Where is kids friendly area to live in Hong Kong Island?

[littlebean1201]

We are soon to move to Hong Kong with 3 years old child, and currently doing a lot of research on housing/schooling.

Lots of people say that we should avoid city area to live due to bad pollution and live in the south side for better air.

We have a list of apartments to look at and don't know where is the best area to live with a young child:

Happy Valley (Leighton Hill Road)
Mid-Level East (Kennedy Road)
Mid-Level East (Bowen Road)
RedHill (Pak Pat Shan Road)
Repulse Bay (Repulse Bay Road)
Repulse Bay (Tai Tam Reservoir Road)

If anyone has any comments (good/bad anything!) on each of above area, as well as any good pre-schools/kindergarten from each area, please do let me know!

Thanks

[PDLM]

What's your budget?

[littlebean1201]

we are looking at approx 70-80K all inclusive (including rental furniture)

[AsiaMiles]

Hi, for your budget I'd recommend looking at Parkview. Plenty of really good facilities and a pre school on site. It's on Tai Tam Reservior Rd.

Good luck!

[littlebean1201]

Thanks! We'll be in HK from Monday to have a look at apartments/schools. Will look at Parkview, too, I think.

[Carolinezither]

I think bel-air in. Cyberport is good. You can have a look on google.

[penguinsix]

At age 3, when running outside and playing in the grass isn't quite as important, you'll probably be better off looking for "kid friendly buildings" rather than a specific area of Hong Kong. One of the first things you should look for is an indoor childrens' play room in the building. Many of the buildings have these facilities and they are amazing for meeting other kids, letting off steam and providing you a place where you can safely send the kid for a few hours with a helper if you need some time to work at home. Some buildings have small rooms, sufficient for a half dozen toddlers, others have absolutely insane places with nets, climbing towers, padded walls, slides, etc.

Add to that look for somewhere with an outdoor facility as well, and possibly even a pool. A place with a function room also serves as a low-cost birthday party room where you can socialize with other parents in your building.

As for more of an area question, have you started considering schools yet (not pre-schools--schools). If you have your heart set on a particular school in one corner or the other of Hong Kong, or have a debenture that will ensure admission to that school, you may want to consider living closer rather than farther away. For example if you have a German passport and wish to attend GSIS kindergarten and primary, than you might want to live near Pok Fu Lam where that campus is located. Or if you are choosing the Aussie school you might consider locations near that.

If your child was a year older, our advice (seriously) would be 'schools first--then a house'. You have a year before that all gets underway but you might be thinking along those lines.

Oh, as for air pollution...ummm...

You'll hear from real estate agents that the air is "better on the South Side" or in this corner of the New Territories or that one. However, there are a limited number of monitoring stations run by the government in HK and none on the South Side. In addition, that part of HK is a) close to the shipping lanes and b) close to a coal-fired power plant on Lamma Island. And when the winds blow in from China's factories it can be bad all over. While it doesn't have the massive number of cars in Central, the air down there isn't perfect, not by a long shot.

Here is a map of the air pollution levels tonight. Everywhere in red is over 100% of the World Health Organization maximums (Causeway Bay is 295% of the max at the moment). Note even that tiny monitoring station out on an island in the upper corner is red. You'll see there is no station on the South Side, but I'd be shocked to see it meet the standards right now when the rest of the territory is in such shape.

Is it "better" than the others parts that are 'really bad'? The answer is "well, maybe" or even "probably" but until you see the testing data don't rely on the sales agents saying "well, the sky looks bluer down here".

Basically, when it rains all over Hong Kong most people get wet. Same is true with the air pollution. When it's bad, it can be bad all over.

[BCD]

Agree with Penguin.
I would say find a child friendly building that is close to where you work. That way you can be home to actually see your child in the evening. For that budget you should be fine. Also, if mommy is not working, it is easy to meet others in the building play areas.
If you then plan to stay longer, then I would re-locate closer to the child's school to get in the catchement area if needed and for play dates for yr 1-6.

[closedcasket]

we are looking at approx 70-80K all inclusive (including rental furniture)

With kids, I might give Discovery Bay a look. It is unique. Some love it, some hate it.

A lot depens on if you are used to big city living. If you would prefer something far more clean, quiet, slow-paced, less dense...than Disco Bay might be worth a look. You could do well with 80k there.

And there are tons of families with kids from all over the world. Much more diverse than most areas in HK.

[Satay Sue]

3 year old thread guys....