Posted by
solomani
16 yrs ago
Hi,
I wonder if people who live out there could give me a bit of info about the area?
For example how long does it take to get to central? What international schools service the area (I assume ESF is out there and I know one of the private ESF schools is there).
What is rent like vs size? What is the makeup of the population? I heard a lot of expat Australians live in Clearwater Bay.
The place looks pretty green on the map so I am guessing most places out there are not high rises but houses/small apartments.
Though we have committed to living in Kowloon for the near future I am kind of regreting now looking at Sai Kung more closely. I dismissed it as I thought it maybe too far for school or work.
General feedback welcome.
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cd
16 yrs ago
Hi, have lived right between the 2 for 6 1/2 years, love it. I can drive to Central in 30 mins on a good run, but will often take a bit more depending on traffic. You can be in Central in 30 mins or so on the MTR
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cd
16 yrs ago
sorry, pressed the button too soon. Yeh, the mtr from Hang Hau. There is an ESF kindy and primary school in CWB. Clearwater Bay is also a 15 min drive from KGV and Australian International school. Renaissance is nearer to Sai Kung.
There is a huge expat community, mainly Europeans and Australians.
Yes its very green, lots of good hiking, all low rises and houses, a few taller buildings in Sai Kung itself.
Rents have doubled in the last 3 years or so, but a few bargains still around, still cheaper than the island.
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Thanks CD. So how do you get to Central each day? Drive or catch ferry then MTR? Or some other way?
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Looks like a ferry going from Poi To O to Sai Wan Ho then MTR:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=clearwater+bay,+hong+kong&ie=UTF8&ll=22.270035,114.288754&spn=0.033757,0.055318&t=h&z=15
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A motorbike is the best way. Traffic can be a nightmare in Sai Kung at the usual times..morning, evening, weekends.
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cd
16 yrs ago
If Sai Wan Ho is where Sai Wan beach is (beautiful by the way) then its in the middle of the country park and no where near an MTR station. Agree the traffic on Hirams Highway can be awful in the rushhour, its a single lane road, so one break down or accident causes huge problems. Clearwaterbay is much easier as you can use the park n ride at Hang Hau, or the Eastern tunnel to Central.
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that ferry is very infrequent and slow, and the trip out to Po Toi O would take more time than it's worth...options mentioned above are much better
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You've been given good info by all - although SK/CWB appears to be far away from the downtown core, if you time your commute well (ie before and/or after rush hour), it really doesn't take much longer than other places in HK and most people who live out here consider the additional time worth it in order to have a better environment with greener space, fresher air and larger homes.
I believe that the Po Toi O ferry only runs on weekends (but not positive) and it is a looong ride - not a commute.
Check out the Explore Sai Kung website (exploresaikung dot com) for more info on the district. It's soon to be relaunched with much more info as well.
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How long does it take by taxi from Central to CWB at 3am? And can you find taxi's to take you that far at that time?
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cd
16 yrs ago
45 mins and that price if you lived in Po Toi O, 25 - 30 mins if you live the Silverstrand end of Clearwater Bay, and around $160 or so.
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Yep, it's really not that remote. I've driven from Clearwater Bay Road to the Excelsior Hotel in Causeway Bay in under 13 minutes. (I should add that this was at 11.00 am, i.e. not during peak hours, with no traffic and all the lights in my favour.) As mentioned above, it's the Hiram's Highway stretch to Sai Kung town that can clock up the journey time/taxi meters. Would definitely recommend living in this area.
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To be honest, if you want to move into Sai Kung, you gotta have a car, the MTR or mini-bus options its too limiting and troublesome. I think cost wise, you will not be saving much if not more. But it's more about the life-style. I have make the decision to move into Sai Kung Country Park (Tai Mong Zai) because I want to be in HK long-term. Living in the City with the things that you have to sacrifice and put up with, it's just not feasible for me.
If you are used to commute in UK or the States, 40 to 60mins is very acceptable. The local will frown on it but look at what they have to sacrifice inorder to be in the City. So it's a point of view and preference rather than pragmaticism.
The other thing is, the main road in the Sai Kung from Hang Hau or Choi Hung is clogged with traffic during peak hours. After looking around Sai Kung/CWB for 4-5 months... my opinion is that, either live in CWB or all the way into Sai Kung Country side (Tai Mong Zai). The rationale is - with CWB, you do not have to endure the traffics on the main road all the way into Central Sai kung and in Sai Kung Country Park (Tai Mong Zai) - you can use the Sai Sha Country road via Sha Tin which get you into the City in 40 to 60min. On a good day, 35 mins into IFC via western tunnel if you go via the new ShaTin tunnel without much traffic.
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Yeah, I agree Wongalx. I am planning on waiting a year to get used to HK generally and then try to buy a place out there along with a car.
At least thats the plan.
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JEM10
16 yrs ago
The ground floor of a village home with a garden for example of a 700 sq foot inside and a large 700 sq foot garden outside would run for approx. 17,000 HKD nowadays.
Also if you do live in Clearwater, then you probably will need a car. There are frequent mini-buses that run along Clearwater Bay road but you have to walk to them which sometimes means a 5-10 minute hike up hill to get to the main road. From there you take the minibuses to the various MTR stations: Tseung Kwan O, Hang Hau or Kwun Tong. The minibus ride takes approx 10-15 minutes. Once on the MTR you can be in central in about 45 minutes. So a one-way trip to central in the morning at 8:30 am is an hour long. If you take a taxi into Central from Clearwater, it will take 45 minutes and the taxi fare will be over $200 HKD. You can call discount taxis which will give you a 20% discount on the fare BEFORE the tunnel fees so you would be looking at paying approx $175 one way to Central WITH a discount taxi.
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cd
16 yrs ago
$17k is steep, most 700sf village house floors are going for $8-9k, some less.
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