airport workers who do irregualr shifts, as these staff can relax, make use of the various outdoor and indoor pools, gyms, beaches, etc and can also sleep peacefully if needed in the daytime due to a realtive absence of external noise.


Regarding Park Island or Discovery Bay, I would estimate the population of Park Island to be around 10-15% expats, whereas DB probably had 60%+ as expats. So, DB feels very much like its not really Hong Kong at all (which is fine if you really want that), whereas Park Island, im my view is preferable due to the larger proportion of HK-Chinese residents.


Also, due to the population dynamics, Park Island is much cheaper to rent than DB. So on Park Island, you could get an 1000 sq ft place, with 3 brms and ocean views, very high quality, for perhaps 20K a month. On DB, you would be looking at a lower quality place, more inacccessible (ie you need to walk further, or have a "golf buggy" (cost is nor around 700K just to get a "buggy license"!) to get there, for perhaps 30K a month.


The Park Island ferry gets to Central around 3-5 minutes faster than the DB ferry, and costs around half the price ($18 one way for Park Island vs $42 one way for DB).


Park Island has kindergartens and a mixed language primary school on the Island. (I am not sure if DB does. They probably have kindergartens, but I am not sure about primary schools).

unattendedbag

I agree with Remmy's message above however I think the airport bus schedule is every half hour and only $24 each way. You may find the latest couple of entries in the parkisland blogspot (mentioned above) useful - written by people who recently decided to opt for Park Island and has viewed Tung Chung, DB and Grand Promenade in HK island. Their testimonies provided a fresh look from someone seriously looking for a comfortable place to live - at an affordabe price. While DB is good I think the prices are quite a bit more expensive than Park Island.

remmy, perhaps you misunderstood my post? I fully understand the differences between Disco Bay and Park Island. I have spent a lot of time in Disco Bay and it is a different lifestyle from most other places in Hong Kong. Some like it, some don't.


What you failed to address is my original question, why would someone who works at the airport choose Park Island over Tung Chung?

Lingwu yes, I think you are correct, thanks for clarifying.


WonTonNom I agree with you exactly. Tung Chung is very much an extention of the airport any, in my view not so desirable. Certainly Park Island very different to that, and really provides a much welcomed and needed "escape" to a place with a resort style feeling.

I think Tung Chung is a good choice and hong kong public transport is very good probably don't need a car and it's expensive and troubles for parking in other places. Welcome to HK