Tai Po: Hong Lok Yuen

mumof4 · 16-06-2010, 02:59 AM

Hi,

We are considering moving to Hong Lok Yuen (from Europe) as that seems the only location where our children are accepted at school. What is living in that area like? What will be the commute to central for my husband? Does anyone know a good website to find houses over there?

Is it necessary to have a car over there? Or should I not give up hope an try to live closer, if not on, HK island or Discovery Bay?

Please advise!

kokey · 16-06-2010, 07:01 AM

Hello,
I can say that the area is good lot's of European people living there and I myself live there for 5 years.It's convenient to live there.If you husband will work in central I can say that it's quite far and it takes 1hour45 mins to get there by car is almost 1hour defends on the traffic.You can search in asiaxpat.com

mumof4 · 16-06-2010, 09:00 PM

Thanks kokey! Do you also have experience with HLYIS?

ningwilliam · 16-06-2010, 10:58 PM

well i dont think it takes 1hr45mins to get to central there, maybe im wrong, but i live near HLY, it only takes around 1-1.15hrs for me to get there. but well i might be wrong cos i have no idea about the shuttle bus there.

kokey · 17-06-2010, 01:10 AM

Hi,I can only say that it' a very expensive school.But if your children's school is paid buy your company then it's ok.My employers son used to attend hlyis.his tuition fee cost 40k hkd.sometimes transportation takes longer ning sometime it's traffic during rush hour so I calculate the late with all the hasles.

Pekkerhead · 17-06-2010, 07:28 AM

Originally Posted by kokey:

sometimes transportation takes longer ning sometime it's traffic during rush hour so I calculate the late with all the hasles.

Yes, but then there is this fantastic invention they have down the road called the train. A few minutes cab ride/bus journey and you can be at Tai Wo Station and from there its about an hour into Central.

There is also an early express bus (or at least used to be) that leaves from Lam Kam Road (outside the entrance to Tong Sheung Tsuen) which takes about an hour as well, although it gets there via Yuen Long way.

I should add that HLY is in Tai Po and you wouldn't necessarily have to live in HLY in order to send your kids to school. Tai Po has an abundance of other living options if HLY isn't up to expectations.

mumof4 · 17-06-2010, 06:46 PM

Ningwilliam and Pekkerhead, thanks for your useful input!

Pekkerhead, can you give me some attractive alternatives for HLY? I understand that that neighbourhood is from the early 70ies.

We are looking for a neighbourhood that is nice to live in, especially with young children (oldest is 9), has facilities like a supermarket and maybe a clubhouse with pool etc. And, not important, where a lot of expats live.

Hope to hear from you.

Pekkerhead · 17-06-2010, 08:08 PM

Originally Posted by mumof4:

Ningwilliam and Pekkerhead, thanks for your useful input!

Pekkerhead, can you give me some attractive alternatives for HLY? I understand that that neighbourhood is from the early 70ies.

We are looking for a neighbourhood that is nice to live in, especially with young children (oldest is 9), has facilities like a supermarket and maybe a clubhouse with pool etc. And, not important, where a lot of expats live.

Hope to hear from you.

It largely boils down to budget, but if you are seriously looking at HLY then I imagine your budget must be pretty high.

HLY is quite old in HK terms but it's attractiveness comes from the fact that it is a large suburban housing estate. If you need to live in a house then it is ideal, but it is very expensive. It does have a local supermarket (a park n shop) and clubhouse facilities. I'm pretty sure it's the only development in Tai Po to have a dedicated supermarket (as far as I know) but there is a shuttle bus into Tai Po that stops along Po Heung Street - convenient if you don't have a car.

There is no exact alternative to HLY in Tai Po, so the next best thing (or perhaps even better for most people, due to smaller size) are the smaller-scale residential house developments - basically small gated developments that have three storied houses in them. You will also find some developments that have a mix of houses and high-rise (say up to about 10 floors) apartments buildings. Finally, you could always live in a village house (there are many in Lam Tsuen and I am sure there would be many that would allow whole house or at least duplex floor space) but with them there will be no communal or clubhouse facilities.

There is a large concentration of gated house communities along the Tai Po Road (between Tai Po and Fo Tan) which you should definitely look at before you decide on HLY. Don't forget there is a very efficient school bus system in HK that is used by most if not all schools, so living right next to the school is not necessary. If you are after attractive (in terms of scenery) then that section of Tai Po Road is hard to beat (lots of trees, mountain road, views over Tolo Harbour, nature trails etc)

hkken569 · 17-06-2010, 10:14 PM

Alternative to HLY - There's an estate called "Hong Kong Gardens" it's in the section of Castle Peak Road between Ting Kau and Siu Lam.

Basically kiddies can play in the streets and you, possibly, can get to know your neighbours. It's an old estate with houses and flats with a dedicated ParknShop there. Having been to both HK garden and HLY I can say that HK gardens is maintained far better, and the seaview is superb - if you can afford it.

Cannot comment on the schooling there except that it had one on site.