Discovery bay or Tung chung?

[ando]

We are moving to HK on Aug 11th. My wife will be working in Causeway Bay. We are thinking of living @ either DB or TC as we will only have a housing budget of between $7-9,000HKD. Which location will be the best for commuting to and from Causeway Bay? Any advice would be welcome Thanks.

[discobay]

If you don't know already CWB to DB will require MTR to Central, ferry to DB and possibly a bus to your flat in DB. TC is easier as it's on the MTR.
For that budget you could rent a place in Tseung Kwan O. It has numerous developments to choose from and all around three MTR stations. There also a lot of buses and PLBs serving the area.

[panda05]

Tseung Kwan O is probably the best for you. Commuting time to CB is around 20 min and prices are reasonable in TKO and there are many new developments and lots of offers to choose from. Moreover, the price of the ferry from DB to Central is a rip off if you have to watch your budget.

[Richack10]

Hi Panda, approx what is the ferry cost from DB to Central?

[chimo]

I have heard that Tseung Kwan O has a bad reputation with the locals, something to do with it is built on land reclaimed from the sea and it has too much wind and too much humidity. Also it is an area with absolutely no personality. However if you have budget concerns then it is alright. Take a look at Park Island in Ma Wan:
http://www.geoexpat.com/forum/thread8760.html

It is a 20 minute ferry ride to central, then hop on the mtr for 3 stops to CWB. 700 square feet is withing your budget, and the ferry costs HK$11, or someting like that. Plus there are no cars allowed, which might be an advantage or disadvantage, depending on you. Has its own beach, and swimming pools, tennis courts, etc...

[carang]

if you buy single trip tickets, it costs $27 one way

if you buy a 50 trip ticket it costs $1160 (so it works out to be $24 each trip)

tung chung would also cost about $24 one way by MTR.

[carang]

except chimo, that you can't "hop on the MTR" you need to walk to the MTR first... this will take 10-15 minutes to get to the island line from the ferry pier....
(same with DB ferry, btw)

[ABBIE]

From Tung Chung, there's a bus that goes to Tin Hau MTR station with 2 stops in Causeway Bay-- Citybus E11. Fare is $21. Bus stop in Tung Chung is across the MTR station

My sister in law found a 3-BR unit last month at Seaview Crescent for 8.8k. Check out the other threads about TC. I also live in Seaview Crescent and love it here.

[texasaxel]

The cost of the commute from TC vs. DB is rougly the same ...

DB to Central ferry (25 mins) will cost you $ 23.20 plus $4.6 for MTR from Central to CWB. The MTR from TC is slightly less but not much. The walk from the ferry pier to Central MTR is 10 minutes and the MTR to CWB takes another 10 minutes.

Btw, you can also take a bus from DB to Sunny Bay MTR ($8, 15 minutes) and hop onto the Tung Chung line MTR and go to CWB. It might take a little longer though but if you need to go to places on the Kowloon side this option is generally quicker.

There are two ways to get to CWB by MTR; either Tung Chung line to HK station, 10 minute walk to Central station, island line to CWB. Or change in Lai King to Tseung Wan line, take the MTR to Admirality and change for the island line there. You safe the 10 min walk between HK and Central station but the MTR ride will take an extra 10 mins so overall it's a wash (and same price). However, the Tseung Wan line is usually a lot more packed than the Tung Chung line.

I would note that the 'experience' of living in Tung Chung is vastly different from DB. TC is a 'new town' with large scale high-rise developments whereas DB is considered a 'resort community' with lower density housing (there are some high-rises but it feels less of a concrete jungle). DB also has a larger share of foreigners than TC and English is more widely spoken.

Like TC, Park Island tends to be more Chinese. For example, the menus displayed at most restaurants there are in Chinese only.

[discobay]

It's more commonly known as the Tsuen Wan line - sorry but it was just staring at me and begging to be corrected; I would have let it go but then you had to go and repeat it in the same paragraph arrrgh!