Commuting to Shen Zhen

Hi All, My husband and I are moving to HK from Singapore in August. I will be working in central and him in Shen Zhen. Wondering if I could get some advice on where is a good location for us to live?


Thanks!

As many others have suggested, I think it's a good idea to live in a serviced hotel for a month or two to get a feeling for where would be best for you to live. There is one at Mong Kok KCR station which would be a sort of middle ground for both of you.



Some things to consider:

Do you want to have roughly equal travel time? Will you purchase a car for HK driving or take public transport?

Who has the longest working hours? Perhaps it's better to live closer to that person's work.

Who has a higher tolerance for boredom? Perhaps that person should live farthest from work as the commute could easily take one to two hours.


Where in Shenzhen will your husband work? There are two border crossings: LokMaChau/Huanggang and LoWu.



LoWu is reachable by KCR (train) but it can mean standing all the way from Kowloon Tong (45 mins). Also, it is a nightmare returning to HK by train. I am afraid to do it as people go insane pushing each other to get a seat.


Lok Ma Chau (HK side) - Huanggang (China side) is reachable by 24-hour bus service from many parts of HK. Everyone has a seat, so there is no pushing and shoving. A new KCR line will start running to LMC in July.


If he is thinking of driving to Shenzhen, he'll need a car with dual plates (HK + China) to cross the border.


Useful public transportation websites:

www.kcrc.com.hk (HK train)

www.mtr.com.hk (HK train)

www.nwfb.com.hk (HK bus)

www.kmb.com.hk (HK bus)


Your husband will need a huge new passport as it will be stamped for every entry and exit on the China side and the pages quickly fill up.

Thanks, for your insights. It doesn't seem that straightforward to commute daily to Shenzhen. Do people actually do that or we are just a little insane?


Anyway, my husband plan to commute via LoWu.

My husband has been doing it five times a week for the last six months. He takes the bus and has a nap both ways. He has a stack of Chinese entry/departure forms that he fills out on the weekends. He's renewed his passport already.


It takes him two hours door to door, but with the new border crossing opening in July, he hopes to cut some time off. He's also looking for a new job in HK after our summer holiday!