Canadian family w two kids moving to HK in Nov.

We have two kids: 3 and 1, and are going to move to HK in November to start to work in Central area. Can't wait to get away from the cold winter in Canada (will miss the ski slopes though). Can anyone please give us some advice on where it is better to live and the school system?


We are debating on whether to live close to the office and have that luxury of walking home fast to be with our kids (in the Mid-level / Wanchai area with no view) or have the green grass and open space with a view for our kids to grow up in. Our budget is around HKD40k but we are debating if commuting could take too long from the greener pastures.


Our 3yr old is in pre-school and the 1yr old is in daycare, both open from 7am - 6pm. What kind of school system is there in HK? We heard the standard is that the schools are only 1/2 day and you ought to hire a live in maid/nanny to take care of the kids. In that case, we may need a 3bd (for us and grandparents' visits). What kinds of pre-schools / daycares are there? How long is the waiting list? Do they accept overseas applications? We think we might send our kids to a local school if they accept foreigners (we will have HK IDs so I guess we won’t be foreigners anymore once we land). But I also heard the local schools work the kids really hard, ie. tons of home work etc.; any truth to that?


Advice deeply appreciated.

First of all, there are already tons of threads on this so I suggest you browse through this forum and have a read.



Daycares in the Western sense are rare to nonexistent. The vast majority of pre-schools are not full day. You'll get max 6-7 hours. However for kids under about 2½ you can typically not leave them there alone. It is just "playgroup with an adult".


Yes you can hire a helper. This is very common and you should probably do so. HK life is very "helper attuned". For example deliveries and contractors expect someone to be home. Another thing is that shopping for groceries and other essentials is not just a question of popping down to the local superstore, but may involve the market and multiple other stops. Hiring a helper is buying time. You will not need an extra bedroom for the helper since most apartments you will be looking at will have a dedicated helper's room with helper's bathroom. This does not count towards the bedroom number. In other words if it says "2 beds" that means 2 beds plus helper's room. In the ads it will typically say "amah quarters". There is a book called "Hiring and Managing Domestic Help" that goes through all the helper stuff in detail. Perfect for the newcomer.


School systems are very varied. There is local, English, Canadian, American, Australian, German Swiss French, Montessori and so forth.... Many schools use IB or GCSE in some sections. Waiting lists at international schools are long given the recent influx of expats so you should apply now for several schools. But at least your kids aren't starting school this fall. Most schools will accept overseas applications since this is a transient place. The time to apply is now. Below is a list of some schools.

- HK International School. American.

- English Schools Foundation. Runs several British schools including Bradbury School, South Island School and Peak School.

- Kellett School. British.

- German Swiss International School. British curriculum if memory serves.

- French International School - International Section. British curriculum.

- Canadian International School. Canadian.

- Hong Kong Academy.

- International Montessori School.

- Australian International School. Australian.

- Chinese International School.




Areas to live on your budget. I would look at Pok Fu Lam, South Horizons, Tai Koo, Happy Valley, Kennedy Town, West Kowloon. If you're willing to squeeze a bit you can look at parts of Midlevels.



BTW it sounds as if your company is not arranging for professional orientation. You should definitely try to negotiate this as it is an invaluable help when moving to another country.

Hi, you mentioned the green grass... HK is paved, but lots of parks. If your children are used to running outside, then suggest you also look at Discovery Bay. It is great for kids, an easy way for a Westerner who is used to wide open spaces to adapt to HK lifestyle, travelling is 30 minutes by ferry, and is children (especially small ones) heaven. For your oldest, there are lots of schools there and I suggest if you company will do that, you and your spouse should visit HK for a week (alone), scout the place out, visit schools, that is the best.


Schools in DB - Sunshine House, Montesori, just to name but a few. Your 1 year old - only playgroups and only a few hours - most are in informal playgroups.

you really should look at Discovery Bay....well within your range (you could get a nice sized place with possibly a small patch of grass!), lots of expats there, expat targeted food stores, lots of green space to play, decent beach, as strobee says, several preschools to choose from


* Sunshine House

* Discovery Mind Kindergarten

* Mountainview Montessori kindy

* Discovery Bay International Kindergarten


and easy to adapt to the lifestyle here...you can ferry (fast/expensive) to Central, or bus and train (slow/cheaper) to many other parts of HK) and you're close to the airport if you travel on business...


also, in summer holidays, as many DB residents w/kids leave for their home country, apartments become available for short-stayers, so you can have friends come to visit if you choose to stay in summer (not likely as it is hellishly hot and humid) and stay cheaply if you don't have room

I forgot to mention... at DB you can walk on the grass - and there are lots of Canadian families in DB

Thanks so much for responding so quickly. It gives us comfort that the expat community is so engaged in helping others. We will definitely check out all the places you mention. Does anyone know much about Bel Air at Cyberport? How far from Central, and is it very isolated or is there any community of stores, restaurants around there? We will definitely be doing a househunting trip in advance. Our children's mother tongue is Mandarin, and they speak English at home also, so we are thinking about good local (ie. Cantonese) schools. We expect they will learn Cantonese there, but is it standard for them to be teaching Mandarin also? Anyone know much about them? We'll keep reading the other threads, so much info. Thanks again.

Bel Air is a very very large development. Actually it is three developments, Residence Bel-Air, Bel-Air on the Peak and Bel-Air Phase 8, next to each other. Several buses and shuttles to Central and you get there in about 20 minutes. BUT Pok Fu Lam Road is often congested so in rush hour that easily doubles.


Bel-Air is not so much isolated as a town unto itself. The Cyberport mall (walking distance) is ok with movies and a couple of restaurants. Unfortunately the only local grocery store is an "International" (a high end Park n Shop) and thus quite pricey. The huge (by HK standards) waterfront park is lovely and you can bike and walk dogs there, both of which are unusual. However it doesn't have a lot of shade.


Aberdeen is quite close and you'll have more shopping options there.


I know several people at Bel-Air but I wouldn't want to live there myself. Don't get me wrong, it is well managed, upscale, clean and nice. It's just a bit too much "mass living" for me. If I had to choose, I would go for Residence (older) and not Phase 8 (newer) since you get more for your money. The Phase 8 apartments have ridiculously small rooms. Our friends's three bedroom is less than half the size of our three bedroom in an old building and their rent is almost as high. One of the bedrooms is what I would call a large closet... But I will admit it's posh as all get-out.



"We expect they will learn Cantonese there, but is it standard for them to be teaching Mandarin also? "


Someone will answer your specific question, but as an aside on language. Unless they do go to a local school, most expats do not learn much Canto, if any. I know about 50-100 words and I know more than your run-of-the-mill expat. Unlike Singapore, Hong Kong is very divided among ethnic lines. There's a local society, a western society, an Indian subcontinent society and a couple of helper societies, but not a lot of mingling between them.